He is part of an eleven-member international committee that evaluates applications from the humanities and social sciences. "Being appointed to this committee is a great honour," says Bergs, who has been evaluating projects for the Norwegian Research Council and other international organizations for several years. "The Norwegian Centers of Excellence are among the most highly endowed funding lines in Norway with a total funding amount of over €150 million and are comparable to the German Excellence Initiative. Being a member of this review board is probably one of my most important tasks to date."

In addition to Bergs, other experts have been appointed from ETH Zurich, Oxford, Glasgow, Munich and Amsterdam, among others. "It's really something special to see Osnabrück alongside these major European universities," Bergs continues. This also underlines the international visibility and recognition of linguistic research in Osnabrück.

In March, intensive online meetings will be held to discuss which projects will be invited to the second phase of the application. "It's a lot of work, but also incredibly exciting. We evaluate projects from many different subjects - so you learn a lot about different subject cultures, individual application rhetoric and the evaluation of scientific achievements from different perspectives. At the end, you always have to negotiate with the members of the review panel and you have to be prepared not only to defend your own point of view, but also to deal openly with other opinions and negotiate compromises." The results of the first review phase are expected in summer 2026.

More information on the Norwegian  Research Council and the Excellence Initiative

Further information for editorial offices:
Prof. Dr. Alexander Bergs, Osnabrück University
Institute of English & American Studies
 abergs@uni-osnabrueck.de