ContactThe Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is available to
answer your questions at any
time:[email protected]
Jean-Paul-Strae 12 53173 Bonn Germany Tel: +49 228 833-0 Fax:
+49 228 833-199
**At this point, the presenter should declare and explain
his/her relationship to the Foundation. If the presenter is not a
member of staff, he or she should make clear why the Foundations
work is so important to him/her that he/she is presenting the work
of the Foundation.
At the same time, it should be made clear at this point that,
not being a member of staff, the presenter cannot answer every
question in detail. He/she cannot definitively confirm whether
someone is really suitable for a specific sponsorship programme.
Nor can he/she agree to award funding. It is important to point out
that the listeners can find all the details on the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundations website and are welcome to get in touch with
the Foundation at any time. The contact details are given at the
end of the presentation.
***Alexander von Humboldt was a discoverer and cosmopolitan, a
universal scholar and fighter for the freedom of research, a
humanist and patron of excellent research talents. The Alexander
von Humboldt Foundation as it is known today was established in
1953 by the Federal Republic of Germany. In the spirit of Humboldt
it fosters an international network of scientific cooperation and
trust.
***The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation promotes outstanding
researchers from Germany and abroad with its programmes.
Sponsorship decisions are based on the applicants achievements and
qualifications to date. There are no quotas, neither for countries
nor disciplines. The Foundation believes that even in the times of
increasing team work the ability of the individual is the crucial
factor for academic success. This is why it sponsors people not
projects. Those chosen on this basis should be given as much
freedom as possible to carry out their research projects. This
includes allowing Humboldtians to choose their host institutions
themselves and to conduct independent research without any
stipulations from the Foundation.
*The previous years budget for the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation was approx. 112.5 million EUR of which 97% was financed
by federal funds. 55.8% of the total budget was financed by the
Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 34.8% by the Federal
Foreign Office, 4.9% by the Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development, 1.1% by the Federal Ministry for the
Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The remaining
3.4% were provided by third parties and income from the Foundations
assets.
***The distribution of research fellows according to countries
of origin changes from year to year because the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation does not have any quotas for countries but
selects candidates solely on the basis of the academic quality of
applications. Thus, the distribution reflects both the countries
which have particularly large numbers of applicants and
particularly successful applicants and also indicates how
attractive Germany is as a research location for certain countries
during a certain period. The Foundation welcomes excellent
applications from all countries equally.
Of the researchers from abroad selected in the five-year period,
20082012, 36% came from Europe, 30% from Asia, 17% from North
America, 6% from Central and South America, 4% from Sub-Saharan
Africa, 4% from the Middle East, North Africa and 3% from
Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.***The distribution of research
fellows according to discipline changes from year to year because
the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation does not have any quotas for
disciplines but selects candidates solely on the basis of the
academic quality of applications. Thus, the distribution reflects
both the disciplines which have particularly large numbers of
applicants and particularly successful applicants and also
indicates how attractive Germany is as a research location for
certain disciplines during a certain period. The Foundation
welcomes excellent applications from all disciplines equally.
Of the researchers from abroad selected in the five-year period,
20082012, 63% were natural scientists, 27% were humanities scholars
and social scientists and 10% were engineering scientists.******The
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation sponsors academic cooperation
amongst excellent foreign and German academics. Annually, it grants
more than 700 research fellowships and research awards that enjoy
an outstanding reputation across the globe. The Foundations
research fellowships and awards provide funding to suit every
career situation from young postdoctoral researchers at the
beginning of their research careers to experienced researchers or
world leaders in their research area.***The requirements for an
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation research fellowship are an above
average doctorate or comparable academic qualification, independent
research experience, documented by recognised academic
publications, preferably in international journals, adequate
language skills, a research project agreed upon with the academic
host as well as a confirmation of the host institute that research
facilities are available.
As a rule, candidates chances are increased if they belong to
the top group amongst their international peers. The number of
publications considered appropriate varies according to discipline
and career stage.
What determines whether an application is successful is academic
quality, not German language skills. In science, in particular,
working groups function and publish in English. In this case, it is
not necessary to have a proven knowledge of German at the time of
application.
Candidates from the humanities and social sciences, on the other
hand, should have a basic knowledge of German, which may be
necessary to conduct the project successfully, at the time of
application.
Experienced researchers should have their own, clearly defined
academic profile. This means they should usually be working at
least at the level of Assistant Professor or Junior Research Group
Leader or be able to document independent research work over a
number of years and a comprehensive list of academic publications
with a recognisable, independent profile.
***Applications may be submitted to the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation at any time. Application forms can be downloaded from
the Internet. Usually, two independent expert opinions will be
requested for each application. The decision is made by an
independent selection committee made up of academics from all
disciplines. They evaluate the applications submitted without any
quotas for countries or disciplines. The selection committee meets
three times a year. The procedure takes a total of 4-7 months from
submission to notification of the committees decision immediately
after the committee meeting.***The Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation enables highly-qualified postdoctoral scientists and
scholars from abroad to carry out research projects of their own
choice in Germany. Researchers of all nationalities and disciplines
may apply for a Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdoctoral
researchers or a Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced
researchers. Applicants are responsible for choosing their own
research project and host in Germany and drawing up their own
independent research plan. Details of the research project and the
timetable must be agreed with the prospective host before the
application is made. There are no quotas for individual countries
or disciplines.
