Campus leader proposes new university site as potential blueprint for German development
Software Billionaire's Generous Donation to Transform University of Potsdam
Software billionaire Hasso Plattner, co-founder of SAP, has made a significant donation to the University of Potsdam, marking a historic moment for European higher education. This donation, on a scale never given to a European university before, will spearhead the expansion of the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) and the development of a new campus at the historic Brauhausberg site.
The new campus, planned to be completed over the next ten years starting around 2025, will serve as an expansion of HPI and offer a highly innovative space for learning. The University of Potsdam's physical footprint will expand beyond its existing Golm and Griebnitzsee campuses, with the new campus situated on the former state parliament site at Brauhausberg.
The project aligns with the university's strategies for interdisciplinary research transfer and innovation, aiming to innovate higher education in Germany. The new campus will focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, sustainability, and advancing AI research, with the enhanced facilities expected to significantly enhance the university’s research capacity and its role in German higher education and AI innovation.
The new campus will not only benefit the University of Potsdam or the Brandenburg location but the entire German higher education landscape. Oliver Günther, President of the University of Potsdam, considers the plans for the new campus to have significant implications for the entire German higher education landscape.
The new campus will attract 6,000 students and will be home to the university's law and social sciences departments, which will relocate from Campus Griebnitzsee to the new campus near the main station. The dilapidated historical former parliament building will be restored and used as an auditorium on the new campus, creating interactive learning environments.
The new campus will feature open teaching and learning spaces, with the aim to complete the project within ten years. The exact amount of the donation is still unclear, but it is a substantial three-digit million amount. The impact on AI research is embedded in the university’s broader research ambitions, with the enhanced campus infrastructure designed to provide better resources and collaborative opportunities in fields like artificial intelligence, digital education, and sustainability technologies.
The new campus, when completed, could serve as a nationwide model for privately funded university campuses. The project could potentially motivate other institutions to engage in similar endeavors, contributing significantly to the evolution of German higher education.
The generous donation from software billionaire Hasso Plattner will lead to the development of a new campus at the University of Potsdam, focusing on interdisciplinary collaboration, sustainability, and advancing artificial-intelligence research as part of the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI). This new hub for learning will serve as a model for privately funded university campuses, potentially motivating other institutions to invest in similar educational and self-development opportunities through technology.
The new campus, due for completion around 2025, will feature open teaching and learning spaces, attract 6,000 students, and house the university's law and social sciences departments, aiming to create interactive artificial-intelligence learning environments and significantly enhance the university's research capacity in these fields.
