Press release: Distinguished for commitment to higher education

Nr. 158/2015 - 01.07.2015

University President Professor Ulrike Beisiegel awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of Edinburgh

(pug) The President of the University of Göttingen, Professor Ulrike Beisiegel, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Edinburgh. Professor Beisiegel was thereby honoured for her outstanding contributions in a leading position within the higher education system on the national and international level. Professor Sir Timothy O‘Shea, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, presented her with the award during the graduation ceremonies. The laudatory speech commended Professor Beisiegel "for making important contributions to the academic community. She has always been an advocate of academic issues in our society."

In her acceptance speech, Professor Beisiegel stressed that "Nowadays, the heads of universities are especially challenged to ensure professors have the necessary freedom for individual research and creative thinking, whilst at the same time meeting the social responsibility to solve global problems through interdisciplinary and international collaborative research."

The biochemist Ulrike Beisiegel was honoured with this distinction for the numerous functions she has previously fulfilled. Alongside her position as President of the University of Göttingen, which she has been holding since 1 January 2011, Mrs. Beisiegel was Chair of the Ombudsman of the DFG – German Research Foundation from 2005 to 2010. From 2006 to 2011, she was member of the Wissenschaftsrat – Advisory board to the German Government, and from 2008 to 2010, Chairperson of its Scientific Commission. Since 2009, she has been a member of the Senate of the Leibniz Association and, since 2011, member of the Senate of the Max-Planck-Society. In 2012, Professor Beisiegel was elected Vice President of the German Rectors' Conference. That year, she was also Chairperson of the international peer group for evaluating all universities in Finland for its Ministry of Science.

The Universities of Göttingen and Edinburgh have been working collaboratively in research and teaching for years now. Their future aim is to expand this collaboration, particularly in the area student exchange programmes.

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