Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
IN PUBLICA COMMODA – FOR THE GOOD OF ALL reads the inscription on the Foundation Medal of Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Established in the age of the Enlightenment (1737) and committed to its critical spirit, the “Georgia Augusta” was one of Europe’s first universities to abandon the supremacy of theology and achieve equality for all faculties. Emphasis on basic research and orientation towards source criticism and experimentation proved to be decisive preconditions for the development of the modern humanities and natural sciences, a development strongly influenced by the Georgia Augusta.
The history of Georg-August-Universität Göttingen has to this day been characterised by scholarly pragmatism and a sense of reality as well as keen awareness for science’s societal responsibility. This tradition embraces the contributions of the “Göttinger Sieben” (1837) and those of Max Born, Otto Hahn, Werner Heisenberg and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, who initiated the “Göttinger Erklärung” (1957) calling for the abandonment of nuclear weapons of every description. It is in this tradition that the Georgia Augusta today defines itself and its mission. Remembering the darkest chapter of its history during the period of National Socialism, the University is committed to utilising its strengths in shaping a humane, tolerant and peaceful world.
Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (GWDG)
The GWDG is a service organization which works in conjunction with the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Society as a data and IT service center. It also carries out independent research in the field of computer science and provides support in preparing future professionals for a career in information technology.
As stated in the original partnership agreement, the GWDG supports scientific research and education by
- supplying a data processing system for research institutes and universities,
being involved in the scientific design of IT/telecommunications technology for research projects and university teaching, - providing services for research institutes and universities as a research funding facility,
- advising scientific users on solving problems in the field of information and communications technology, and participating in the implementation of solutions,
- training and professional development of scientific users of information and communications technology,
- research in the field of practical and applied computer science, in particular on the methodology of computer usage, in order to solve scientific questions. All of the supervised data processing system is the object of study.
Particularly, tasks include the operation of high-performance computers, the provision of specialized systems and support of the transmission network GÖNET, which connects institutes in Göttingen. Through the GWDG, GÖNET is connected to the national research and education network X-WiN and the internet.
As an IT competence center, the GWDG advises and supports all associated institutes concerning all questions on scientific data processing.