On February 26, the IBZ Verbund—the nationwide network of international guesthouses and university-affiliated guesthouses—invited members of the Bundestag, as well as representatives from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service, and the EURAXESS initiative, to a parliamentary breakfast at the Paul-Löbe-Haus in Berlin.
The focus was on a question of fundamental importance: How can Germany compete for talent on the international stage if key infrastructure for international researchers is disappearing? After all, the IBZs are far more than just a “business card” for universities: they are a crucial building block for Germany’s future as a center of science. Without reliable, inclusive, and internationally oriented housing and social spaces, it will become increasingly difficult to attract top researchers and hold them here in the long term.
The reality on the ground is alarming: rising energy and operating costs, a significant backlog of renovations, and a lack of investment funds are coupled with unclear responsibilities between universities and federal states. The result is structural underfunding, which has already led to closures—for example, in Potsdam and Hamburg—and is acutely threatening other facilities. Instead of international networking, managing the crisis dominates in many places.

Individual rescue efforts, such as the recent one in Leipzig funded by short-term state funds, do demonstrate possibilities for action, but at the same time highlight the fundamental problem: there is a lack of permanently reliable financing and responsibility structures.
Especially in times of tight public budgets, it is short-sighted to cut corners here. Investments in the IBZs are investments in one of Germany’s key resources: its scientific capacity and international appeal.
The announcement by Member of the Bundestag Lukas Krieger (CDU), who served as patron of the event, to bring the issue into the budget deliberations is an important signal. However, it remains insufficient as long as no concrete political measures follow. The federal and state governments are now called upon to jointly create sustainable financing models, clearly define responsibilities, and invest specifically in maintaining and expanding the IBZ infrastructure. Because one thing is clear: if you want world-class international research in the country, you must also ensure the conditions for it!

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