Jacobs University Bremen (previously International University Bremen, IUB) is a highly selective, top ranked, private, independent research university in Bremen, Germany. Jacobs University is an English-speaking higher education institution. Jacobs University combines aspects from the American, British and German academic systems to form an environment with a "transdisciplinary" approach between diverse disciplines and subject areas. Jacobs University was founded in 1999 as the 'International University Bremen (IUB)' but changed its name early in 2007 in recognition of the philanthropist Klaus Johann Jacobs, whose donation allowed IUB to avoid bankruptcy. The university developed from an initial collaboration between the local government of the city-state of Bremen, the University of Bremen and Rice University, USA. On November 1, 2006 the current President, Joachim Treusch, announced a donation to university by the Jacobs Foundation of 15 million € per year during the following 5 years. It is the biggest private donation ever made to a German university. The Jacobs Foundation plans to make another donation of 125 million € in 2011.