2007

On 1 January, all universities in NRW become public sector entities (“Hochschulfreiheitsgesetz” – law granting greater freedom to institutes of higher education).

The number of students from China at the BUW has more than doubled within the last ten years and now stands at 227 (as of 16 April).

Following confirmation by the Senate, the Ministry names the members of the first University Council on 29 June: Dr. h.c. Josef Beutelmann, Prof. Dr. Christiane Spiel, Dr. Hans-Udo Klein, Dipl.-Kfm. Achim Meyer auf der Heyde, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Hanswille, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinle.

The last “Diplom” degree courses finish: no new enrolments are accepted from this winter semester on.
Eleven modules are added to the combined Bachelor of Arts program, which is part of the pilot project “Multi-Level Teacher Training”.

2008

Starting on 11 February, students can register online for classes using WUSEL, the BUW’s student portal providing digital information on lectures and other classes.

On 12 March, the Senate unanimously confirms the University Council’s election of Prof. Dr. Lambert Koch as Rector.

The Center for Graduate Studies (CGS), which supports the research activities of doctoral students at the university, opens on 29 April.

The “dual” course in mechanical engineering (vocational training and studies) is launched on 6 May; the School of Civil Engineering has been offering opportunities for dual study since 2004.

On 1 July, the DGF establishes the special research area “Hadron Physics with Lattice QCD”, placing around four million Euro at the disposal of researchers in Wuppertal.

The new Rectorate assumes office on 1 September.

2009

The Grid Computer Centre for Experimental Particle Physics commences operations on 28 January. This computer, currently the most powerful at the university, has approx. 800 terabytes of disc space.

On 29 April, the Senate approves a mission statement for the BUW including six interdisciplinary profile lines.

EUROCHAMP-2 continues as of 1 May and is to receive 5 million Euro in research funding over the next four years. Prof. Dr. Wiesen (Physical Chemistry) has been coordinating this EU research project on air pollution since 2004.

A nationwide student strike from 15 - 19 June, which also affects the BUW, results in various measures including an extensive student survey conducted by the Rectorate, the start of the “Bologna Check”, and the revision of examination regulations.

On 23 June, Ranga Yogeshwar, a prominent science journalist, is awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of Electrical, Information and Media Engineering.

As of 3 July 2009, all Bachelor’s programs at the BUW that culminate in a teaching qualification already comply with the new NRW legislation on teacher training passed on 12 May.

The Institute for Security Systems opens in Velbert on 20 August.

Dr. Roland Kischkel succeeds Hans-Joachim von Buchka as Vice-President for Administration and Finance on 1 October.

A North Rhine-Westphalian grant programme for 60 BUW students gets under way on 1 October.

According to a “CHE ExcellenceRanking” published on 28 October, the BUW is one of a group of approx. 70 top-ranking universities from all over Europe – chosen from more than 4,000 institutions – that combine outstanding research performance with international orientation in the field of economics.

As of the reference date 24 November, the number of first-time enrolments is found to be 21% up on the previous year (total number of students 13,903).

2010

According to a report by the NRW Ministry of Science dated 24 March, the BUW’s external funding rose by 28 percent in the year 2008; that year, the average increase in external funding obtained by universities in the state of NRW was just ten percent.

With 20% of professorships held by women as of 30 March, the BUW is able to report the biggest increase in NRW.

Following on from extensive surveys, the results of the “Bologna Check”, consisting of proposals for far-reaching improvements to study structures and course organisation, are presented on 19 May.

The School of Education – inaugural ceremony held on 29 October – aims to strengthen school-focused educational research and optimise the training offered to students aiming to become teachers; it was officially established and given school status on 9 March.

2011

On 11 April, the Association of German Universities (DHV) declares Prof. Dr. Koch “Rector of the Year 2010” (according to the results of a survey held on 23 February 2012, he came in second in the 2011 rankings).

According to an announcement made on 8 June, Wuppertal-based particle physicists Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Kampert and Prof. Dr. Klaus Helbing have succeeded in securing more than EUR 1.4 million in funding for their work on the world's largest experiments, “Auger” in Argentina and “IceCube” at the South Pole.

The new Master's programme in Exercise and Health Science starts in winter.

