Open AccessCelebrating 200 Years of Humboldt University
Author(s) -
Sebastian Litta
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international higher education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2372-4501
pISSN - 1084-0613
DOI - 10.6017/ihe.2010.60.8499
Subject(s) - bureaucracy , german , political science , university system , higher education , management , university education , library science , public administration , economic history , sociology , history , law , economics , archaeology , politics , computer science
The Universität zu Berlin, later renamed Humboldt Universität, was founded in 1810, and revolutionized the concept of a university to research institutions. While Humboldt is today in urgent need of reform, this university also forms the key part of the history of German higher education over the past 200 years. Humboldt University used to be the most successful university system in the world, which became a sclerotic and bureaucratic behemoth and only recently started to renew itself.