About Us

PIER PLUS is the strategic science platform of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Founded in 2019 as an expansion of the successful PIER partnership between DESY and Universität Hamburg, the alliance today is a network of 23 universities and non-university research institutions. The partners act under the coordination of University of Hamburg with the overarching goal of further strengthening the Hamburg research hub as a leading international science metropolis. The core of this endeavor is the structured, trust-based cooperation of the partners both in individual research profiles and common fields of action and at the strategic leadership level of the partner institutions.

Basis

The guiding principle of PIER PLUS is the conviction that research excellence knows no institutional boundaries. This principle is put into practice at all levels: strategically in the PIER PLUS Steering Committee, which is composed of the leadership of the individual partners and the research profiles and where the guidelines for joint activities are developed, and thematically in the work of the research profiles and Common Fields of Action. In this way, cross-cutting topics such as the support of early career researchers are advanced collaboratively. PIER PLUS thus creates a collaborative and dynamic environment that attracts, supports, and retains excellent researchers to secure the scientific sustainability of the metropolitan region.

Action

PIER PLUS bundles the expertise and focal points of its partners to promote cooperative, cutting-edge research beyond the boundaries of disciplines and institutions. This research is evident in the profiles: PIER Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld, PIER Health and Infection, PIER Climate and Coast, PIER Conflict, Cooperation and Security, PIER Climate-friendly Mobility, and PIER New Materials. Through targeted funding instruments like the PIER PLUS Seed Fund, innovative and cooperative project ideas are supported at an early stage to foster excellent joint research. With its Common Fields of Action – PIER Computing and Data Science, PIER Innovation & Knowledge Exchange, PIER Support of Early Career Researchers, PIER Science Communication and PIER Research Infrastructure – the partnership shapes the framework for excellent science and promotes its dissemination.

A compact overview of PIER PLUS can also be found in the network's brochure (PDF).