The Third University Reform in the GDR (April 3, 1969)

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Achieving top results in research and teaching through concentration

Section I of the report explains how to concentrate the scientific potential of universities and colleges in order to achieve top results in research and teaching.

The decisive question is how quickly the scientific potential of universities and colleges can be concentrated, particularly on tasks that are important for planned initiatives that will determine the structure of our national economy, and how long it will take to steer research and teaching consistently towards this goal.

Based on the prognoses of socialist society, of science and technology, of the national economy, and of the education system, universities and colleges, together with their partners in industry, face the task of quickly implementing large-scale socialist research as the form of scientific organization most appropriate to the socialist social system, and of harnessing the potential of institutions of higher education in order to make scientific advances by integrating them into tight-knit research associations.

This is only possible through close cooperation between universities, colleges, and socialist industry, and between universities, colleges, and other academic research facilities.

[ . . . ]

Unity of class-based education and research-oriented teaching

The fundamental intention of the principles presented in Section II on the restructuring of training and the improvement of education is the implementation of the unification of class-based education and world-class research-oriented teaching. The tasks of universities and institutions of higher education are to educate and shape students into well-rounded socialist personalities. Familiarizing students with the latest scientific discoveries and problems, with the methods and processes needed to quickly translate research findings into practical application, and with the knowledge required to master modern technological and scientific processes will require reshaping the whole academic curriculum into a scientific-productive curriculum.

The creative potential of the students in the shaping of education and character development should be fostered and put to use in every way possible. This will lead to the development of new facets of the professor-student relationship and to new forms of socialist teamwork.