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Welcome

Curious, determined and creative scientists and researchers are the driving force behind groundbreaking discoveries and insights. They are the ones who advance our research, our institutions, and our society – and make a difference. This is why they are at the heart of the programs we fund at Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft.

Student Grant

Grants for students in the final stage of their degree

Appointment Accelerator

Top-up funds to expedite appointment negotiations
Next deadline September 30, 2025

Tenure Track Professorship

Professorships for promising researchers from abroad
Next deadline September 30, 2025

President Coaching

Seminars for newly elected presidents and rectors

Sandpit

Developing daring project ideas
Next deadline June 1, 2025

Our mission

We see ourselves as a strategic partner and service provider for German universities and research institutes, helping them identify, attract and integrate outstanding international academics. We believe in the value of unconventional ideas, and encourage students, researchers and universities to break new ground.

Who we are

©cmannphoto

Boosting Internationalization

A Strategic Approach to Global Recruitment

German universities must take a strategic approach to global recruitment to stay competitive in the evolving international academic landscape. With the U.S. becoming less attractive for researchers and China’s scientific influence rising, Germany has a unique opportunity to attract top talent. To succeed, universities must enhance their appeal, refine recruitment strategies, and prioritize onboarding measures to ensure a smooth transition, integration, and long-term retention of international researchers, says Cathleen Fisher, one of our Experts on International Mobility.

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News

From application to approval

Applications and proposals can again be submitted online through our application portal. If you would like an introduction to our online application process, Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft will again be running two information sessions: on January 31 from 10 to 11:30 am and on February 11 from 2 to 3:30 pm.

©ALYX/Unsplash

News

Big Data in Pediatric Oncology and Rare Diseases

Through its Sandpit funding program, Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft supports the development of innovative and highly relevant research approaches. The first call for proposals focused on projects that unlock new ways of using big data in clinical research. Two promising initiatives have now been selected for funding: a project to build a synthetic health data repository called SHARE, and a pioneering project for home-based health monitoring in pediatric oncology.

©WSW/Kerstin Albrecht

News

Making it Work

“Making it Work – Best Practices in Hiring International Tenure Track Professors” was the title of a workshop that the Foundation organized with international experts in Berlin at the end of November. Six universities were invited, each having delegated a team of three participants, consisting of the university’s (vice-)president, a representative of its academic appointments department, and a representative of its international department. The international experts and the Foundation were impressed with the response and the keen interest shown by the universities.

©Hazak: SNF I Schlichthärle: Ian C. Haydon / UW Institute for Protein Design

News

First international tenure track appointments

Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft is funding two tenure track professorships at German universities for outstanding researchers recruited from abroad. Molecular biologist and plant researcher Ora Hazak is transferring to the University of Münster from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Biochemist Thomas Schlichthärle is joining the Technical University of Munich (TUM) from the University of Washington, Seattle (USA).

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Sandpit program

New calls for proposals to explore Big Data

Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft will be launching four new calls for its Sandpit program next year. Having kicked off the program with “Big Data in clinical research” in 2024, the Foundation’s follow-up calls in 2025 will be looking for innovative project ideas on Big Data in the social sciences, the natural sciences, engineering, and the humanities.

©Bogdan Malizkiy

News

54 promising students receive grants

Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft is supporting 54 students with one-year student grants worth €550 per month from the start of the winter semester. The grants will enable students in the final phase of their degree programs to concentrate fully on their research. The recipients come from 14 different countries, including India, Iran, Spain, and the USA, and represent a range of different subject areas, especially biology, physics, engineering, and medicine.

Ausschreibungsstart Förderprogramm Welcoming International Professors

Apply now

Funds for international appointments

To mark the start of its funding activities in the area of international appointments, Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft has launched the Appointment Accelerator and Tenure Track Professorship programs. The Tenure Track Professorship program supports universities in the appointment and onboarding of promising international researchers in the first years of a tenure track professorship. Appointment Accelerator is intended to speed up appointment negotiations.

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News

First student grant meeting

On May 3-4 2024, the first cohort of student grantees gathered in Berlin for a networking meeting. Under the guidance of communications expert Julia Offe, the 30 budding academics developed strategies for effectively presenting their research projects. In lively discussions, the fellows got to know each other and exchanged ideas. More information about the program

President Coaching

Learning from the experienced

Two days of peer-to-peer learning for heads of German universities: On December 7 and 8 2023, Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft’s newly launched President Coaching program supported six first-time university presidents and rectors to prepare for their leadership roles.

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Series

Irritieren Sie mich

Wenn Neugierde am Anfang der Erkenntnis steht, dann steht Irritation nicht selten am Ende. Denn Wissen, das unsere Wahrnehmungs- und Urteilsroutinen außer Kraft setzt, irritiert uns. In unserer neuen Gesprächsreihe wollen wir uns gemeinsam mit dem Publikum irritieren lassen von ungewöhnlichen Forschungsfragen, originellen Methoden oder neuesten Erkenntnissen.

Collector's Piecesseries

introduced by Peter-André Alt

#6 Paul Krugman

In his lecture on the development of globalization, Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate and professor of economics, shows how globalization has led not only to greater prosperity and fairer income distribution, but also to social tensions and divides.

Welcome

Student Grant

Ap­point­ment Ac­ce­le­ra­tor

Tenure Track Pro­fes­sor­ship

Pre­si­dent Coa­ching

Sandpit

Our mission

News

A Stra­te­gic Ap­proach to Global Re­cruit­ment

From ap­p­li­ca­ti­on to ap­pro­val

Big Data in Pe­diatric On­co­lo­gy and Rare Di­sea­ses

Making it Work

Collec­tor's Piecesseries

#6 Paul Krugman

and re­gis­ter now for our news­let­ter

Appointment Accelerator

Tenure Track Professorship

President Coaching

A Strategic Approach to Global Recruitment

From application to approval

Big Data in Pediatric Oncology and Rare Diseases

Collector's Piecesseries

and register now for our newsletter