Funding opportunities

Several funding programmes are available for young academics at the Göttingen Campus:

If you are part of the University, check out the Research Department, here and (for EU projects) here and Göttingen International for Education and Mobility programmes. If you are part of the wider Göttingen Campus see the GAUSS page.
 

External Sources

  • A very useful external source of advice is the Federal Funding Advisory Service on Research and Innovation. They can help you identify a whole range of funding opportunities from various German government initiatives. They can also help you find local, national and EU research schemes, recommend partners, support international projects and much more.  You can contact them by phone or email.
  • You may like to sign up to FIT (Forschung Internationales Transfer) which provides current calls from a range of funders. You can subscribe to FIT and select the type of calls and how often you want to be informed.
  • Postdocs will also find this funding website useful - Research in Germany.

Upcoming Funding opportunities

Sorted by deadline

July

August and later

  • BMBF: Junior Research Groups Global Change: Climate, Environment and Healthwithin the framework of “Forschung für Nachhaltigkeit“ (FONA). The purpose of the funding is to establish junior interdisciplinary research groups on climate change, environment and health and link them to form a new, independent research area. See the website above or contact: Dr Birgit Kuna, German Aerospace Centre, email, tel: 0228 38211919.  Outline proposals: 2 August
     
  • Innovative Lehr- und Lernkonzepte: Innovation Plus – applications for innovative teaching ideas should be submitted via the relevant Dean of Studies to Dr Gudula Kreykenbohm (in German). Deadline: 6 August
     
  • Open Data Impact Award launched by Stifterverband as part of its innOsci -   Forum offene Innovationskultur (Forum for Open Innovation Culture): initiative to strengthen Open Data in science. The prize is €30,000 shared between three award-winners and open to scientists/research groups in all disciplines at university or non-university research institutions across Germany who have made their research data available and have enabled and developed innovative re-use outside the scientific community, or who demonstrate the potential for social impact in the re-use of their data. Support may be given locally by the Göttingen  eResearch Alliance via email. Contact Anna Held at the Stifterverband. Deadline: 15 August 2020.
     
  • Deutsche Krebshilfe Mildred-Scheel-Postdoc Program – for early career medical doctors and natural scientists (PhD within 10 years) with permanent residence in Germany to carry out projects in clinically oriented oncological basic research or clinical cancer research at renowned institutions abroad.  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: 24 August, 9 November 2021
     
  • Max-Eder Junior Research Group by the Deutsche Krebshilfe to support highly qualified early career researchers (under 35 years) specializing in oncology to establish an independent research group and further develop their scientific career by changing location. They last 4 years (+ 3 years extension) and cover salaries, consumables, facilities, travel. Four deadlines per year including: 24 August, 9 November 2021
     
  • Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme: a scheme to connect two post-doc researchers (PhD in the last 10 years) from any discipline to form a partnership working on a joint project. Researchers should be already involved or intend to be involved. Funding for short-term stays. Deadline: 31 August
     
  • Postdoc Researchers International Mobility Experience (DAAD PRIME)provides funding for postdocs in all disciplines for short-term positions (18 months) at German universities, including for those who are already based here. The fellowship includes a 12 month research stay abroad and a 6 months reintegration phase in Germany. Deadline: 31 August
     
  • Marie Skłodowska Curie (MSC) Postdoctoral Fellowships support excellence in early career researchers, fund mobility across Europe. Further information to be confirmed. Always contact your local research grants advisor in good time. Deadline for Postdoctoral Fellowships: likely mid-September/October
     
  • Daimler Benz Postdoc Scholarship: for early career researchers in any field; the Foundation is delighted to receive applications from hitherto underrepresented fields such as humanities, social sciences and cultural studies. It pays €40k per fellowship, granted for two years to finance academic assistance, technical equipment, research visits or participation in conferences as well as access to their network of scholars. Deadline: 1 October
     
  • Horizon Europe: European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST):a transnational initiative aimed at European networking and open to all scientific disciplines COST Actions provides funds to organise workshops, conferences, meetings, training schools and short scientific exchanges etc for up to 4 years (but not research activities). Advantages include: facilitate contacts with European partners that may result in joint initiatives in the area of research and innovation e.g. publications or project proposals; provide a variety of opportunities in terms of career development that can be especially useful for early career scientists. Deadline:29 October 2021.

