Tübingen's self-conception has sometimes been controversially discussed as being elitist. Since almost all German universities are public (most private universities do not have the official German "Universitätsstatus"), and therefore mainly paid by taxes and generally egalitarian, there is no German Ivy League of institutions of higher education. Moreover, the German Universities Excellence Initiative aims to promote cutting-edge research, to create outstanding conditions for young scientists at universities, and to strengthen some selected universities more than others in order to raise their international visibility.