Injection of funds for Thuringia's tertiary institutes
Thuringia’s tertiary institutes are to receive approximately €160 million in extra funding from the state by 2019, the state’s Cabinet decided recently in its draft framework agreement for tertiary funding for the 2016 to 2019 period. “A fourpercent increase, four times, is a huge boost and a clear political signal from the state government that it values and wants to support Thuringia as a knowledge and education state,” says Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Tiefensee. The funds will be used for specific academic purposes and to cover wage increases. There will also be a strategy and innovation budget for improved learning environments, more research activity and public relations and profile-building for the institutions. (maa)
Super laser from Jena
Jena company Active Fiber Systems has set a world record with its ultrashort pulse laser, the most powerful laser in the world, which is attracting great interest from biologists, medical researchers and geologists. To make the laser so powerful, the team at Active Fiber Systems split the laser beam into different channels, which were carefully enhanced individually before being combined again in such a way as to precisely superimpose the pulses. A pilot system is now under construction. The small team is a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) in Jena and plans to continuously grow by taking on new projects. (maa)
