Newsroom

Ângela Gonçalves is this year's winner of the Women's Impact Award and Science Breakthrough of the Year. Her research is revolutionising our understanding of women's health and ageing.

Why and how is the Volkswagen Foundation committed to basic research? A conversation with Henrike Hartmann, Head of Funding, and Hanna Denecke, Head of the Exploration Team.

Register now for the free livestream: Falling Walls will take place in Berlin from 6 to 9 November 2025. Here is an overview of all live-streamed events in which the foundation is involved.

Storm surges, rising sea levels, endangered coasts: as part of her Change! Fellowship, Dr Claudia Wolff from the University of Kiel is working with local stakeholders to find new ways of ensuring sustainable coastal protection on the Baltic Sea.

With its new funding initiative "Transatlantic Bridge Professorships", the Foundation aims to strengthen connections between renowned scholars from the United States and research institutions in Germany. The programme focuses on key topics such as democracy, fundamental rights, and academic freedom. Online Q&A on 9 December 2025.

54 applications, ten funded tandems - and a lottery drum: with the Night Science funding programme, the Volkswagen Foundation is for the first time specifically supporting the creative beginnings of scientific projects.