To mark the German Rectors’ Conference being held at the University of Stuttgart, Minister for Science Theresia Bauer paid a virtual visit to the City Center Campus on Tuesday morning. She greeted all those taking part in the conference by video link. “I warmly welcome you all to Stuttgart, our state capital.”
Minister Bauer pointed out that universities need to join forces with politics in order to tackle the changes on the horizon, such as climate change and the use of artificial intelligence. “To solve the tasks ahead of us, we need inventors and doers as well as thinkers and poets. And we also need the universities which produce the experts and scientists to make sure that this state remains competitive in the future.” Referring to the role of science in tackling the pandemic, the minister added: “We all have confidence in science and can depend on it.”
The previous evening, Professor Wolfram Ressel, Rector of the University of Stuttgart, had welcomed the members of the HRK to the underground lecture halls of the KII in the city center. He was pleased that the HRK was able to hold its 32nd conference in person at the University of Stuttgart after a long hiatus. “The HRK is a strong and important partner for all universities in Germany”, said Ressel. The HRK works to safeguard the interests of the university sector in relation to politics, business and society, and also helps to further develop the university sector through concepts and strategy proposals as well as putting it on a solid footing for the future.
Professor Peter-André Alt, President of the HRK, gave his thanks for the hospitality. “We enjoy coming here to the University of Stuttgart and to Baden-Württemberg, which has such excellent universities.” For many of his colleagues, seeing the City Center Campus brought back memories of their own student days in Stuttgart.
Musical accompaniment at the reception was provided by five members of the Academic Orchestra of the University of Stuttgart, conducted by the Musical Director of the University of Stuttgart, Mihály Zeke.
About the German Rectors’ Conference
The German Rectors' Conference (HRK) is the association of public and government-recognised universities in Germany. The member institutions are represented in the HRK by their executive boards and rectorates. The HRK currently has 268 member institutions, in which more than 92 per cent of all students in Germany are enrolled. The HRK functions as the voice of the universities in dialog with politicians and the public, and as the central forum for opinion-forming in the higher education sector.
