The University of Göttingen is an internationally renowned research university. Founded in 1737 in the Age of Enlightenment, the University is committed to the values of social responsibility of science, democracy, tolerance and justice. It offers a comprehensive range of subjects across 13 faculties: in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and medicine. With about 28,000 students and more than 210 degree programmes, the University is one of the largest in Germany.
New press releases
Search for future President: Call for applications published
The call for applications for the future President of the University of Göttingen runs from 17 December 2025 to 1 March 2026. The text and further information on the application and selection process can be found online.
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Holding back laughter
In many everyday and professional situations, laughing at the wrong moment can be inappropriate or disruptive, making the ability to hold back amusement an important skill. Yet resisting laughter is often difficult – especially when someone else laughs. A research team investigated how laughter can be regulated and found that social cues can strongly interfere with these efforts.
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Controlling Chemical Reactions in Enzyme
The Volkswagen Foundation is funding a new research project in Chemistry involving the University of Göttingen, the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPI-NAT) in Göttingen, and the University of Hamburg. The project addresses a fundamental question of science: How do enzymes, nature's highly efficient catalysts, achieve almost perfect precision and efficiency?
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Maize under multiple stress
The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a new research unit in agricultural sciences at the University of Göttingen. Under the title “Concurrent multiple abiotic and biotic stress interactions in maize: impacts and mechanisms,” the participating scientists are investigating the impact of combined (abiotic and biotic) stresses on crop physiology and productivity. The new findings are intended to support the breeding of multi-stress-resistant maize varieties in the long term.
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Uncovering ancient genetic toolkit that helped plants conquer land
Biologist Professor Jan de Vries at the University of Göttingen has received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). Following his ERC Starting Grant, which ran from 2019 to 2025, the ERC has now announced that they will fund his new project “Conserved Environmental Programs of Streptophyte Cells – StreptoProgram” for five years in the Consolidator program.
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KNOW HOW – together against sexual violence at the University
Sexual violence is a social problem that also exists at the University. To address and prevent this, the University of Göttingen has developed an online tool to raise awareness of sexual violence. The tool focuses on videos and questions that show scenes from everyday university life and are designed to encourage reflection.
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