2019

DFG Mourns the Loss of Wolfgang Frühwald

(25.01.19) The DFG mourns the death of its former president Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Frühwald. The literary scholar, who presided over the DFG from 1992 until 1997, died on 18 January 2019 at the age of 83. more

DFG and BMBF to Award 2019 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes

(27.02.19) This year, ten researchers – three women and seven men – will receive the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, the most important award for early career researchers in Germany. The €20,000 prize will be presented on 28 May in Berlin. more

Katharina Anna Zweig – 2019 Communicator Award Recipient

(29.03.19) Computer scientist Prof. Dr. Katharina Anna Zweig is the winner of this year’s Communicator Award, conferred by the DFG and the Stifterverband. The researcher from the University of Kaiserslautern will be presented with the €50,000 prize for her dedicated and wide-ranging communication on the ethical, political and social implications of algorithms and their application. more

Six New Research Units

(01.04.19) The DFG has approved the establishment of six new Research Units. This decision was made in Bonn by the Joint Committee upon recommendation by the Senate. The new units will receive a total of approximately €18 million, including a 22% programme allowance for indirect project costs, for an initial three-year period. The Committee also approved the extension of eight Research Units and one Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences for a second funding period. more

14 New Priority Programmes

(01.04.19) The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is establishing 14 new Priority Programmes for 2020. This was decided by the DFG Senate in Bonn. The 14 new groups, which were selected from 50 submissions, will receive a total of approximately €85 million – including a 22% programme allowance for indirect project costs – for an initial three-year period. more

Three Candidates for DFG Presidential Election

(11.04.19) At the DFG presidential election in early July, three candidates will run as successors to the current President, Prof. Dr. Peter Strohschneider, who is due to step down in accordance with the normal system of rotation. The candidates are (in alphabetical order): Prof. Dr. Katja Becker, University of Giessen; Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt, Forschungszentrum Jülich; Prof. Dr. Dorothea Wagner, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). more

DFG Welcomes Decisions by the GWK

(03.05.19) The DFG expressly welcomes the decisions made by the Joint Science Conference on the future funding of the German academic research system. The continuation of the Pact for Research and Innovation is particularly important to the DFG and for university research. more

DFG to Fund 13 New Research Training Groups

(13.05.19) The DFG is establishing 13 new Research Training Groups. This was decided by the responsible Grants Committee in Bonn. In the initial funding period, the new RTGs will receive a total of approximately €65 million, including a 22% programme allowance for indirect project costs. One of the new collaborations is an International Research Training Group with partners in Japan. more

DFG Recognises Selected ’Jugend forscht‘ Competition Winners

(22.05.19) The DFG has presented its Europa-Preis to selected winners of the national “Jugend forscht” competition. Five young researchers received the award at the Jugend forscht finals in Chemnitz, in addition to their national wins in various categories of the competition. The mentoring prize prepares young researchers for the European contest in September in Bulgaria. more

14 New Collaborative Research Centres

(23.05.19) The DFG is establishing 14 new Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs). This was decided by the responsible Grants Committee in Bonn. In the initial funding period, the new groups will receive a total of approximately €164 million, including a 22% programme allowance for indirect project costs. In addition, 27 CRCs were extended for an additional funding period. more

Successful Kick-off for Germany’s National Research Data Infrastructure

(16.05.19) On 13 and 14 May 2019, the DFG hosted the first conference on the national research data infrastructure (NFDI). At the end of the two-day event in Bonn, all attendees described it as extremely positive. more

Promoting Academic and Cultural Exchange Between Japan and Germany

(28.05.19) Political and administrative scientist Prof. Dr. Kōichirō Agata and legal scholar Prof. Dr. Harald Baum have been selected to receive the Eugen and Ilse Seibold Prize by the DFG. They are being recognised for their many years of successful dedication to academic and cultural exchange between Germany and Japan. more

DFG Recognises Early Career Achievements in Geoscience

(06.06.19) This year Dini Adyasari, a doctoral researcher at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen, and Michael Grund, a doctoral researcher in geophysics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), have been selected to receive the Bernd Rendel Prize for promising early career research in geoscience. more

Katja Becker Elected President of the DFG

(03.07.19) The DFG’s General Assembly in Rostock has elected Prof. Dr. Katja Becker as President of the DFG. The biochemist and medical scientist from the University of Giessen will take office on 1 January 2020 for an initial term of four years, succeeding Peter Strohschneider. more

DFG to Fund Ten Research Units, Two Clinical Research Units and One Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences

(04.07.19) The DFG is establishing ten new Research Units, two new Clinical Research Units and one new Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences. This decision was made by the DFG Joint Committee at the recommendation of the Senate during the DFG’s annual meeting in Rostock. The new collaborations will receive a total of approximately €47 million, including a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs. The Committee also extended six Research Units and one Clinical Research Unit for a second funding period. more

