Universität Hamburg (UHH)

Germany

As a University of Excellence, Universität Hamburg is one of the strongest research universities in Germany. As a flagship university in the greater Hamburg region, it nurtures innovative, cooperative contacts with partners inside and outside academia. It also provides and promotes sustainable education, knowledge, and knowledge exchange locally, nationally, and internationally.

Excellent research

Universität Hamburg boasts numerous interdisciplinary research projects in a broad range of fields and an extensive partner network with leading research and higher education institutions on a regional, national, and international scale. As part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments, Universität Hamburg has been granted clusters of excellence for 4 core research areas: CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter (photon and nanosciences), Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) (climate research), Understanding Written Artefacts (manuscript research), and Quantum Universe (mathematics, particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology). An equally important core research area is Infection Research, in which researchers investigate the structure, dynamics, and mechanisms of infection processes to promote the development of new treatment methods and therapies.

Outstanding variety: over 170 degree programs

For its more than 43,000 students, Universität Hamburg offers approximately 170 degree programs within its 8 faculties:

A century of history

Opened in 1919, Universität Hamburg was the first democratically founded university in Germany. Nobel Prize winners such as Otto Stern, Wolfgang Pauli, and Isidor Rabi were active at the University. Other well-known scholars also taught here, such as Ernst Cassirer, Erwin Panofsky, Aby Warburg, William Stern, Agathe Lasch, Magdalene Schoch, Emil Artin, Ralf Dahrendorf, and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, to name but a few.

Career opportunities

Universität Hamburg encourages excellent researchers and talented students to join the institution’s vibrant academic community. Find all career opportunities on the University’s job portal.

1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for University of Hamburg (UHH) published between 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

Count	Share
452	80.54

Highlight of the month

Decisions driven by observing others

Distinct yet interacting brain regions drive individual and socially-influenced decisions.

People make decisions based on personal experiences (direct learning) and lessons learned from observing others (social learning), but the brain networks involved were unclear.

Researchers from the University of Hamburg conducted a reward-driven game where players chose between two photos and placed a bet on their decision. They were then shown the photos the other four players and were given the opportunity to change their decision and bet if desired. Typically, players switched when most opinions differed from theirs or raised their bets when others agreed.

Magnetic resonance imaging of players clearly revealed two brain regions responsible for direct learning (the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) and social learning (the anterior cingulate cortex). It also showed that they interact via a central region that uses both types of learning to make a decision.

Social learning is a crucial element during changing times as uncertain people are more inclined to take cues from others.

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