The University of Konstanz stands for an academic culture that is open, collaborative, democratic and international. Central pillars of our university are inclusion, diversity, family friendliness and continuing education. We cultivate an open-minded mentality and many nationalities meet on our campus.
At the University of Konstanz, you quickly get an impression of how important interconnectedness is to us. Working together for a common goal is key in Konstanz. Everything we do is guided by collaboration, participation and communication. Our doors are always open. What makes it possible for us to collaborate so easily across the disciplines in Konstanz?
"Konstanz spirit" means we see ourselves and other university members as contributing to a community that we are all part of. From the start, even the architecture of our campus has fostered this attitude. The buildings were constructed to promote natural, everyday interactions between people from different areas of the university. We do not have separate institutes; instead there are central meeting points, shared paths and many common areas for conversation. In Konstanz it is commonplace for exchange to take place spontaneously in the hallways. Many research collaborations stem from everyday interactions between researchers from different departments who start talking with each other about their research.
The University of Konstanz provides strategic support for collaboration and pooling resources. One example is our core facilities: Large-scale equipment is organized centrally so that all university members can use them.
Pooling resources and collaborating with colleagues in other organizational units makes it possible to achieve better results than if each person were working alone.
In Konstanz, we believe that everyone can and should be involved in the continual development of the university. We see this as our shared project. Our hierarchies are kept flat, and we foster a strong culture of participation and empowerment. From the start, Konstanz has been a reform university. It is part of our institutional DNA that we question existing structures, assess and adapt them accordingly.
Ralf Dahrendorf once said about the University of Konstanz: "Konstanz is undoubtedly a success story, not as the result of following a plan, but because of the continual pursuit of its fundamental values" (2006). This attitude, our "Konstanz spirit", forms the basis for our institutional concept for the German Excellence Strategy competition: creative.together.