Ankunft / Arrivals Sign
©Tobias Ar­hel­ger / Adobe Stock
Press release

New funding program for top in­ter­na­tio­nal ap­point­ments

Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft has laun­ched its Ad­van­ced Pro­fes­sor­ship funding program to secure top in­ter­na­tio­nal re­se­ar­chers for German uni­ver­si­ties. The program sup­ports uni­ver­si­ties in their efforts to appoint and in­te­gra­te leading re­se­ar­chers from abroad. Uni­ver­si­ties can apply for up to €1.6 million for a maximum of four years.

As well as co­vering staff and ma­te­ri­al costs and in­vest­ments, the Foun­da­ti­on makes funds avail­ab­le for on­boar­ding and dual career mea­su­res. These could include mea­su­res to in­te­gra­te the re­se­ar­cher into the local re­se­arch com­mu­ni­ty, help with of­fi­ci­al pro­ces­ses, or a post for the re­se­ar­cher’s partner. In ad­di­ti­on, the pro­fes­sor re­cei­ves ten percent of the funding amount as dis­cre­tio­na­ry re­se­arch funds. To be eli­gi­ble, uni­ver­si­ties must commit to fi­nan­cing the pro­fes­sor­ship after the end of the funding period. The program aims to create at­trac­tive con­di­ti­ons for in­ter­na­tio­nal re­se­ar­chers and ensure they can get off to a good start in Germany. In the Ap­point­ment Ac­ce­le­ra­tor program, uni­ver­si­ties can apply for up to €800,000 for the suc­cess­ful con­clu­si­on of ap­point­ment nego­tia­ti­ons with ex­cel­lent re­se­ar­chers.

“In ex­ten­ding our funding ac­tivi­ties to in­ter­na­tio­nal re­se­ar­chers in the R4 career stage, we are meeting a need ex­pres­sed by the uni­ver­si­ties,” ex­p­lains Marion Müller, a member of Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft’s Ma­nage­ment Board. At this stage, aca­de­mics are so ad­van­ced in their careers that they enjoy world­wi­de re­co­gni­ti­on in their field. “In view of po­li­ti­cal de­ve­lop­ments, par­ti­cu­lar­ly in the United States, where budget cuts and po­li­ti­cal in­ter­ven­ti­ons are threa­ten­ing aca­de­mic freedom, the Foun­da­ti­on is sending a power­ful signal that Germany is a de­pen­da­ble, open, and ex­cel­lence-driven science and re­se­arch lo­ca­ti­on. Our Ad­van­ced Pro­fes­sor­ship program sup­ports German uni­ver­si­ties in their efforts to compete for the best talent world­wi­de, of­fe­ring them real pro­s­pec­ts in an en­vi­ron­ment that gua­ran­tees aca­de­mic freedom and out­stan­ding re­se­arch con­di­ti­ons.”

All German uni­ver­si­ties are eli­gi­ble to apply. The program funds exis­ting pro­fes­sor­ships (to fill a vacancy or in an­ti­ci­pa­ti­on of an up­co­m­ing vacancy) and new pro­fes­sor­ships. Vi­si­t­ing pro­fes­sor­ships can also be funded, for in­stan­ce to bridge a gap until a per­ma­nent pro­fes­sor is ap­poin­ted, or for a re­se­ar­cher at the end of their aca­de­mic career. A total of around €10 million is avail­ab­le each year for all the Foun­da­ti­on’s pro­grams.

For further in­for­ma­ti­on about the program and the current ap­p­li­ca­ti­on dead­lines, please click here.

 

The Foun­da­ti­on 
Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft is a private grant-making foun­da­ti­on based in Berlin. It aims to streng­t­hen Germany’s po­si­ti­on as a science and re­se­arch lo­ca­ti­on by sup­por­ting out­stan­ding aca­de­mics at various career stages. Besides the Ad­van­ced Pro­fes­sor­ship program, the Foun­da­ti­on’s ac­tivi­ties include funding tenure track ap­point­ments for in­ter­na­tio­nal re­se­ar­chers at German uni­ver­si­ties. For both target groups, the Ap­point­ment Ac­ce­le­ra­tor program also pro­vi­des funding to ac­ce­le­ra­te ap­point­ment nego­tia­ti­ons. 

Contact