"Ich sah Heidelberg an einem völlig klaren Morgen, der durch eine angenehme Luft zugleich kühl und erquicklich war. Die Stadt in ihrer Lage und mit ihrer ganzen Umgebung hat, man darf sagen, etwas Ideales …."
I saw Heidelberg on a perfectly clear morning, with a pleasant air both cool and invigorating. The city, just so, with the totality of its ambiance is, one might say, something ideal.
Why Heidelberg?
idelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg) is a public research university in the beautiful city of Heidelberg nestling in the valley of the River Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the oldest university in Germany, founded in 1386. It is a German Excellence University, as well as a founding member of the League of European Research Universities and the Coimbra Group.
The emphasis is on research. The university has been associated with 55 Nobel Prize winners. It is consistently ranked among Europe's top overall universities, especially as an international education venue for doctoral students. About 1,000 doctorates are successfully completed every year and just over one third of the doctoral students coming from abroad.
There are two main campuses: one in the Old Town and another in the Neuenheimer Feld quarter on the outskirts of the city. The Apple Lab is part of the University Hospital Eye Department in the Neuenheimer Feld campus for medicine and natural sciences. Several independent research institutes, such as the German Cancer Research Center and two of the Max-Planck-Institutes are in Neuenheimer Feld. The Apple Lab has partnerships with these centres of excellence, in particular, it collaborates with the following independent research institutes located in and around Heidelberg, such as the
▪ German Cancer Research Center (Helmholtz Association)
▪ Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University
▪ Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center
▪ Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research and
▪ The European Molecular Biology Laboratory
It is this atmosphere of cooperation in research that ranks Heidelberg among the best universities in the world. Heidelberg is first in Germany, fourth in Europe and thirteenth in the world in terms of the number of Nobel Laureates affiliated with the university at the time of the prize announcement.
The Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks Heidelberg 3rd nationally, 14th in Europe, and 63rd in the world.
The University Ranking by Academic Performance 2010 (URAP Ranking) by Middle East Technical University ranks Heidelberg 2nd nationally, 12th in Europe and 54th globally.
The Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities (HEEACT Ranking), issued by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan, placed Heidelberg 2nd in Germany, 12th in Europe, and 61st globally.
The Scientometrics Journal Gatekeepers Indicator Ranking (ISSRU Ranking), created by Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest, ranks Heidelberg University at the top of German universities, 12th in Europe, and 73rd globally.
Among historical scientific achievements of Heidelberg researchers features prominently the invention of the Bunsen burner and the invention and development of spectroscopy; the discovery of the elements Caesium and Rubidium; the identification of the absolute boiling Point; and the identification and isolation of nicotine as the main pharmacologically active component of tobacco.
Heidelberg and the River Neckar