Two New Vice Presidents for the DFG

(04.07.19) The DFG has two new vice presidents. On 3 July 2019, the DFG’s General Assembly elected Bremen-based computer scientist Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schill and Berlin-based medical scientist Prof. Dr. Britta Siegmund to the Executive Committee. Engineer Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Allgöwer was elected for a further term as vice president. more

Guidelines: Between Animal Welfare and Scientific Quality

(17.07.19) The DFG’s Senate Commission on Animal Protection and Experimentation calls on researchers to commit to animal welfare policies as an integral part of scientifically valid project design. To support this goal, the Commission has published guidelines on the design, planning and implementation of research projects involving animal experimentation. more

Ten Universities and One University Consortium of Excellence

(19.07.19) Out of 19 applications, ten universities and one university consortium were selected to receive permanent institutional funding as well as the sought-after title as Universities of Excellence. more

Shifting political culture threatens academic freedom

(09.09.19) At a two-day event at Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles, scientists, including DFG Vice President Prof Dr Julika Griem and HRK President Prof Dr Peter-André Alt, discussed the political cultural shift towards populism and nationalism and the consequences it has for science. more

DFG Imposes Sanctions Against Brain Researcher Niels Birbaumer and Research Associate

(19.09.19) The DFG has completed its investigation of research misconduct allegations against brain researcher Niels Birbaumer. At its meeting in Bonn, the Joint Committee found several instances of scientific misconduct by Birbaumer and his research associate, Ujwal Chaudhary, and imposed sanctions against both researchers in line with the DFG’s Rules of Procedure. more

DFG to Fund Eight New Research Units, One Clinical Research Unit and One Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences

(20.09.19) The DFG is establishing eight Research Units, one Clinical Research Unit and one Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences. This decision was made by the DFG’s Joint Committee at the recommendation of the Senate in Bonn. The new collaborations will receive a total of approximately €32 million including a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs. more

Artificial Intelligence: DFG Announces Strategic Funding Initiative

(07.10.19) The DFG has launched a strategic initiative in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Projects from all areas of AI research will be funded in various programmes throughout the coming years. Up to eight Research Units and 30 independent junior research groups will be funded as part of the initiative. more

Recommendations of the Senate Commission: Strengthening Translational Research in Germany

(08.10.19) The DFG Senate Commission on Key Questions in Clinical Research has compiled a set of recommendations designed to help strengthen translational research at university medical centres. The recommendations will be presented to the public on 8 October 2019 at a symposium co-hosted with the BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT). more

The DFG to Fund 16 New Research Training Groups

(11.11.2019) The DFG is establishing 16 new Research Training Groups (RTGs). This was decided by the responsible Grants Committee in Bonn. In the initial funding period, the new RTGs will receive a total of around €72 million, including a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs. One of the new groups is an International Research Training Group (IRTG) with partners in the UK. more

DFG Review Board Election 2019: Preliminary Results Announced

(22.11.19) The DFG review board election has been successfully concluded. Between 21 October and 18 November, approximately 150,000 eligible researchers had the opportunity to vote online for their preferred candidates for 632 positions on a total of 49 review boards. Overall, approximately 53,300 people participated in the electronic voting process, each casting up to six votes to choose among the 1,659 candidates.
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DFG to Fund Ten New Collaborative Research Centres

(25.11.19) The DFG is establishing ten new Collaborative Research Centres to further support top-level research in German universities. The new CRCs will receive a total of approximately €101 million in funding for an initial four-year period starting on 1 January 2020. 15 CRCs will be extended by an additional funding period. From January 2020, the DFG will be funding a total of 275 CRCs. more

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prizes 2020

(05.12.19) The latest recipients of Germany's most prestigious research funding prize have been announced. In Bonn today, the Joint Committee of the DFG decided to award the 2020 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize to ten researchers. Each will receive prize money of €2.5 million. The awards ceremony will be held on 16 March 2020 in Berlin. more

DFG to Fund Seven New Research Units and One New Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences

(06.12.19) The DFG is establishing seven Research Units and one Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences. This decision was made by the DFG’s Joint Committee at the recommendation of the Senate in Bonn. The new research collaborations will receive a total of approximately €27 million including a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs. In addition to the eight new collaborations, the Committee also approved extending eleven units for a second funding period. more

DFG Offices in Germany to Close from 23 December to 3 January

(16.12.19) The DFG offices in Bonn and Berlin will be closed for the holidays from Monday, 23 December to Friday, 3 January. We will reopen on Monday, 6 January. Thank you for your continued interest in our work.

We wish you season’s greetings and a happy New Year!