The agreement on objectives is a result of the third institutional evaluation of the Department of Biology. This Institutional Evaluation was the first in the third evaluation cycle of the evaluation of departments of TUDa and with the regulations of the system reaccreditation (TUDa reaccredited from 2024 to 2031). The Department of Biology started the Institutional Evaluation with a Kick Off Meeting in January 2023. Both the Department of Biology and the Executive Board agreed on the following evaluation topics: research and appointment planning, early career researchers, study and teaching including the development of degree programmes, diversity.

The external review panel, chaired by Prof Dr R. Jahn, visited the department in 11/2023. The department's self-evaluation report (09/2023), together with the questions posed by the Executive Board and the department to the reviewers, formed the basis for the discussions. Based on the recommendations of the external review panel in the evaluation report, the President's comments and the department's statement on the evaluation report, the President and the representatives of the department agreed on the third agreement on objectives in May 2024 [published internally at the university here]. (opens in new tab)

For the future development of the Department of Biology, the following set of topics is of importance until 2030: Strengthening research clusters and acquiring collaborative research projects; continuing to play a significant role in the research profile of TU Darmstadt; strengthening the promotion and funding of early-career researchers; implementing the planned measures to promote diversity, particularly by increasing the number of female and/or international employees and staff at all career levels; implementing the plans for (further) developing new and existing degree programmes.

The revision and quality assurance of the biology degree programmes is underway since the evaluation report was submitted. The developed biology degree programmes are scheduled to start in the winter semester of 2026/27.

Two monitoring meetings are planned during the implementation period of the agreement on objectives, in summer semester 2026 and summer semester 2028. A next Institutional Evaluation is planned with an on-site review in the summer semester of 2030.