DFGTrilateral Research Conferences at Villa Vigoni - funding for exchange and networking for humanities and social scientists active in Germany, France and Italy to explicitly support the use of German, French and Italian as languages of science. Although multilingualism is a fundamental principle of this funding, applications are welcome from a range of subjects. The meetings must take place at Villa Vigoni. Early career researchers are expressly encouraged to apply. Deadline: 14 April

Volkswagen Foundation: Pioneer Projects to develop fundamental improvements and innovation in any area of the German research system. This funding provides 500,000€ for 3 years per project. Applicants can be PhDs, professors or academic administrators at any German university or research centre in any discipline who, in addition to their research, would like to explore a project idea to develop a specific area about the research system. The project should change and shape existing structures and could work across borders, be scalable and able to continue without long-term Volkswagen support. Projects can relate to any aspect of the research system, such as the organisation of research, teaching, transfer, governance and administration. The envisaged project should pursue practical improvements. Deadline: 15 April

(In German) BMBF: Biokreativ: creative early career researchers for the bioeconomy – will support groups of early career researchers from the natural sciences, engineering and information technology. The aim is to prepare ECRs for this transformation and to get them qualified for careers in science and industry. The funding will provide a reliable and attractive environment to study bioeconomy issues, gain further experience. Funding is for research, development and innovation projects by groups intending to catalyse the transition to a bioeconomy. It is open to all topics and technologies. The research should be oriented towards applications in industry and society and oriented towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Deadline: 15 April

ZIF (Center for Interdisciplinary Research) funding for research in groups – open to PhD holders from all disciplines to fund a research project with a group of colleagues (preferably international). The group will be hosted on campus at Bielefeld University. The project must meet three criteria: interdisciplinarity, academic quality, originality on an international level and interdisciplinary collaboration must be necessary for the project. Costs for travel, accommodation, workshops and conferences could be requested. It could be one stay of 1-3 months, one stay 4-6 months, one stay of ten months over the course of three years. Personnel time (in the form of buy-outs) can be included for the 4-6 month stay. Deadlines:  23 April and 28 November.

(In German) BMBF funding for „Forschung für Nachhaltigkeit“ (FONA) for early career researchers (up to five years). To solve complex societal challenges, the BMBF would like to familiarise researchers with the transdisciplinary research approach and learning the methods and instruments required for this. Through excellent training and preparation for taking up key management and related roles, inter- and transdisciplinary work will need to be established structurally in the science system. The research concept for applications must be prepared by the potential head of a junior research group. This can be shared between two postdocs and the date of the PhD exam should not be more than four years ago at the time of submission. Deadline (for the first stage): 29 April

German Association for Pattern Recognition (DAGM)’s annual dissertation award for work completed in the previous calendar year (the relevant date is the PhD defence) in the fields of pattern recognition, image processing, machine vision, and machine learning. The prize is €2,500 plus free registration for the DAGM annual conference. Deadline: 30 April

(In German) Daimler-Benz Stiftung: Innovative Wissenschaftsvermittlung - funding for the conception and implementation of an event on the topic of innovative science communication with up to €30,000. Non-profit institutions, companies or organisations from the fields of culture, education, science and business that would like to organise and host an event are eligible to apply. Deadline: 30 April

(In German) Hermann Eiselen-Wissenschaftspreis for early career researchers who work to improve the food and nutrition situation in developing countries – in particular, fighting against hunger in countries with food shortages. The maximum award is €30,000 and this can be shared with up to three winners (€10,000 each). The research can come from any of the following: agricultural sciences (plant production, plant protection, plant breeding), soil science, animal production (including animal hygiene, fisheries and aquaculture),  Agricultural engineering, Agricultural and social economics of developing countries, Ecology and Biology, Resource management and protection, especially with regard to water, Nutritional Science and Ecotrophology, Geosciences, Food technology including stock protection or Forest Science. Deadline: 30 April

(In German) Preis für Patientensicherheit in der Medizintechnik by the German Society for Biomedical Engineering in the VDE (DGBMT) and Action Alliance for Patient Safety (APS) award prizes of €5,000,  €1,000 and €500 to encourage the next generations of scientists and technology in institutions, clinics and industry in Germany. Papers, publications and theses need to be submitted that significantly improve patient safety in a manageable period of time. Applicants should be under 35 years of age and can submit in German or English. Deadline: 30 April

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Fellowships in the UK: funding for postdoc-level researchers to carry out independent research plus get leadership skills at a host lab for three years to start 1 July 2025. All nationalities are welcome subject to being hosted in the UK. You will need to work with your host lab/institution as soon as possible to develop an application. Deadline: 2 May

Azrieli International two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship for research at Israeli universities – for researchers in STEM, Humanities and social sciences who have an academic sponsor who is a faculty member at an eligible Israeli academic institution. It is open to those who received their PhD no earlier than 1 Nov 2020 in all countries except Israel. The fellowship consists of IL 168,000 per year, with 20,000 for research and travel expenses. Open to everyone except Israeli citizens/residents. Deadline: 9 May

(In German) BMBF Funding in Fusion Research to support excellent early career researchers to establish their own research groups in Germany in the field of fusion research and, at the same time, to promote an entry into research projects that deliver an application – moving from bench to commercial exploitation. Deadline: 15 May (first stage of application process), followed by 30 April 2025 for the final round.

