All Articles on Theme Transfer

The 2026 Rolf Sammet Foundation Guest Professorship will be awarded to structural biologist Elena Conti, Director of the Department of Cellular Structural Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry – lectures for students and researchers.

Author Joshua Groß is taking over the prestigious poetry professorship at Goethe University. Starting on June 9, 2026, he will explore the literary self in our digital age under the title “Thinking in Avatars” at the Westend Campus.

Joshua Groß, Frankfurt’s new poetry professor, on his writing practice, the languages of change, and his influences in contemporary German-language literature.

An interdisciplinary series by the Frankfurt Humanities Research Centre and Frankfurt University Library

Literature is a miniature reflection of society – both of the fundamental upheavals that are occurring at an ever-faster pace and of the very crises that define our social, political, economic, and aesthetic present. In 1989, writers were once again thrust onto the grand stage of history. During the demonstrations on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, many looked to East German author Christa Wolf for political and moral orientation. But the years after reunification fundamentally reshaped Germany’s literary public sphere. Fierce debates erupted as part of the so-called “German-German literary dispute” (deutsch-deutscher Literaturstreit) surrounding figures such as Botho Strauß, Peter Handke, Martin Walser, and Günter Grass, reflecting broader conflicts over memory, identity, and political responsibility. By the late 1990s, Popliteratur had reduced authors to brands among many others, while Amazon quietly began testing the mechanisms of digital capitalism through the book market. Literature had entered a new era – though not the one many had once hoped for.

Last week, Germany’s Federal Council approved the Retirement Plan Reform Act, overhauling the previously state-subsidized Riester pension scheme. Prof. Raimond Maurer from Goethe University Frankfurt’s Faculty of Economics and Business was a member of the federal government’s focus group on private retirement provisions, which developed many of the reform proposals. Maurer welcomed the government’s decision to follow the experts’ recommendations and expressed hope that this approach will continue in future reform efforts.

Science-Policy Dialogue at Goethe University Frankfurt and upcoming Environmental Ministers’ Conference focus on organized environmental crime and the illicit trade in fluorinated greenhouse gases.

Innovative ideas for a more sustainable future took center stage yesterday at the grand finale of the Goethe SDG Contest 2026 at Goethe University Frankfurt. Six finalist teams pitched their concepts to an audience of around 100 guests from academia, industry, and the startup ecosystem after emerging from an intensive bootcamp involving 12 selected projects. Organized by Goethe Unibator in partnership with Santander Germany, the competition supports entrepreneurial approaches that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Goethe University Frankfurt and Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG have signed a cooperation agreement that expands their existing partnership. Planned initiatives include the exchange of expertise, joint research projects, public events, and mutual support through both institutions' networks. A jointly developed part-time MBA program is set to launch in April 2027. In addition, one of the university's sports science units has moved into the “Sportquartier im Stadtwald" on Otto-Fleck-Schneise, close to the soccer club's home stadium in Deutsche Bank Park. More broadly, the university aims to further develop its sport-related expertise through interdisciplinary collaboration.

The "Outstandingly Exhibited" prize from the Dr. Marschner Foundation honors an exceptional curatorial achievement and will be awarded in 2025 to the exhibition "SOLASTALGIA: Walks Through Altered Landscapes" (October 9, 2025, to February 15, 2026) at the MGGU – Museum Giersch of Goethe University. The award includes a monetary prize of 25,000 euros.

In cooperation with the Institute of Occupational Medicine, Social Medicine and Environmental Medicine at Goethe University and Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt, the Hessian Competence Center for Healthy Schools is now being launched. It serves as a central point of contact for teachers and school staff, offering appropriate, supportive and scientifically grounded services.

State event for Equal Pay Day of the Hessian Ministry for Labor, Integration, Youth and Social Affairs and the Institute for Economics, Labor and Culture of Goethe University