Zwei Personen blicken auf einen Bildschirm, auf dem eine Weltkarte mit verschiedenen markierten LÄndern abgebildet ist.
News Oct. 24, 2024

Insights into threatened academic freedom

Academic freedom is coming under increasing pressure worldwide. Yet it is essential for scientific knowledge and good teaching. To draw attention to the importance of academic freedom and how it has changed over the decades, researchers have developed the interactive "Globe of Academic Freedom", which was made accessible to the public for the first time this year on the MS Wissenschaft.

Portrait eines Mannes, dahinter Illustration mit Mikrofon
Interview Oct. 23, 2024

Room for development: Momentum funding for first-time professors

The 'Momentum - funding for recently tenured professors' initiative offers researchers the opportunity to further develop their professorship in terms of content and strategy at an early stage after taking up their first tenured full professorship. In our interview, Selahattin Danisman, program director at the Volkswagen Foundation, explains the key aspects of 'Momentum'. Next deadline: 28 April 2025

Funding offer Oct. 02, 2024

New funding programme: NEXT – Quantum Biology

With this programme, the foundation aims to support the proof of quantum effects in biological systems, thereby increasing the acceptance of this research field. We are looking for interdisciplinary project teams that are prepared to take on the challenge of overcoming the limitations of current approaches. Application deadline: 11 February 2025

Ein See unter weitem Himmel, im Hintergrund eine Gebirgskette, im Vordergrund ein Reiter und eine Jurte
Interview Oct. 01, 2024

International funding: 'The prospects are promising'

The last projects in the Foundation's funding initiative 'Central Asia/Caucasus'  will soon come to an end. Other research funders, including the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, will follow up in the region – and the Foundation will be continuing its international funding activities with new topics. A discussion about the complementarity of private and public funding of projects that take place abroad. 

Tastatur, Kopfhörer, Block, Stift und Kaffeetasse
Event Oct. 01, 2024

Live-Webinar on our funding portfolio

Twice a year - at the beginning of each semester in April and October - the Volkswagen Foundation offers a free, one-hour live webinar in English on the funding portfolio. The next webinar is scheduled for April 15, 2025, 10:30 to 11:30 am.

Portrait eines Mannes
Story Sep. 23, 2024

Perovskite pioneer: How a Freigeist Fellow is revolutionising solar cells and X-ray devices

Physicist Felix Lang discovered the self-healing powers of a soft semiconductor. He now wants to use it to improve the production of electricity in space, make solar power cheaper here on Earth, and help X-rays to produce less radiation and better resolution – in colour!