R&D renaissance
Europe鈥檚 most populous and economically powerful state is undergoing something of a science and technology renaissance under popular new chancellor Angela Merkel, who came to power in November 2005.
The German chancellor is a talented mathematician and scientist with a background in physics and chemistry, and is married to a university chemistry professor. Before becoming chancellor she spent many years as environment minister, where she is credited with helping foster the country鈥檚 renewable technology sector, an area in which Germany is now a world leader (see 鈥淕reen Glory鈥�).
Many are confident that she has the will and experience to boost Germany鈥檚 global profile in science, and so far they are being proved right. Merkel has pledged to increase research funding and continue building on a programme of reforms introduced over the past five years. For example, she has set out plans to improve technology transfer by abolishing Germany鈥檚 rigid divide of basic and applied research, and by encouraging international collaborations in the country鈥檚 many academic, public and industrial research institutions.
Advertisement
She has publicly committed to meeting the European Union target of spending 3 per cent of economic output on R&D by 2010. One-third of this will come directly from the government, with an extra 卢500 million per year, but much of the responsibility for reaching this target will fall to the private sector, which has traditionally funded the majority of R&D in Germany.
While it is early days for her government, she has every reason to make the necessary reforms to encourage greater R&D spending from Germany鈥檚 companies. Today, the country鈥檚 successful R&D-intensive industries such as biotech, chemicals and automotives account for more than half of all industrial production in Germany. In comparison with other countries, it relies on these industries more heavily for exports (rather than natural resources or crops, for instance) and R&D鈥檚 importance for the economy as a whole is arguably greater than in any other major industrialised nation.
Home and away
鈥淎fter you have learned a profession and before you settle down, go abroad and find out how things are done somewhere else.鈥� So said Goethe, one of Germany鈥檚 great literary figures. The advice is still pertinent for German research institutions. In recent years there have been intensive efforts to encourage international collaborations in science and technology.
The UK is a rich source of partners. For example, German biotech Novalung is collaborating with Imperial College London to develop the first tissue-grown human lung cells, destined for lung regeneration and repair.
Meanwhile, Germany has aggressively marketed its world-class universities and research institutes to foreign students and research scientists. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, for instance, issues up to 600 research scholarships each year to non-German academics.
Foreign scientists now find it easier to get a place because institutions have much more control over how they spend their money. It is a far cry from the situation before 2000, when every new job position had to go through an approval process involving everyone from director to building custodian. Most universities now offer curricula in English and also grant master鈥檚 degrees in addition to the traditional German diploma.
Green glory
Solar panels can be found on over 140,000 roofs in Germany. Renewable technologies like this enjoy wide public support, which has helped make this a rapidly growing sector. The industry has already created more than 150,000 jobs, and in 2004 it brought in around 卢11.6 billion 鈥� more than the pharmaceutical sector. With the government committed to shutting down all its nuclear reactors by 2020, this growth is likely to continue, and Germany has its sights set on leading Europe 鈥� if not the world 鈥� in this area.
IT revolution
Forget the World Cup: it is the year of IT in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to pour new money into the IT sector in an effort to restore Germany as a world leader in the field.
German scientists invented the binary code and one of the world鈥檚 first computers in 1941, but the country has since lost its edge against the US and Asia. In an effort to change this, Merkel has pledged 卢6 billion to the sector over the next four years. A new body, High-tech Strategy Germany, which is due to be in place by June 2006, will be given the task of allocating this fund.
As part of a massive PR venture, 2006 has been labelled the Year of Informatics. Shows and conferences are scheduled to take place across Germany during the year. Merkel鈥檚 government has also promised extra money to improve the country鈥檚 digital and communications infrastructure and boost the number of high-speed internet connections.
Meanwhile, Europe鈥檚 largest IT research institution has recently been set up following a merger of the Fraunhofer Society (see 鈥淕ermany鈥檚 research institutions鈥�) and the Society for Mathematics and Data Processing.
鈥淯nlike her predecessor, Merkel is forward-thinking and she is getting people working together to improve the IT sector,鈥� says Bernhard Rohleder, director general of Germany鈥檚 information technology, telecommunications and new media industry association (BITKOM). 鈥淩ight now,鈥� says Rohleder, 鈥渨e have the best situation ever to make a difference, and I am optimistic for our future chances.鈥�
Germany鈥檚 research institutions
The federal government has promised to increase funding for its research institutions by at least 3 per cent every year until 2010. The country has a complex and highly diversified structure of science and technology organisations (in addition to its universities, polytechnics and industrial bases). The four main ones are:
鈥� The Max Planck Society: 80 basic research institutes. It employs around 11,600 people and has a budget of more than 卢1 billion a year 鈥� 鈥渦nconditional funding鈥� that allows it to remain autonomous. It is internationally renowned, with 15 Nobel prizewinners since 1954, and 10 since 1984. Its tech-transfer arm, which was set up in 1970, is called Garching Innovation.
鈥� The Fraunhofer Society: 80 applied research institutes that perform contract research for industry, service companies and the public sector. Its remit is to translate research findings into products. It employs more than 11,000 people and has a budget of 卢1 billion, two-thirds of which is accounted for by contract research. Recent success stories include roll-up displays, microchip-embedded clothing and the MP3 format.
鈥� The Helmholtz Association: 15 institutions that run large-scale equipment such as particle accelerators and research reactors used by international and national research teams. Around 卢600 million are raised each year by international users, and 7000 foreign scientists visit the association each year. The government provides a further 卢1.6 billion.
鈥� The Leibniz Association: 80 research institutions work on forward-looking questions of national significance and economic importance with an annual budget of almost a billion euros 鈥� a third of which comes from the government. Around half the institutes are in the former East Germany and the association plays a key role in the economic revitalisation of the cities in which they are located.