Berlin universities want new coalition to fix crumbling buildings

Berlin’s universities have called for urgent action to address an €8 billion (£7 billion) repairs backlog threatening their ageing buildings as political parties begin negotiations over a new government following the city’s state election.

The left-wing Die Linke party swept to victory in Sunday’s election, securing about 25 per cent of the vote, ahead of the ruling Christian Democratic Union of Germany. A governing coalition is yet to be formed.

Ahead of the election, Berlin’s government failed to get legislative approval for its controversial plan to establish a university construction company to address the massive repairs backlog that has led to a campus closure in the city and warnings of crumbling infrastructure. Some university leaders had criticised the plan, saying they were not sufficiently consulted and the level of autonomy the new company would have was unclear. 

The severity of the issue was brought to light in May when the Technical University of Berlin indefinitely closed its main building after an inspection found defects affecting fire safety and power supply. 

Julia von Blumenthal, president of Humboldt University (HU) and chair of the State Conference of Rectors and Presidents of Berlin’s Higher Education Institutions, told Times Higher Education that the sector was expecting action from the next government. 

“We call on the new state government to immediately address the immense backlog of renovation projects. We urgently need faster and more efficient construction processes,” she said. 

Earlier this year student representatives said that two of the largest lecture theatres in HU’s main building were unusable because of delayed renovations, warning that an “entire generation” of students had never even seen inside one of them “due to the never-ending construction work”.

Julia Neuhaus, president of Berliner Hochschule für Technik, one of Germany’s largest state universities of applied sciences, said the university had been renting external space to compensate for shortages. “Due to budget cuts, this is no longer possible,” she added. 

She backed creating a loan-financed university construction company, saying that borrowing costs were lower than the increase in construction costs caused by continued delays.

“I very much hope that it happens quickly, because until then, not a single cent will be invested in new university construction, and the buildings will continue to deteriorate,” she said.

The Free University of Berlin also said it supported the formation of a university construction company.

“We are, in principle, prepared to support this initiative. However, this requires clear regulations in four areas: sustainable financial security, decision-making rights for the universities, autonomy in building management, and realistic space targets,” a representative from the university said. 

“A new coalition offers the opportunity to reshape this process and resolve these issues constructively. We remain open to a fruitful dialogue with the political sphere and other universities in the future.”

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com