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Who we are

Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft is a private grant-making foun­da­ti­on based in Berlin. It aims to help streng­t­hen Germany as an ex­cel­lent, in­ter­na­tio­nal­ly visible, and com­pe­ti­ti­ve science and re­se­arch hub. Out­stan­ding in­ter­na­tio­nal aca­de­mics at various career stages are at the heart of its funding ac­tivi­ties.

Our phi­lo­so­phy

We see our­sel­ves as a stra­te­gic partner and service pro­vi­der for German uni­ver­si­ties and re­se­arch in­sti­tu­tes, helping them iden­ti­fy, attract, and in­te­gra­te in­ter­na­tio­nal aca­de­mics. We believe in the value of un­con­ven­tio­nal ideas, and en­cou­ra­ge stu­dents, re­se­ar­chers and uni­ver­si­ties to break new ground.

How we work

In all pro­grams and ac­tivi­ties, we follow the princip­le of en­ab­ling:

We want to enable

  • Germany to attract the best in­ter­na­tio­nal aca­de­mics,
  • uni­ver­si­ties to fill top pro­fes­sor­ships quickly and suc­cess­ful­ly,
  • pro­mi­sing stu­dents to com­ple­te their degrees suc­cess­ful­ly,
  • un­con­ven­tio­nal sci­en­ti­fic ideas, ap­proa­ches, and con­cepts to find a plat­form,
  • newly ap­poin­ted uni­ver­si­ty pre­si­dents to obtain va­lu­able ideas for their new role through peer-to-peer coa­ching.

Founder

The Foun­da­ti­on was es­tab­lished in 2023 by Dr. Walter Wübben, who also laun­ched Wübben Stif­tung Bildung in 2013. Both foun­da­ti­ons follow the aim of streng­t­he­ning Germany as an edu­ca­ti­on and re­se­arch hub. They are two se­pa­ra­te or­ga­ni­za­ti­ons and operate in­de­pendent­ly of each other.

Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft is about sup­por­ting science and re­se­arch that makes a dif­fe­rence: for the in­di­vi­du­al con­duc­ting the re­se­arch, for the uni­ver­si­ties, and for Germany as a re­se­arch hub.

Dr. Walter Wübben

Guiding princi­ples

The Foun­da­ti­on

  • pro­mo­tes world-class science and re­se­arch,
  • pro­vi­des stimuli to streng­t­hen the ef­fec­tiveness and in­ter­na­tio­nal profile of the German science system,
  • has a po­si­ti­ve at­ti­tu­de to risk, is in­no­va­ti­ve in its thin­king, fle­xi­ble in its working methods, and prac­ti­cal in its actions,
  • pro­vi­des funding both through its own pro­grams and by sup­por­ting and col­la­bo­ra­ting with part­ners,
  • iden­ti­fies the best in­itia­ti­ves/ap­p­li­ca­ti­ons through a com­pe­ti­ti­ve, science-led selec­tion process,
  • seeks dia­lo­gue with po­li­cy­ma­kers and society,
  • uses its funds re­spon­si­b­ly and ef­fi­ci­ent­ly, and expects the same of its part­ners,
  • de­ve­lops quality bench­marks against which it mea­su­res its funding ac­tivi­ties,
  • is po­li­ti­cal­ly and re­li­gious­ly in­de­pen­dent, and com­mit­ted to de­mo­cra­tic princi­ples and values,
  • re­co­gni­zes the Guiding Princi­ples of Good Prac­tice for Foun­da­ti­ons.

 

Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft is a member of the As­so­cia­ti­on of German Foun­da­ti­ons and Stif­ter­ver­band für die Deut­sche Wis­sen­schaft.

We are