The 2024 budget focuses on the following priorities in the areas of education, research and science:

• The BMBF’s Excellence Initiative for VET will secure the future viability of initial and continuing vocational training. Its core elements include improved vocational orientation and greater involvement of Gymnasium secondary schools. Financial assistance under the Upgrading Training Assistance Act (AFBG) will improve prospects for a professional career, and support for particularly gifted individuals in vocational training will be increased.
• By way of the 2024 budget, we will address the 29th Amendment of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG). This will focus in particular on modifying structures and reducing red tape.
• The field of artificial intelligence (AI) – one of the most important disruptive technologies – will receive almost €500 million under our AI Action Plan.
• We want to increase our efforts in the field of fusion research, with the aim of moving towards a zero-carbon and climate-neutral energy supply.
• A location has been chosen for the German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI), which is to begin its work in 2024. The aim now is to start with the establishment of innovation ecosystems in order to accelerate innovations and the transfer from basic research into application.
• Outside of the BMBF’s departmental budget (Einzelplan 30), an additional €500 million have been earmarked for the BMBF’s “Startchancen” programme, which will be launched on 1 August 2024. Of this amount, €200 million are being provided as part of the investment programme, while €300 million are being made available to the Länder in the form of VAT credits specifically for the purposes of the “Startchancen” programme. This programme will support approximately 4,000 schools that face challenging conditions, thus enabling around ten percent of school students in Germany to have a better educational start in life. These schools will benefit from investments to improve infrastructure and equipment, and from needs-based measures for school and teaching development as well as the provision of targeted support for multi-professional teams.

The BMBF will continue to be a reliable partner for research: Basic funding for science and research institutions will increase by three percent each year under the Pact for Research and Innovation. Institutional research funding will total more than €8.2 billion in 2024.

The BMBF is playing an active part in the implementation of the Federal Government’s Future Research and Innovation Strategy. We are thus helping to establish a mission-oriented approach in research and innovation. The Federal Government’s strategy will develop Germany’s research and innovation policy with the aim of protecting our natural resources, securing our international competitiveness, enhancing society’s resilience and safeguarding the country’s economic strength.