Bielefeld University was founded in 1969 with an explicit research assignment and a mission to provide high-quality research-oriented teaching. With far-reaching aims to reform nearly every area of higher education, the University has made valuable contributions to educational reform in Germany and upholds its interdisciplinary, innovative and reform-oriented character to this day. The University encompasses 13 faculties covering a broad spectrum of disciplines in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and technology. In addition, a medical faculty is currently being founded. With 25,000 students in 117 degree courses and around 3.000 staff members (including 311 professors and lecturers as well as 1,570 academic staff) it is one of Germany's medium-sized universities.