First round of calls for professorships and Mercator Fellows in Collaborative Research Centres and Clusters of Excellence under the BMFTR’s Global Minds Initiative Germany 

Through the initiative “Global Minds in DFG Consortia”, the DFG offers consortia funded under the programmes Collaborative Research Centres (CRC and CRC/Transregio) and Clusters of Excellence (EXC) the opportunity to recruit highly qualified, experienced researchers currently working abroad who are seeking to continue their careers within the German research system, in accordance with the Global Minds Initiative Germany initiated by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). 

Type and Scope of Funding 

Funding is intended for the recruitment of researchers who have been working abroad for at least three years at the time of proposal submission. The maximum funding period is five years.

Two funding modules are available: 

• “Professorships” module
  This module enables consortia to appoint an outstanding researcher from abroad to a long-term professorship at the applicant university, providing the individual meets all requirements for such an appointment. Funding of up to €3.5 million in total may be requested and awarded. Staff funding may be requested for the researcher up to the level of a professorship. It is also possible to apply for additional funding for staff, in particular for doctoral researchers, as well as for funding for direct project costs and instrumentation funding. The maximum funding duration is five years.
• “Mercator Fellows Global” module
  This module allows consortia to select an outstanding, experienced researcher who is currently working abroad and does not (yet) intend to make a permanent move to the German research system, and integrate this individual as a long-term, closely involved fellow. Integration of the funded person is also expected to give the consortium additional expertise and enhance its international visibility. A core component of this module consists of one or several extended periods of residence in Germany during which the fellow works actively within the consortium. These stays may be structured flexibly, potentially including several visits of varying duration. Over the total funding period of five years, the fellow must spend no less than fifteen months and no more than thirty-six months on site. Funding may only be requested for the periods in which the fellow is physically present and active within the consortium. Total funding of up to €650,000 may be requested and awarded for the total period of residence. Staff funding for the remuneration of fellows may be requested up to the level of a professorship. It is also possible to apply for additional funding for staff, in particular for doctoral researchers, as well as for funding for direct project costs and instrumentation funding, in order to provide on-site support for the fellow. 

In both modules, in addition to direct project funding, the applicant university will receive an allowance amounting to 22 percent of the approved project funds in the event of approval. This allowance is intended solely to cover indirect project-related costs. 

Proposal Submission

The following institutions are eligible to apply: universities in Germany that are currently the applicant universities of an active Cluster of Excellence or Collaborative Research Centre. They may request funding for the integration of a specifically identified researcher into the respective consortium. If a Cluster of Excellence or CRC is jointly hosted by several applicant universities, the proposal must likewise be submitted jointly. In addition to the applicant universities, non-university research institutions participating in the consortium may also serve as host institutions for the researcher for whom funding is requested. 

A maximum of one proposal per consortium may be submitted in each round of calls.

Proposals for funding under the “Global Minds in DFG Consortia” initiative must be submitted by the applicant university or universities of the respective consortium in agreement with the researcher for whom funding is requested.

Please submit your proposal to the DFG no later than 6 March 2026, 15:00 CET. Proposals are to be submitted solely via the elan portal(externer Link) in order to ensure proposal-related data is recorded and documents are securely transmitted.

When preparing your proposal, please refer to the guidelines “Global Minds in DFG Consortia” (DFG form 1.92(interner Link)). Proposals must be submitted in English using the template “Proposal Preparation Instructions and Proposal Template Funding Initiative ‘Global Minds in DFG Consortia’” (DFG form 1.921(interner Link)). The review criteria are set out in the “Guidelines for Reviewing Proposals in the Funding Initiative ‘Global Minds in DFG Consortia’” (DFG form 1.922(interner Link)).

Further Information

For further information in English about the Global Minds Initiative Germany, please see the joint DFG, AvH and DAAD website: www.global-minds-initiative.de(interner Link).

Privacy Policy

We, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), take the protection of your personal data and its confidential treatment extremely seriously. Therefore, please refer to the DFG’s Privacy Policy(interner Link). If you intend to transmit personal data of third parties, please make sure to do so only if the necessary legitimation under data protection law exist. Before transmitting data of third parties to the DFG, please forward the DFG’s Data Protection Notice to the individuals affected (data subjects). If there is a legitimate interest not to inform individuals beforehand (e.g. for reasons of secrecy or in case of a nomination or candidate proposal), these individuals should be informed no later than at the time of publication.