University Wolfgang Wick Re-elected Chairman of German Science and Humanities Council
10 February 2026
Heidelberg professor of medicine continues to head top science policy advisory body in Germany
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Wick, a scientist at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg of Heidelberg University, has been re-elected Chairman of the German Science and Humanities Council (WR). The Managing Director of the Department of Neurology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of a Clinical Cooperation Unit at the German Cancer Research Center, was re-elected at the winter sessions of the Science Council, thereby entering a fourth term of office at the head of the most important science policy advisory body in Germany.
The German Science and Humanities Council advocates for a high-performance, functional and also institutionally differentiated academic system. It advises the Federal Government and the state governments in all questions relative to the substantive and structural development of science, research, and academia. With respect to geopolitical, economic, and technological challenges and upheaval, the WR Chairman advocates for more speed: “Research and innovation policy must be able to respond faster and more efficiently to new circumstances,” says Prof. Wick. In addition to better harmonization across areas of responsibility and between the federal and state governments, he adds, academic institutions require more autonomy: “We need less control and fewer constraints as well as simplified decision-making processes, funding instruments and administrative processes.”
So that Germany does not fall behind internationally, Wolfgang Wick also calls for more investment in education, research, and innovation. A core government responsibility, science funding must remain reliable, he says, and universities, as key actors in societal, political, and technological transformation, must be given priority by policy-makers. However, due to on-going crises and scarce resources, there is also a need, according to the WR Chairman, to concentrate means, set clear priorities and also to improve networking and combine strengths within the academic system.
In 2007, Wolfgang Wick was appointed to a professorship for neurology at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg and took over as Medical Director of the Division of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital, where he has been Managing Director of the Department of Neurology and spokesperson of the Head Hospital (Center) since 2014. At the German Cancer Research Center, he heads the Clinical Cooperation Unit Neurooncology. Alongside his scientific expertise in the fields of neurology and oncology, Prof. Wick brings a wealth of experience from many years of committee work and leading offices in professional associations to his function as Chairman of the German Science and Humanities Council.
The winter sessions of the Science Council took place from 28 to 30 January 2026 in Berlin. During these sessions position papers on the transformation of the healthcare system, aiming at health maintenance and prevention, and on prospects for the academic system in Germany until 2040 were adopted. Prof. Wick has been a member of the German Science and Humanities Council since 2021, and has since 2022 chaired the WR Medicine Committee. He was first elected Chairman in 2023. Prof. Wick’s new term of office began in February.