First funding awards under the Clusters of Excellence and Collaborative Research Centres programme lines / Second call extends funding initiative to Research Impulses and Research Training Groups

Under the Global Minds Initiative Germany funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is funding 15 professorships and 12 Mercator Fellows at Clusters of Excellence and Collaborative Research Centres. This was decided by the DFG Joint Committee in Bonn. This initiative enables large-scale research consortia to recruit highly qualified, experienced researchers who are currently working abroad and looking for a new academic opportunity in Germany. The consortia will receive a total of around €69 million for the new professorships and Mercator Fellows.

“The call for research consortia under the Global Minds Initiative Germany has attracted just as much interest as the additional funding opportunities previously offered under the DFG’s individual grants programmes,” said DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker. “This demonstrates the importance of the initiative as a signal against the growing threats to academic freedom worldwide. It also strengthens our internationally renowned coordinated programmes. A comparison of the proposals shows just how competitive the field was. The fact that the funding recipients come from 12 different countries across four continents also underscores the initiative’s global reach.”

The 27 professors and Mercator Fellows newly selected for funding will work at 18 different locations and across all four scientific disciplines: eight in the natural sciences, seven each in the humanities and social sciences and the life sciences, and five in the engineering sciences. Of those newly selected for funding, 16 will carry out research in Clusters of Excellence and eleven in Collaborative Research Centres. One third of those funded are women. 13 of the researchers concerned are currently working in the United States, 12 elsewhere in Europe and one each in Africa and Asia.

The “Global Minds in DFG Consortia” initiative enables Clusters of Excellence funded under the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments and DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centres to attract outstanding researchers who have been working abroad for at least three years at the time the proposal is submitted. Two funding modules are available: The “Professorship” module enables consortia to appoint researchers from abroad to positions in Germany providing they meet all the requirements for appointment to a permanent professorship. Funding of up to €3.5 million may be awarded for each professorship.

Meanwhile, the “Mercator Fellow Global” module focuses on researchers working abroad who are not yet seeking a permanent move to the German research system: it enables research consortia to integrate such individuals over an extended period, primarily through extended research stays in Germany. Funding of up to €650,000 may be requested for this purpose.

The maximum funding duration for both modules is five years. Alongside staff funding for the researchers to be recruited, it is also possible to request additional funding for staff, particularly for doctoral researchers, as well as funding for direct project costs and instrumentation.

Second Call Launched

The DFG has now launched a second call under the “Global Minds in DFG Consortia” initiative, extending eligibility to include Research Impulses and Research Training Groups that are already in receipt of funding so that they too can attract outstanding researchers to the German research system. The proposal submission deadline is 27 January 2027. 

In addition to funding through consortia, the DFG has awarded funding totalling around €36 million to 59 highly qualified researchers under its individual grants programmes since summer 2025. Of these, 17 researchers were selected for funding under the Emmy Noether Programme and 30 under the Walter Benjamin Programme. Nine women researchers received a Temporary Position for Principal Investigators under the Research Grants Programme, while a further three received funding under the Heisenberg Programme. 

Further Information

• DFG project information system GEPRIS: Descriptions of projects currently in receipt of funding under the Global Minds Initiative Germany(externer Link)

• Second call for Global Minds in DFG Consortia(interner Link) under the BMFTR’s Global Minds Initiative Germany

• DFG funding opportunities under the Global Minds Initiative Germany(interner Link)

• Website dedicated to the Global Minds Initiative Germany(externer Link), operated jointly by the DFG, the Humboldt Foundation and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)