Which plant species grow where, alongside which others - and why? Researchers at the University of Halle and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig have the answer. They have set up the world's first global database on the earth's vegetation. Professor Helge Bruelheide, head of the international project, explains what can be explored with such a wealth of data. Read more
From the Humboldtian model of higher education to the “assessed university”: The number of higher education concepts now seems to be infinite. The Institute of Higher Education Research (HoF), an institute affiliated to the University of Halle, has dealt with the expansion of these in a new book and has itemised the concepts that are currently relevant. HoF Director Professor Peer Pasternack explains the developments in an interview. Read more
Epigenetics is an emerging branch of biological research. Its findings will help us understand how information outside DNA can be passed on from cell to cell throughout a person’s life and partially even inherited from generation to generation. Bioinformatician Professor Ivo Grosse explains what epigenetic modifications are all about and how they can be affected by environmental factors. Read more
Love brought her to Halle over 30 years ago. Nowadays, Dr Armenuhi Drost-Abgarjan is a professor of Armenian studies who is fighting for the future of her subject. Read more
Prof Georg Theunissen holds the only chair of pedagogy for autism in the German-speaking world. He is committed to an innovative scientific approach to the topic in Germany. Autistic people in Germany are still discriminated against and excluded rather than respected and included. This is not only due to widespread ignorance, but also to the fact that the perspectives of those affected are not as much in the foreground as in the USA, Canada or Australia. Read more
Karl Marx was born 200 years ago. Even today his work influences the thinking and behaviour of many people, yet a lot do not know exactly what he actually wrote. The “Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe” (complete historical-critical edition of the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, MEGA) aims to change that. The huge project is being supervised by Halle’s political scientist Prof Harald Bluhm. Read more
The Weinberg Campus is a high-tech location. In the last 25 years around one billion euros has been invested in a site that is also the heart of the university’s scientific campus. The density of research institutes is high on the nearly 134-hectare site. This is accompanied by numerous successful companies that have often emerged from start-ups. Important drivers of the process are technology and founders’ centres. The first one opened in 1993 and the technology park was born. Professor Reinhard Neubert - a scientist, Prorector and entrepreneur - is one of the pioneers of this development. He talks with Ines Godazgar in an interview. Read more
Languages are constantly evolving. Whenever two languages come into contact, they interact with one another. In some cases, such interaction results in entirely new languages, so-called creole languages. Professor of Romance linguistics Ralph Ludwig explains how and why these languages are a subject of research, and what we can learn from them. Read more
There is barely another name which is so strongly associated with the German Early Enlightenment than that of Christian Thomasius. The work of the professor, who once taught in the City of Halle, has already been the subject of much academic work. The first volume of his letters has now been completed. Looking at this volume, it becomes clear that it is only by considering these historical sources, that we can understand the world and the essence of the argumentative jurist. Read more
