The Academic Advisory Council supports the work of the GRC and advises the Executive Committee. Currently, the following top-level researchers from other universities or research institutes are members of the Council:
- Prof. Bernd Bukau, Professor at the Center for Molecular Biology at Heidelberg University (ZMBH)
- Prof. Claudia Felser, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden
- Prof. Katharina Holzinger, Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Konstanz University
- Dr. Wilhelm Krull, Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation