Science: President Leopoldina: More investments for young people

Sciences
President Leopoldina: More investments for young people

According to the director of the Max Planck Institute of Chemistry, Gerald Hogg, the Rhineland-Palatinate government should invest more in youth and science. “There is a high level of incentive because of Biontech’s push,” Hogg, who is also president of the National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), told dpa in Mainz. “There are great universities and many non-university research institutes in the Rhineland-Palatinate.”

However, Rhineland-Palatinate invests only 2.6 percent of its GDP in research and development, while the state of Baden-Württemberg invests 5.8 percent, for example. “Counter-cyclical investment in universities and colleges is going to be very important right now, because that’s an important perspective for the future,” Hogg said.

“And about Mainz: I can only advocate that we continue to expand here in research, science and innovation,” he said, also referring to the planned biotechnology campus and the planned center for aging research. “The millions in taxes from Biontech give a unique opportunity with real future prospects for a city like Mainz, which comes alive thanks to its students.” The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry is also considering building a sustainable campus with its neighbors, the University and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.

Biontech locations in Mainz and Idar-Oberstein as well as Rhineland-Palatinate can look forward to a significant increase in income thanks to Biontech. The state capital could dispose of its debt and would be expanded into an international biotechnology outpost. The Rhineland-Palatinate was transformed from a recipient country to a donor country within the federal states.

dpa