»Pro Exzellenzia«, the first cross-institutional Hamburg academic project, has been supporting women academics through higher qualifications and career planning since 2010. It was created because the number of women in prominent positions is still remarkably small, particularly in view of the high number of women graduating from universities with good qualifications. Pro Exzellenzia is intended to assist in rectifying this. 

Initially conceived as a two year programme, it was principally initiated by the regional conference for equal opportunities at Hamburg institutions of higher education (LaKoG). Financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and by the city of Hamburg’s authority for science and research (BWF), Pro Exzellenzia allows a total of 22 bursaries to be awarded to full-time students at seven Hamburg universities. This takes place in the context of an extensive training, networking and mentoring programme.

The 22 Pro-Exzellenzia scholarship students include HFBK Hamburg graduates Angelika Lepper, Ruth Prangen and Birgit Szepanski.