On-going

  • International Scientific Collaborations – MWK
    Every year Göttingen International Department applies to the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony for funding to promote scientific cooperation with foreign countries. The aim is to promote grants in particular to initiate and implement sustainable collaborative projects in research and teaching as well as fostering partnerships at university or faculty/department level. Contact: Katharina Schüssler. Deadline: on-going
  • Leopoldina Postdoc Scholarship
    Postdoctoral scientists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland who already show independence in natural science or medicine to conduct research abroad. Contact: PD Dr Andreas Clausing, Deadline: 4 times a year and applications can be submitted at any time.
  • Fritz Thyssen Foundation Research Stipends
    to support highly qualified individual junior scholars who received their doctoral degree one or two years ago. Funding in the following areas: history, language and culture; interdisciplinary field “image-sound-language”; state, economy and society; medicine and the natural sciences. Contact, applications can be submitted at any time and an answer is generally provided within 8 weeks.
  • TWAS – The World Academy of Sciences offers postdoctoral fellowships lasting from 6 months to 3 years, for scientists from developing countries who have recently earned their PhD. Several programmes and deadlines, check the link above for more details.
  • Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship– The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation provides sponsorship for research stays worldwide (length of 6 to 24 months for postdocs), for researchers from Germany in all disciplines and all career stages. Applicants choose an academic host from some 15,000 academics in the Humboldt Network abroad. Apply at any time, selection committee meetings in February, June and October
  • The Göttingen International Monthly Alert provides information about international and national calls for funding, for researchers and students. If you have any questions regarding a call, please get in touch directly with the organisers or respective institution. Read the Monthly Alert for July 2019 here and subscribe here.

  • Walter Benjamin Programme. This programme enables researchers in the postdoctoral training phase to independently conduct their own research project at a location of their choice for 2 years. The project can be carried out at a research institution in Germany or abroad, with the host institution providing support for the project. Applications can be submitted at any time. Frequently asked questions are here.  Contacts are subject-specific and can be found here.

  • Humboldt Research Fellowships– for your postdoc research colleagues outside Germany of all nationalities and disciplines to enable them to travel here to conduct their research. Note that there is quite a long wait before the funds are granted: the selection committee meets March, July and November. Applications are usually processed within four to eight months and successful applicants may start 2 to 12 months later. Deadline: throughout the year

  • DFG Emmy Noether Programmefor highly qualified early career researchers and junior professors (normally up to 4 years after PhD completion and at least 2 years of postdoc experience) on temporary contracts who want the chance to qualify for the post of professor at a university by leading an independent junior research group for six years.  Deadline: proposals can be submitted at any time.

  • Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, runs until 2027. Your local EU Office will be able to guide you through the process – be sure to contact them right from the start.  In the "Excellent Science" part of the programme, the European Research Council (ERC), among others, funds outstanding researchers with innovative project ideas from all disciplines without specific themes. Funding in the area of basic research can be awarded to individual researchers at different career stages. In the programme "Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness", funding is provided for basic and applied research on set themes such as health, culture, society, digitalisation, climate, energy, mobility and the environment, in networks. Various events are planned together with the partners of the Göttingen Campus. Further information here.

  • Fulbright Germany: Reisestipendien für deutsche Wissenschaftler*innen– for scientists with German citizenship for teaching or research stays in the US for 3 to 12 months. Fulbright Germany encourages applications from diverse groups who are traditionally underrepresented in academia. No deadline but apply at least six months before you intend to travel

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