Some of the paths that were taken in the early days of the university, also referred to as the "Bremen model",[5] have since become characteristics of modern universities, such as interdisciplinary, explorative learning, social relevance to practice-oriented project studies which enjoy a high reputation in the academic world as well as in business and industry.

The development of the University of Bremen can be divided up into steps of 10 to 12 years – first foundation, then restructuring, consolidation and profile building.

At the beginning of the 1970s, the university was set up as a "science complex" in a city oriented towards trade and seafaring that had no experience with academia, particularly not with leftist professors.

University, business and the public in the region did not move closer together until the 1980s, through the foundation of the natural science and engineering departments, co-operation with the newly founded Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (1980), as well as the development of the co-located technology park (from 1988).

Other important factors were the initial success in setting up collaborative research centres and in the acquisition of considerable of external funds.

As a consequence, the University of Bremen improved in research rankings, gained national recognition, and established a number of endowment professorships.

In teaching, there are comprehensive evaluations, more specific admission requirements, and improved completion rates for Bachelors and master's degrees.

These include the Bremen Innovation and Technology Centre (BITZ), the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), the Bremen Institute for Production and Logistics GmbH (BIBA), the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS GmbH (BIPS), Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering (IWT), the German Aerospace Center Bremen (DLR), the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), MAPEX Center for Materials and Processes, the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI), the Data Science Center, Digital Hub Industry (DHI), and the “MaTeNa innovate!

[15] With interdisciplinary scientific focal points, the University of Bremen has two ongoing DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centers ("Sonderforschungsbereiche" (SFB)) and is involved in three other SFBs.