Welcome address on the occasion of the Opening of the University of Freiburg's New York Office, German House, New York, December 10, 2007

Professor Dr. Jäger,
Alumni of the University of Freiburg,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted, as Consul General of Germany, to welcome you today to the German House in New York. I am very glad that the University of Freiburg has succeeded in assembling many of its former students here today. As a former student and graduate of the great Albert-Ludwigs - Universität I consider it an excellent initiative to present the Alumni Association of the University of Freiburg in New York, and for various reasons the German House is the right place for this occasion.

The German House offers the special opportunity to meet with various organizations. Apart from the Consulate General and the German Mission to the United Nations many academic exchange and research societies call the German House their home in Manhattan. I would like to point out first of all the German Academic Exchange Service, the DAAD, which I would like to thank for its significant contribution toward organizing this seminar.

We are also very pleased to call the German Research Foundation, the DFG, one of our “housemates” since the 1st of October this year. Other tenants include the Carl Duisburg Society, the German Academic International Network (GAIN), and the offices of numerous German Universities and Alliances. This list shows that the German House serves as a place of academic exchange and interaction in the city of New York. It is therefore more than appropriate to gather former students of the University of Freiburg here today in order to join in the spirit to support student life, science and research at their common university.

I welcome this initiative of the University of Freiburg. Of course, we should not be tempted to believe that those networks to support one’s university emerge out of nowhere. The Americans have much more experience in this field, and generally feel very attached to their universities, which helped them in building their careers. Personal and financial support of the former university goes most often without saying.

It is with great joy that I remember my days as a student in Freiburg -- the lectures, professors and seminars as well as the personal development. And I am gratefull that – thanks to my teacher of the time –my relations with the staff and former students of the University stayed alive, up to this day. At times, speaking with other former students from Freiburg one can get the impression that they remember Freiburg because of the Saturday mornings on the Münstzerplatz, because of the Weissherbst im Glottertal or skiing in the Schwarzwald better that the support they had in the classroom. Today’s gathering is good sign that this will be changing significantly. Building an alumni organisation in the US requires certainly more than a gathering in New York, but I consider it nonetheless a significant step in showing our common spirit to support our “alma mater”.

And there is reason to come here and start this initiative now. We observe that more and more American students and researchers are drawn to Germany. And not just because they work with specifically “German Topics” such as the German language or philosophers, but that they conduct research on the common challenges we all face, and seek out the great facilities Germany offers. The German Research Foundation’s recent move into the German House represents a decision by the DFG to widen its activities in the US, and shows that the American interest in German science and research is growing steadily.

This is also underlined by a recent survey. 43 % of the young Americans interviewed said that they were very interested in German science and research. Only slightly more, 44% said they were interested in German history and most interest among the interviewees, with 46 %, was generated by Modern life in Germany.

In comparison, only 28% said they were interested in German music, or 27% in German business and economy. This survey shows clearly that Americans see Germany as a top location for Science and Research. And they are right. Germany has a lot to offer in these fields.

As part of the “Excellenzinitiative”, the “excellence initiative” among German Universities this year, the University of Freiburg was awarded with important funding for two outstanding research groups in the fields of biology and medicine. The initiative further acknowledged the University’s striving for scientific research through exchange and international projects, and it is now funding the “Institutional Strategy” of the University in order to attract even more young academics.

I consider the topic "Solar Energy" for this seminar extremely appropriate. The city and community of Freiburg have made outstanding achievements in the implementation of environmental, ecological and solar research and projects. I suppose that the sunniest regions of Germany, and those with the most experience, need to promote renewable energy technologies. The federal government has taken an important step in the political promotion of renewable energy technologies by passing the “Energieeinspeisungsgesetz”/ "Law for the primacy of renewable energies". In my opinion, the use of solar energy is getting more and more important in the United States as well, and I am confident that Germany and the United States will join in their promotion of renewable energies.

I hope that this seminar will not only stimulate our awareness of the use of solar energy, and discovering in the community of Freiburg one of its major supporters, but that it might also stimulate our spirit to support the University of Freiburg for fostering great researchers and scholars. I would like to close with the theme of the university’s 550th anniversary, which was celebrated this year: “Freiburg – We are the university.” But as an alumni I would add the slogan, for us to keep in mind today: “We are still the university, too!”