Building K, the new academic building consisting of one large lecture room with 800 seats, a smaller lecture room with 250 seats, seminar rooms and a foyer for events, opens on 22 June.

A new General Studies course commences on 17 October, the start of the new semester: it is intended for students in all schools, guests and senior students. The Centre for Continuing Education (ZWB), which opened on 6 October, offers programs in the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, technology, the social sciences and economics.

On 13 December, the Federal Ministry of Education announces that the BUW has won a national competition for funds as part of the “Quality Pact for Teaching”. Starting in the summer semester 2012, the university is awarded up to EUR 8 million for a period of five years in order to implement its concept for improved study conditions.

2012

On 1 February, the founding Chancellor of the BUW, Dr. Klaus Peters, is made an honorary freeman of his university.

On 21 March, after just one year under construction, the University Library opens an extension on the Grifflenberg campus providing 200 additional spaces for reading and work.

The three-day conference “Habermas and Historical Materialism”, held on the Freudenberg campus, ends on 24 March with a warm compliment from Jürgen Habermas to organiser Prof. Dr. Smail Rapic.

Submitted to and published in the journal “Physics Letters B” on 14 May: a group led by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wagner successfully established the presence of the heaviest of all known elementary particles (the “top quark”) in data from the ATLAS detector at CERN using a process of weak interaction. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, has made it possible for Europe to overtake the USA, the previous leaders in this field.

Professor Dr. Josef M. Häussling, Rector of the BUW from 1983 to 1987, dies on 3 June aged 88.

On 23 July, the second University Council is elected for a period of five years. The University Council’s new members are Prof. Anthony Cragg, Rector of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, and Prof. Dr. Ursula Kocher, literary scholar at the BUW.

Almost 4400 new students are admitted at the start of the winter semester 2012/13. The total number of students rises to over 17,600.

The new student residences “Im Ostersiepen” and “Max-Horkheimer-Str.”, both constructed as passive buildings, are officially inaugurated on 5 October.

“MetaLicht”, Mischa Kuball’s light art installation on the towers of the Grifflenberg campus, is officially launched on 22 October.

2013

The first Martin Heidegger Institute in a German-speaking country is opened by the Philosophy department on 17 January.

The foundation stone of a new building opposite building K is laid on 29 April; this will be housing the Schools of Engineering and Natural Sciences.

On 27 June, the capacity of the university’s interdisciplinary supercomputer is almost doubled to 1,700 terabytes with funding from the DFG and the state of NRW.

On 11 December, the Senate of the University of Wuppertal unanimously confirms Professor Dr. Lambert T. Koch in his office of Rector for another four years. The 48-year-old economist has been at the very top of the university since 2008; his new term of office will begin in summer 2014.

According to press releases published on 12 December, the British journal “Physics World” has acclaimed the discovery of cosmic neutrinos using the IceCube detector as the “Breakthrough of the Year 2013”. The international IceCube group, members of which include astroparticle physicists from the BUW led by Prof. Dr. Klaus Helbing, has therefore opened up a new branch of astronomy.

2014

In a joint statement published on 12 February, the Senate, University Council, Rectorate and Student Council of the BUW all reject the current draft version of a new NRW Higher Education Act (“Hochschulzukunftsgesetz”) by majority vote. However, like other universities in NRW, the BUW declares its willingness to enter into talks with the state government in order to find a compromise.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a new building (HC) on the Haspel campus (the old building dating from 1996 was demolished in 2011) takes place on 8 April.

On 1 September, the new Rectorate embarks on its second period in office with two new Vice-Rectors, Prof. Dr. Anke Kahl and Prof. Dr. Cornelia Gräsel.

According to the speech given by Rector Koch to the first-semester students on 6 October, the number of new enrolments has caused the student population to reach an all-time high of about 20,000. This winter semester also sees the start of a new course in Special Education (112 places offered).

The new Higher Education Act comes into force on 1 October; this extends the Senate’s rights of co-determination and authorises it to form an elective assembly with the University Council for the purpose of electing a Rector. The university management is now supervised by the Ministry.

In response, the university administration establishes division 6, dedicated to studies, teaching and quality management; this new division commences operations on 1 October. This is largely due to the quality management processes associated with the reformed study structures (European Higher Education Area / “Bologna”).