One month ahead of the on-site evaluation by the international review panel as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments, the strategic Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) alliance is entering the final phase of preparations with confidence and strong momentum. From April 14 to 16, 2026, the alliance – comprising Goethe University Frankfurt, Technical University of Darmstadt and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz – will present itself and its joint proposal “EXCITE – Excellent. Collaborative. Transformative.” on Frankfurt’s Westend Campus. With this proposal, RMU is applying for designation as a University Consortium of Excellence.
“We are fully committed as we enter the final stage of preparations for the site visit,” says Prof. Enrico Schleiff, President of Goethe University Frankfurt and the current RMU spokesperson. “The on-site evaluation coincides with the first week of the summer semester, which constitutes a logistical challenge. At the same time, it is also an opportunity to present ourselves as a vibrant and dynamic university alliance embedded in the internationally connected Rhine-Main region. While we naturally want to show ourselves at our best, it is important that we also remain authentic.”
The proposal highlights the alliance’s shared ambition to further develop RMU into a globally visible center of research excellence that generates pioneering responses to complex scientific and societal challenges. At the same time, the alliance is committed to a research culture that more closely connects science and society, also since it considers dialogue, participation and knowledge co-creation as integral elements of academic excellence.
Last week, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the Joint Science Conference (GWK) and the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) announced that nine of the ten current Universities of Excellence, as well as one Consortium of Excellence, will continue to receive funding. One university will no longer be funded, as it no longer meets the formal eligibility criteria. In early October 2026, the Excellence Commission will decide on the inclusion of up to four additional Universities or Consortia of Excellence, as well as on the allocation of the newly available funding slot.
