At the Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) New Year’s reception on Thursday, 8 January 2026, university president Prof. Dr. Volker Epping provided insights on topics of particular importance to the university. The New Year’s reception is a networking event that aims to intensify exchange between academia, the business sector, politics and society; roughly 450 guests attended the event in the Lichthof, the atrium of LUH’s main university building.
The university as a place where controversial discussions are possible
In his speech, LUH president Epping began by reflecting on the international situation in which the university is embedded: “Eighty years after the end of World War II – eighty years after the civilisational rupture which was supposed to have taught us how quickly words can become actions – I am getting the following impression, which I take very seriously: In some respects, we are moving back towards a world where it is not law but power that prevails. Where international law is being bent, relativised and ignored in a discretionary manner.“
Current global political developments are not without consequences for the scientific community, said Epping: “Academic freedom is under threat in many parts of the world – even in countries we have historically been closely connected to. International collaborations are being politicised; exchange is becoming more difficult; and research is being used as a pawn in the service of geopolitical interests.” For LUH, this means: “We cannot and must not ignore this. And we are not ignoring it. We are a place of teaching, study and research. A place for scientific discourse. A place where questions are permitted – even uncomfortable ones. A place where controversies are possible – but on the basis of arguments, facts and integrity.”
University of Excellence application as the path into the future
Despite the gravity of the international situation, said Epping, 2025 was also a year of great strength for Leibniz University Hannover. In May, LUH achieved an outstanding success as part of the German federal and state governments’ Excellence Strategy: all three Cluster of Excellence applications submitted by the university were approved. Each cluster will be funded for a further seven years as of January 2026. “This places us among the top universities Germany-wide in terms of the number of clusters. This is a success we can be proud of. And above all, it is a team accomplishment,” said Epping.
And this success has opened up the next door: the application for University of Excellence status – where LUH is competing with ten other large universities for five places. “The competition is strong. Even in our own state. And alongside science, politics will ultimately also play a role in the decision. Our application in this competition tackles significant challenges that lie ahead of us – and which cannot be overcome with strong science alone.” The application focuses on the outcome of science – its impact – in its concept for the future: as an offer for society and a promise that LUH intends to keep. “Only this will generate the trust that science needs and the trust that guarantees academic freedom,” said Epping. He emphasised: “This path is not an end in itself. It is the expression of an aspiration – and of a promise: We are the university that, in cooperation with its partners, is moving Lower Saxony forward. Scientifically. Economically. Societally.”
In 2026, said Epping, LUH will once again have to prove itself: in research and teaching, in transfer and innovation, in internationalism and cooperation – and on the question of how it can create trust as an institution. “I say deliberately: It is worth investing in this university. Because this is where the future is being created. Because this is where talent is growing. Because this is where solutions are being developed – for Lower Saxony, for Germany and for Europe.”
Read the complete New Year’s speech: http://go.lu-h.de/new-year
Welcoming remarks for newly appointed professors
Following his speech, the president welcomed and introduced the new professors appointed to LUH in 2025. He invited the guests to get to know their new colleagues over the course of the evening, and beyond the New Year’s reception, and to explore possibilities for new collaborations. An online gallery of the newly appointed professors with photos and brief biographies is available here: http://go.lu-h.de/neuberufenengalerie
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