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.
