University Wolfgang Wick Re-elected Chairman of German Science and Humanities Council
21 February 2025
Heidelberg professor of medicine continues to head top science policy advisory body in Germany
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Wick, a scientist at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg of Heidelberg University, has been re-elected Chairman of the German Science and Humanities Council (WR). The Managing Director of the Department of Neurology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of a Clinical Cooperation Unit at the German Cancer Research Center, he was re-elected at the winter sessions of the Science Council, thereby entering a third term of office at the head of the most important science policy advisory body in Germany.
The German Science and Humanities Council advocates for a high-performance, functional and also institutionally differentiated academic system. It advises the Federal Government and the state governments in all questions relative to the substantive and structural development of science, research and academia. With respect to the current situation, the WR Chairman sees an “innovation gap” in Germany, which is currently being outdone by countries like the United States, Israel, South Korea and also China. In view of the huge challenges in areas such as artificial intelligence, energy and health, the goal of spending 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product on research and development should not only be reached but even raised, he says. “In the long run, it must move towards four percent,” Prof. Wick adds.
Germany, Wolfgang Wick underlines, needs a strong research and innovation policy. “For that, we need to talk about priorities and the most well-judged way to handle our budgets, and – beyond the issue of fresh finance – about how to make the system more flexible, in order to pursue new approaches,” says the Chairman of the German Science and Humanities Council. Investments in run-down research and scientific infrastructure are necessary, likewise in digitization and cyber security. Furthermore, Prof. Wick warns against populist hostility towards scientific freedom and the consequent attrition of undesired areas of research.
In 2007, Wolfgang Wick was appointed to a professorship for neurology at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg and took over as Medical Director of the Division of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital, where he has been Managing Director of the Department of Neurology and spokesperson of the Head Hospital (Center) since 2014. At the German Cancer Research Center, he heads the Clinical Cooperation Unit Neurooncology. Alongside his scientific expertise in the fields of neurology and oncology, Prof. Wick brings a wealth of experience from many years of committee work and leading offices in professional associations to his function as Chairman of the German Science and Humanities Council.
The winter sessions of the Science Council took place from 29 to 31 January 2025 in Berlin. Prof. Wick has been a member since 2021, and has since 2022 chaired the WR Medicine Committee. He was first elected Chairman in 2023. Prof. Wick’s new term of office began in February.