Furthermore, highly-qualified researchers from emerging and
developing countries (excluding India and the Peoples Republic of
China) may apply for a Georg Forster Fellowship for postdoctoral
researchers or a Georg Forster Fellowship for experienced
researchers. The subject of the research proposal must be of
relevance to development and particularly suited to the transfer of
knowledge and methods to developing countries. Applicants are
responsible for choosing their own research project and foreign
host and drawing up their own independent research plan. Details of
the research project and the timetable must be agreed with the
prospective host before the application is made.***Humboldt and
Georg Forster Research Fellowships for postdoctoral researchers are
the programmes with which the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
enables highly-qualified scientists and scholars from abroad, who
are just embarking on their academic careers and who completed
their doctorates less than four years ago, to spend extended
periods working on research (6-24 months) in Germany. Humboldt and
Georg Forster Research Fellowships for experienced researchers
target highly-qualified scientists and scholars from abroad, who
completed their doctorates less than twelve years ago, enabling
them to spend extended periods working on research (6-18 months;
may be divided up into a maximum of three blocks) in Germany.***The
Alexander von Humboldt Foundations research fellowships comprise
comprehensive sponsorship benefits. During the entire stay in
Germany fellows receive a fellowship which allows them a standard
of living comparable to that of academics at the same career stage
in Germany. The fellowship for postdoctoral researchers is set at
2,650 EUR per month; for experienced researchers it is 3,150 EUR
per month. The fellowship amount takes special account of the
fellows individual situation (e.g. through benefits for families).
The host institute is granted an allowance for research costs,
which amounts to 800 EUR for research fellows in the natural
sciences and engineering and 500 EUR for humanities scholars.
Within the Feodor Lynen Fellowship Programme the provision
comprises a basic monthly sum and a monthly foreign allowance which
may differ according to location and marital status. An unmarried,
33-year old fellow in the United States, for example, receives
approx. 2,740 EUR per month; in the United Kingdom approx. 2,470
EUR; in Poland approx. 2,350 EUR and in China approx. 2,890 EUR.
Marital and child allowances may be paid in addition. The applicant
can use the fellowship calculator
(www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/pub_stipcalc.main) in order to
calculate the approximate fellowship amount if the application is
successful. The binding fellowship amount is only calculated by the
Foundation once a positive decision has been made and may differ
from the amount calculated here.
Fellows also receive a single lump sum to cover return travel
expenses to Germany. The Foundation finances language courses for
foreign academics coming to Germany on a research stay and for
their marital partners.
***Once a Humboldtian always a Humboldtian" from the very
beginning this was the hallmark of the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation. Humboldt sponsorship is enduring: the Foundation is a
lifetime partner, maintaining the connections on a long-term basis
through its alumni sponsorship programmes. As a result, an active
knowledge network of more than 26,000 Humboldtians has been laid
across the whole academic world embracing over 130 states. The
alumni sponsorship measures provide flexible support for the
individual life paths and development of Humboldtians. Moreover,
the Foundation encourages its alumni to undertake their own
initiatives and collaborations across disciplinary and national
borders.
Amongst other things, networking sponsorship caters for further
research stays to Germany. This gives fellows a chance to
revitalise relationships to specialist colleagues and their
institutes or make contacts with new partners, continue joint
projects already underway, or build new collaborations.
The Research Group Linkage Programme allows Humboldtians to
apply for sponsorship in order to cooperate over a period of three
years with a researcher working at a German institute and
additional cooperation partners in other countries.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation regularly organises
colloquia abroad to which it invites research fellows and research
award winners living in the host country or region, as well as
Feodor Lynen fellows working there.
Since 2002, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has provided
financial support for Humboldt Alumni Associations as well as for
individual Humboldtians to organise regional and specialist
conferences. These Humboldt Kollegs have become one of the most
popular instruments for strengthening regional and specialist
networks. Apart from networking, the Kollegs serve to awaken the
interest of young academics in the Foundations programmes and in
Germany as a location for research.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundations Humboldt Alumni Awards
for innovative networking initiatives are granted to fellows and
award winners abroad. Each award is valued at up to 25,000 EUR, and
three awards are granted annually. They are designed to support
projects not covered by the Foundation's existing sponsorship and
alumni programmes and to promote academic and cultural relations
between Germany and the Humboldt Alumni's own countries as well as
strengthening their collaboration in the respective regions. **The
open access part of the Network Online database features a large
proportion of the Foundation's more than 26,000 academics sponsored
worldwide. Here, everyone can search for names, disciplines,
keywords. The Bibliographia Humboldtiana is a collection of
bibliographic information on publications ensuing from research
stays sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This
database is also accessible to all users.In addition, Humboldtians
can log in to the protected area of the Network Online to access
the details and contact addresses of all those sponsored, or update
their contact details, research focus or publication list in the
Bibliographica Humboldtiana.***If you have any questions about the
Humboldt Foundations work or would like to obtaininformation on
applications please contact [email protected] directly.
