“The question of how Baden-Württemberg can further strengthen its research capacities in artificial intelligence (AI) has occupied the Green-Black state government for years and will also be an important issue in the state election campaign.
CDU state chairman and lead candidate Manuel Hagel proposes the establishment of a tenth state university for this purpose. Hagel sees artificial intelligence as the crucial technology for securing industrial production sites in Baden-Württemberg in the long term.
New universities have long been established in Baden-Württemberg – the University of Konstanz was founded in 1966, and the University of Ulm in 1967. A possible location for a new university could be Heilbronn, because an AI research center has developed there.
"With a university for artificial intelligence as the heart of a strong cluster, we can trigger a unique surge in innovation," says Hagel. The technology offers enormous opportunities for growth and prosperity, including through spin-offs.
Furthermore, a university offers the opportunity to critically reflect on the risks of AI from an ethical perspective.
Does a concept exist? Not yet. Whether this is more likely a reorganization of existing institutions or a "greenfield" foundation is therefore unclear.
Historically, there have been three motives for the founding of new universities since 1945, as historian Wolfgang Schieder once systematized: The creation of additional student places was the impetus for some university foundings in the 1960s. Another motive was the creation of reform universities with more modern management structures, such as those in Bielefeld and Konstanz. The third motive is regional development – Ulm and, if it were to come to fruition, Heilbronn would be good examples of this.
"Instead of establishing universities in densely populated areas or large cities, where a steady influx of students was expected, the policy of founding new universities was pursued as a regional funding policy," writes Schieder. The CDU in Baden-Württemberg is also following the Bavarian model with its initiative: In 2020, Minister-President Markus Söder founded a new technical university in his Franconian hometown of Nuremberg, the first in thirty years. The cost was €1.2 billion.
The lengthy establishment process and the costs are also the most important arguments against establishing a new university: Given the worsening budget situation, funding for universities and universities of applied sciences will only be increased by 3.5 percent in the new higher education funding agreements and will even be suspended in 2026. In addition, the state will only spend €200 million from 2026 to 2030. The university hospitals and cancer research are currently underfunded, and at least €3 billion is missing for structural renovations at the four hospitals. The planned alliance of university hospitals in Mannheim and Heidelberg is also likely to be expensive over the next ten years. A new state university would therefore lead to new distribution conflicts. Furthermore, the number of students is declining.
A new university must be applied for with the Science Council; approval usually takes two years, and the prerequisite is the appointment of at least 18 professors.
The question remains, however, whether research into artificial intelligence might not require further funding. A boost is needed. Given the large number of universities and colleges in the state, Science Minister Petra Olschowski (Green Party) advocates strengthening existing locations. "The major challenge in the coming years will be to continue to provide excellent funding for teaching and research at existing locations, develop content in collaborative networks, and thus further strengthen quality," says Olschowski. As an example of such concentration, she cites the "State Graduate Center for Applied AI in Heilbronn." The graduate center is expected to employ 60 doctoral students, 20 postdoctoral researchers, and ten professors. Heilbronn has research facilities at ETH Zurich and the Technical University of Munich. Whether and how these facilities could even be accommodated in a new university is questionable.
The President of the State Rectors' Conference, Ulrich Weber, also takes a critical view of the CDU's proposal: "The state already has the most diverse higher education system of all federal states. In addition, the research and development intensity in Baden-Württemberg is by far the highest in relation to the respective gross domestic product of all federal states." In the current strained financial situation, which is unlikely to improve significantly in the medium term, it is necessary to "intelligently and future-oriented" strengthen existing priorities instead of incurring new costs through differentiation.
The chair of the Science Committee, Nese Erikli (Greens), says it will be crucial in the coming years to ensure the best personnel, the best equipment, and good study conditions in the future research field of AI. Instead of establishing an additional university, it is better to constantly seek opportunities to improve existing AI research facilities.
Current AI research in Heilbronn has been funded with generous donations from the Schwarz Foundation. Therefore, Dieter Schwarz would certainly welcome the establishment of a university in his hometown.” [1]
1. 1. Eine zehnte Universität in Baden-Württemberg?: Pläne der CDU, um die Forschung zur Künstlichen Intelligenz zu beschleunigen / Von Rüdiger Soldt, Stuttgart. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 02 June 2025: 8.
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