Cultivating young academies

This October, Germany celebrated the 20th anniversary of its reunification. Over the past two decades, the country has worked hard to reestablish its leadership in the sciences, investing heavily in R&D. Today, it allocates 2.7% of its gross domestic product toward this end. This commitment has led to the growth of Germany's research institutions, graduate programs, and international collaborations. The government's Exzellenzinitiative, which commits 2.7 billion Euros over 5 years for German universities that are the most active in research, is just one example. Nevertheless, the nation's growing need for well-trained and highly educated people raises the question of whether Germany is doing enough to support its future scientific leaders. The economic downturn threatens to decrease research career opportunities at a time when building scientific capacity to tackle global challenges has become a high priority.