Jacobs University Bremen - History and Accreditation

History and Accreditation

History

In the course of Bremen’s transformation from a traditional harbor and shipyard business location into one of Germany’s leading science locations, the city’s senate decides to convert the Roland Barracks in North Bremen, a military logistics academy until the middle of the 1990s, into a scientific institution. In November 1997, a first exchange of ideas takes place between representatives of the City State of Bremen, Bremen University and Rice University, Houston, Texas. The result: a recommendation to set up an international and highly selective private research university with a focus on science and engineering and English as the language of instruction. In August 2001 the first 131 undergraduate students from 43 nations as well as 26 faculty members arrive on campus. Later, they are joined by the university’s first 2 PhD students. IUB is officially opened on Sept. 20, 2001, with former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt as keynote speaker. Under the heading “The Elite of Responsibility” Schmidt highlights IUB’s unique profile as a role model for a University of the 21st Century, which successfully blends the best of European and Anglo-American traditions in education and research to meet the challenges of a globalizing world. IUB, which then offers 14 study programs in engineering, the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities, becomes the first private university in Germany to be accredited by the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat). In November 2006 IUB receives a 200-Mio-Euro donation from the Jacobs Foundation. It is the largest private donation ever bestowed onto a scientific institution in Europe and marks a major turning point in the university’s development. In honor of the Jacobs Foundation’s remarkable donation IUB changes its name to Jacobs University Bremen in February 2007.

Klaus J. Jacobs: "The international and intercultural atmosphere as well as the harmonious yet performance-oriented environment on this campus show, that by offering high-quality education to enthusiastic young people, the future of our society is positively shaped."

Accreditation

1999 State approval by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen

2001 Accreditation by the German Council of Sciences and Humanities

2004 Accreditation of all undergraduate programs by the German Accreditation Council (ACQUIN)

2008 Re-accreditation by the German Council of Sciences and Humanities

2010 Confirmation of the state approval by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen

Achievements

2006 Jacobs gains an investment of € 200 million by the Jacobs Foundation, at the time the largest donation in Europe ever made by a private foundation to a university.

2008 Jacobs receives its distinction as Selected Landmark in the innovation contest »365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas« in the field of »science«. The Land of Ideas initiative rewards ideas and projects that make a lasting contribution to Germany.

Official opening of the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), a joint »Exzellenzinitiative« project by Jacobs University and the University of Bremen federally sponsored with € 5.6 million.

Jacobs professor Katja Windt is awarded the prestigious Alfried Krupp Prize, a scholarship for Young Professors endowed with € 1 million. She is also named »Professor of the year« by the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers.

2009 Jacobs professor Antje Boetius is honored with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2009, Germany’s most renowned research award by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft endowed with € 2.5 million.

2010 Jacobs professor Thomas Heine obtains the Starting Independent Researcher Grant by the European Research Council endowed with € 1.5 million; the application process is highly competitive: only about 10 % to 15 % of all proposals are successful.

Jacobs’ spin-off Phytolutions GmbH receives its distinction as Selected Landmark in the »365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas« contest in the field of »environment«.

2011 Jacobs’ deep-sea crawler Wally receives its distinction as Selected Landmark in the »365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas« contest in the field of »science«.

2012 BIGSSS is again funded with another € 9 million by the »Exzellenzinitiative«.