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More than 10,000 books disappeared from US schools in the 2023/24 school year. In response, two professors at the English Department of the University of Münster founded the "Banned Books Network Münster" – and are consciously carrying the debate beyond the university.

Postdocs occupy a central yet ambivalent role within the German academic system. How do they perceive their own work situation, job satisfaction and career development? To investigate this, the Münster Centre for Emerging Researchers (CERes) surveyed postdocs at the University of Münster. Significant differences emerged depending on the type of employment contract.

Professor Dr Susanne Menzel-Riedl took office as Rector of the University of Münster on 1 October. To begin her tenure, she took a tour of the University by bicycle – and chatted with press spokesperson Norbert Robers about her career and her first impressions of her new place of employment.

For many staff and students at the University of Münster, AI-powered translations are part of everyday life. But how good are these automatic translations, and which tool does the University of Münster offer? In the following, we shed some light on the matter.

A research team led by Dr Lukas Schrader from the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity (IEB) shows that the evolution of ants received a boost thanks to the activity of “jumping genes” in their genome.

On 25 September researchers will meet at the “Münster Reproduction Games” to put studies published in specialist journals to the test. In the following interview, Dr Lukas Röseler offers insights into the event and describes strategies to increase reproducibility.

Welcome, bienvenidos, hoş geldiniz, benvenuti and welcome! The University of Münster is pleased to welcome 248 international exchange students for the new winter semester. During Welcome Week, the International Office will provide information about studying and living at the university and in Münster.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is awarding the biologist Dr Maik Bischoff and the chemist Prof Marcel Rey a total of just over 3.1 million euros over the next six years.

In the summer series “Summer, Sun, Cactus”, members of the university share how they experience the warmer months. Rather than adopting a strictly academic approach, they offer a more light-hearted perspective. In Part 8, Sandhra Ganesh, like all the other participants, is pictured in front of the camera with the eponymous cactus from our Botanic Garden.

The extent to which peatlands respond to rising temperatures depends on water levels. A research team led by the University of Münster has shown that lower water levels lead to a greater increase in CO₂ emissions as temperatures rise. A higher water level can mitigate this effect. These findings are based on the largest dataset to date on the annual CO₂ balance of peatlands.

A prestigious award for Dr Victoria Sakti: the social and cultural anthropologist has been awarded a total of two million euros by the European Research Council for her research in Indonesia, Colombia and Zimbabwe. Her project focuses on ageing in different social and cultural contexts.

In the latest Shanghai Ranking, the University of Münster achieves an excellent position within Germany, ranking between sixth and eleventh. In an international comparison, it is ranked in the 151st to 200th group.