Ideas to curb housing shortage presented

On Monday May 19, more than 60 people attended the panel discussion of the Göttingen mayoral candidates with the focus on the relationship between science and local administration. The discussion took place in the Alfred-Hessel-Saal of the Paulinerkirche.

The discussion with the candidates - Dr. Eckhard Fascher (Die Linke), Rolf-Georg Köhler (SPD), Siegfried Lieske (Grüne), Dr. Martin Rudolph (parteilos, CDU) and Katharina Simon (Piraten) lasted almost two hours. Michael Lankeit, administrative director of the German Primate Center, moderated the discussion for the Local Committee for Science and Universities. Many topics were discussed but the questions on affordable housing for students and scientists and the plans for the future Göttingen "House of Knowledge", dominated the discussion. In addition, the participants unanimously agreed that too few scientists were engaged in local politics. Conversely, the president of the university, Prof. Ulrike Beisiegel, mentioned in her brief introduction, that it is "extremely important that local administration supports science".