Some have been running their cluster for years. Others only since January. That mix was the point: sharing what works, what doesn't, and who to call next time.

And it worked – since over ten years! A joint initiative of all Clusters with yearly meetings. Familiar faces were happy to see each other again, new colleagues were welcomed right away, and the conversations were open, generous and full of energy.

Some questions on the table:

– How to plan with annual budgets?

– How to support early career researchers?

– How to turn a cluster into a community?

– How to build structures that last?

– How to make equal opportunity everyday practice?

– How to keep track of data and publications?

Two keynotes broadened the view:

– Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele (Executive Director CHE Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung) on science management as a profession in its own right, no longer a fallback option. He sees the clusters leading the way in managing research across disciplines and setting an example for how universities as a whole could be governed.

– Dr. Henrike Hartmann (Head of Business Unit Funding VolkswagenStiftung) on "Science at Risk": why foundations matter as funding tightens and political pressure grows. She spoke about authoritarian threats to academic freedom and showed how the Volkswagen Foundation helps make science more resilient: as a voice for free research, a bridge to society, and a funder of bold and creative ideas through a wide range of funding opportunities.