Please note: the closing date of this funding call was extended till 15th of April 2020!
After the meeting in Kyiv of Mr. Thomas Rachel, the German Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research (BMBF) with Ms. Hanna Novosad, the Minister for Education and Science of Ukraine, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research announced the intention to fund German-Ukrainian “Cores of Excellence” (Deutsch-ukrainische Exzellenzkerne). See the BMBF press-release in German (4 November 2019).
Scope: to support the establishment of excellent joint German-Ukrainian research groups or small institutes (Cores of Excellence, CoE) in Ukraine to strengthen the sustainable bilateral research partnership between Germany and Ukraine.
Format and funding: In a first phase (“concept phase”: 12 months, up to EUR 100T) a detailed plan for the establishment of the Core of Excellence, its scientific focus, fit to the advancement of the bi-lateral science cooperation and economic feasibility should be prepared. After a detailed and independent evaluation of the submitted concepts, the most promising projects will be selected for the implementation phase (48 months, up to EUR 2.5 million).
Funding will be provided for the establishment and work of internationally staffed working groups (“Cores of Excellence”) under the leadership of a top researcher (principle investigator/excellence core leader) working on current research and development issues in Ukraine. The leader of the future Core of Excellence will be identified and employed by the German institution and seconded to Ukraine for the implementation phase of the German-Ukrainian Core of Excellence at the latest. The grant provides funding for an internationally top scientist in his/her scientific discipline to lead the Core of Excellence as well as a team of at least four junior scientists, preferably from Ukraine, who form the core team for each of the centres of excellence to be established.
Interested German institutions are strongly encouraged to contact Dr. Thomas Reineke for more detailed information:
Phone: +49 2 28 38 21 14 48; E-mail: thomas.reineke@dlr.de
For questions of potential Ukrainian partner institutions, the BMBF’s contact person for research collaborations in Kyiv Erich Bistriker is available for further enquiries:
Phone: +380 44 234 7224; E-mail: Erich.Bistriker@ukrde.com.ua