The Bonn–St Andrews Joint Academic Appointments Scheme, now in its third year, continues to strengthen the strategic alliance between the University of Bonn and the University of St Andrews. This innovative partnership initiative allows colleagues from both universities to spend 20 percent of their time over three years teaching and conducting research at the partner institution.

The University of Bonn is once again featured on the international “Highly Cited Researchers” list: According to Clarivate Analytics, the information service provider that compiles the list, a total of ten researchers are among the top one percent of the most influential in their field worldwide.

Extreme weather events such as heavy rain and flooding pose growing challenges for early warning systems worldwide. Researchers at the University Bonn, the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), and the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have developed RiverMamba, a new AI model that can predict river discharges and flood risks more accurately than previous methods. The research paper, which shows potential for climate adaptation and disaster control, has been accepted for NeurIPS 2025 – a sign of scientific excellence in Bonn-based research. RiverMamba thus makes an important contribution to climate adaptation and risk prevention – topics that are receiving special attention worldwide, particularly around UN World Tsunami Awareness Day on November 5th.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus Borchard receives the university medal, which is the highest honor that the University of Bonn can bestow on its members and its wider community, meaning that it is only ever awarded to people who have rendered truly special service to the University. The medal is presented by the Rectorate and the Senate, which counts representatives of all the University’s status groups among its members. This year, this unique accolade was conferred on to four exceptional individuals during the ceremonial opening of the academic year 2025/26.

The goals behind the project funding program “vielfältig.nachhaltig.digital” (“diverse.sustainable.digital”) are to cultivate the potential of individual students, raise awareness on sustainable development and anchor the acquisition of digital skills within teaching. Year after year, the University of Bonn provides funding for highly innovative individual and group projects within this program framework. Six projects emerged as this year’s competitive winners, on topics ranging from AI-assisted learning, which is being developed in the Faculty's Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, to a University-wide roleplay simulation.

The University of Bonn is at the forefront of artificial intelligence research. As a co-founder of the Lamarr Institute, its scientists work closely with colleagues from the Technical University of Dortmund and the Fraunhofer Institutes for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS in Sankt Augustin and for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund. Together, they are developing technologies that will transform many aspects of our lives. The institute’s mission is to create AI that is not only powerful but also trustworthy, sustainable, and socially relevant. In doing so, the University of Excellence Bonn is sending out a clear message: progress requires responsibility.