DAAD Fundamental Academic Values Award is for early career researchers and is awarded for a research publication which show the researcher has made a significant scientific contribution towards the preservation and advocacy of fundamental academic values in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in the field of fundamental values in science and academia. Applicants can be in any field or hold any nationality and should hold an MSc/PhD where the completion date was within a maximum of five years. Deadline: 20 May

Gerda Henkel Stiftung: Funding Programme Lost Cities - perception of and living with abandoned cities in the cultures of the world – for postdocs working in humanities and the social sciences to carry out interdisciplinary research in projects in the varied dimensions to examine abandoned cities. Thirty-six months’ funding for personnel, travel, materials and/or other costs, including costs for visiting international scholars. Deadline: 29 May

Heinrich Stockmeyer Stiftung prizeto honour solutions and applications from research that contribute to improving food safety and strengthening consumer consumer confidence in the quality of food. The prize is worth €10,000 and is awarded for theses and publications. Deadline: 31 May

Einstein Fellowshipfor outstanding young thinkers in any field who want to pursue a project in a different field from that of their previous research. This fellowship includes living expenses for five/six months in the garden cottage of Einstein’s summerhouse in Brandenburg where you must stay, and a stipend of €10,000 plus travel expenses. Deadline: 1 June

Maria Leptin / EMBO Science Journalism Fellowships aimed at bioscientists who wish to pursue a career in science journalism and journalists who wish to deepen and broaden their knowledge of the latest research areas and technologies. Fellows receive grants for a period of three to twelve months to fund placements in any type of media, newsroom or research institution of their choice to further their careers. Applications can be submitted throughout the year, with three selection rounds per year. Deadlines: 1 June, 1 October, 1 February 2025

DFG Machine Learning in Chemical Engineering: Knowledge Meets Data: Interpretability, Extrapolation, Reliability, Trust – research projects to last 3 years are invited which are relevant to the interface between chemical engineering and machine learning. Deadline: 4 June. 

Joachim Herz Stiftung Add-on Fellowships for interdisciplinary economics and interdisciplinary business administration for young scientists employed at an academic institution in Germany whose research questions are interdisciplinary and highly relevant to society and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The fellowships include networking meetings (on career development, science communication and transfer activities) plus financial support of up to 12,500 euros to support travel, participation fees, conferences, research visits, hardware/software, data, publication costs, activities, childcare etc. There is extra funding for fellows with kids to support balancing a family and career. Deadline: 4 June

Volkswagen Foundation - Researching Research: summer schools and workshops to reflect, combine, and experiment with the various methodological approaches or theoretical challenges in the area of research on research. Events are meant to introduce early career researchers from various disciplines to research on research and to enhance the participants’ skills and knowledge in this area. Deadline: 11 June

(In German) Deutsche Krebshilfe Mildred-Scheel-Postdoc Program – for early career medical doctors and natural scientists (PhD within 10 years and applicants normally under 35 years) to carry out projects in clinically oriented oncological basic research or clinical cancer research scholarships abroad and research projects in Germany for the February deadline (and at renowned institutions abroad for the deadline in November).  Funding is a stipend, monthly allowance for conferences and consumables plus one-off start-up fund, family travel allowance. Funding lasts 3 months to 2 years. Deadlines: 19 June, 22 October, (Feb 2025 TBC)

Frauenhofer Applied Photonics Award 2024: for theses in applied phototonics which were submitted to a German university in 2023 or 2024. It can be any field of study as long as the work deals with innovative and commercially viable technologies for sustainable living and economic activity. Deadline: 30 June

**staff and students associated with the University** ENLIGHT funding call: funding calls for joint initiatives targeting teaching staff, researchers and students, aiming for educational outputs, research networks and other small-scale cooperative actions between peers of three different institutions within the ENLIGHT University Network and alignment with ENLIGHT’s focus areas. Deadline: 30 June

Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg’s (HWK) fellowships in Germany – for 3 to 10 months in all disciplines (as long as the research fits their remit) to reside at the HWK in Delmenhorst. Awards are given based on academic merit, quality of research project, willingness to benefit from interdisciplinary community, academic fit with HWK. Deadline: 15 July

Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Foundation for the Promotion of Life Sciences’ Postdoc grants/stipends for 2 years for Postdocs (age limit 34) to support research in Life Sciences (biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology, genetics, proteomics, molecular biology, cell biology, systems biology, microbiology, biomedical engineering, biophysics, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, etc). Deadline: 15 July

INSTAND Dissertation Research Award is for scientists under the age of 35 for innovative research work and outstanding scientific results in the field of quality assurance in laboratory medicine. The research prize is awarded every two years to physicians or scientists. The award ceremony takes place in December during the INSTAND general meeting. Deadline: July 31

Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung: Adolf Martens Fellowship Programme funds postdoc junior scientists who obtained their PhD (in an area of expertise matching BAM’s scientific direction) outside Germany within the last 3 years. BAM tests, researches and advises on protection for people, the environment and materials, and sets safety standards in technology and chemistry for Germany and its global markets. Please email for more informationbefore submitting any documents. Funding is for one year: Deadlines: 31 July, 30 November, (March 2025)

(Website in German, applications in English or German) Deutsches Wissenschaftliches Institut der Steuerberater (DWS) prize: for graduates in economics or law, this science award is for outstanding theses, dissertations in tax law, business tax or finance. The prize is 3,000 euros and the publication must meet scientific criteria. The winner must present their work at the DWS Symposium. Deadline: 31 July

ERC Starter grants:for talented early career researchers who have already produced excellent work with a supervisor and are now ready to work independently with the potential to be a research leader. Note online information event organized by the University EU Office:  ERC Starting Grant Call 2025: at 10:00-12:30 on Thursday 25 April, register by 23 April.At this event, you will find out all you need to know about ERC Starting Grants from the EU Office of the University, as well as experiences and tips from an ERC award-holder. Then the University Transfer & Startup Hub will present their services and show how transfer can contribute, in particular in basic research project proposals. Followed by Q&A session. Always talk to your local funding office first (see contacts below). Deadline: October TBC