CSMC Hosts Meeting of the Hanseatic University Alliance

6 June 2025

Photo: CSMC

Members of the CSMC and representatives of the Hanseatic University Alliance on the premises of the centre in Hamburg.

Representatives of the Hamburg University Alliance (HAU) gathered in Hamburg on 5 and 6 June. The meeting kicked off at the CSMC.

After a welcome by University President Hauke Heekeren, CSMC Director Konrad Hirschler gave the guests a quick overview of the development of written artefact research in Hamburg, which originated in a research group in 2008 and recently culminated in another successful application for a Cluster of Excellence. He presented the centre’s research approach, which was then illustrated by doctoral researchers Stefano Farinella and Malgorzata Grzelec, who gave short presentations on their dissertation projects in historical epistemology and archaeometry, respectively. At the end of the visit, Sebastian Bosch gave the guests a tour of the CSMC’s Mobile Lab and introduced them to its equipment and analysis methods.

The Hanseatic University Alliance (HAU) has its roots in the Association of North German Universities (Verbund Norddeutscher Universitäten), which has been promoting cooperation between regional universities in research and teaching for around 30 years. Today, it has ten members: the University of Bremen, the University of Greifswald, the University of Hamburg, the Technical University of Hamburg, Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel, the University of Lübeck, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, the University of Rostock, and the University of Groningen. The universities participating in HAU currently have around 185,000 students, including 28,000 international students, and 2,900 professors. The aim of the alliance is to strengthen research and innovation on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts and to speak with one voice for Northern Germany as a research area. The renaming to Hanseatic University Alliance and the strategic reorientation of the network took place in December 2024.

Twelve representatives from the participating universities attended the meeting in Hamburg, including Maren Petersen (Vice President of the University of Bremen), Thomas Münte (Vice President of the University of Lübeck), Sascha Spoun (President of Leuphana University Lüneburg), Ralph Bruder (President of the University of Oldenburg) and Karsten Wolf (Vice Rector of the University of Rostock).