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The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Connecting academic excellence worldwide Knowledge transfer and cooperation at the highest level. Melanie Schmitz: 4c. Historical and Intellectual Roots.

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The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

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  1. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Connecting academic excellence worldwide Knowledge transfer and cooperation at the highest level Melanie Schmitz: 4c

  2. Historical and Intellectual Roots • Alexander von Humboldt (1769 – 1859): discoverer, universal genius, cosmopolitan and patron of excellent scientific talent • 1953: establishment of today’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation • international network of academic cooperation and trust • more than 22,000 Humboldtians worldwide, including 40 Nobel Prize Winners

  3. Humboldt Foundation Financing The annual budget is approx. 60 mill. EUR, more than 97% of which is publicly financed by the Federation. Financing is distributed as follows: • AA: Federal Foreign Office • BMZ: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development • BMBF: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

  4. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation • Excellence worldwideindividual sponsorship for excellent scientists and scholars from all countries and disciplines based on research fellowships and research awards • Autonomy and freedomfree choice of research project and research partners. The Foundation does not stipulate how research proposals should be implemented. • Neutrality and independenceno ideological, commercial, political or denominational ties; the sole selection criterion are academic qualifications • Durability and sustainabilitymaintaining a worldwide network of 22,000 scientists and scholars; sponsorship even after the research visit has come to an end

  5. Sponsorship – individual and personal • sponsorship for foreign and German top-flight academics to collaborate with specialist colleagues • the prestige associated with Humboldt Foundation fellowships and awards • individual and personal mentoring for those sponsored and their families • goals:- an enriching stay in Germany, both academically and privately- to strengthen Germany as a research location • Humboldtians and their families as ambassadors for Germany • “Once a Humboldtian, always a Humboldtian”: maintaining the association for a lifetime

  6. Academic Excellence • sole selection criterion: academic excellence • individual sponsorship for people, not projects • no quotas for countries or subjects • free choice of academic host/collaboration partner in Germany • worldwide excellence network of Humboldtians

  7. Origin of Guest Researchers 2001-2005: a total of 2,508 new research fellows from abroad

  8. Disciplines of Guest Researchers Arts and Social Sciences 24%, Science 66%, Engineering 10%

  9. Disciplines of Guest Researchers in Canada in 2005 Total:413

  10. Applications from Canada 2001-2005 Total number of applications: 106 Total number of applications granted: 54

  11. Sponsorship Programmes at a Glance

  12. Humboldt Foundation Programmes Research fellowships and research awards for highly qualified scientists and scholars from all countries and disciplines • research fellowships • research awards • other sponsorship programmes • other fields of activity

  13. Research Fellowships for highly qualified junior researchers from abroad • Humboldt Research Fellowship- 6 – 12 months, extension to maximum of 24 months - doctoral degree, up to the age of 40 - no quotas for countries or subjects • Georg Forster Fellowship- 6 – 12 months, extension to maximum of 24 months - doctoral degree, up to the age of 45 - developing and threshold countries - research visits of relevance to development policy, no quotas

  14. Research Fellowships for highly qualified junior researchers from Germany • Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship - 6 – 12 months, extension to maximum of 24 months - doctoral degree, up to the age of 38 - worldwide, all subjects - Humboldtians as hosts - usually the host is expected to contribute

  15. Application requirements • doctorate or equivalent degree • academic publications for internationally recognised journals and publishing houses • age limit • agreement by academic host to provide a research position • autonomous research project in agreement with the host • knowledge of German and/or English

  16. Application procedure • applications at any time to the Humboldt Foundation directly • assessment by independent expert reviewers • decision by Humboldt Foundation Selection Committees (3 times per year) • duration of procedure after submission: approx. 3 to 6 months

  17. Sponsorship provisions • language courses or allowance towards language course • fellowship • travel expenses • start-up lump sum* • family allowance • mobility and equipment lump sum for attending conferences, special material etc. • study trip, introductory meeting, annual meeting • intensive and individual mentoring in Germany and abroad by personal contacts at the Humboldt Foundation • life-long network sponsorship by the Humboldt Foundation (*not applicable to Feodor Lynen Research Fellowships)

  18. Sponsorship – personal, individual, sustainable • experienced staff at the Foundation • direct contact to staff during events • alumni associations in more than 70 countries • network online • sponsorship for academic cooperation with partners in Germany and abroad during an entire academic career

  19. An association for a lifetime • maintaining continuous, life-long contact to all Humboldtians worldwide • actively sponsoring academic contacts amongst Humboldtians worldwide through events at home and abroad; Humboldt Associations • systematic network sponsorship embracing: • further research visits to Germany • guest visits by German academics to Humboldtians’ institutes abroad • long-term research collaboration (institutional partnerships)

  20. Network Sponsorship • Short visits (up to 30 days): allowances for • actively participating in international congresses in Germany • lecture trips or information visits • short working visits to research institutes in Germany • Resumption of the research fellowship (up to 3 months): • to continue or complete earlier projects or initiate new ones • Re-invitation (up to 3 months): • no direct applications; re-invitations may be extended on the recommendation of an academic in Germany or the AvH itself

  21. Network Sponsorship • guest visits by academics from Germany to Humboldtians’ institutes abroad (Sur Place) • research visits by German junior researchers to Humboldtians abroad (Feodor Lynen Programme) • book and equipment donations • long-term research cooperation (Institutional Partnerships, TransCoop Programme) • colloquia abroad, Humboldt Kollegs • Humboldt Associations

  22. Network Sponsorship Humboldt Network Online • search and find Humboldtians electronically according to: • name • country of origin • institution of higher education/research • research field • host institution in Germany • Humboldtians update their own data online • Bibliographia Humboldtiana: Humboldtians feed in their own publications

  23. Research Awards • Humboldt Research Award*for internationally renowned academics from all disciplines from abroad • Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award*for younger, foreign, top-flight researchers from all disciplines from abroad • Sofja Kovalevskaja Award**for excellent, cutting-edge junior researchers from all disciplines from abroad to build up their own junior research groups in Germany (*by nomination/**by application)

  24. Research Awards • Max Planck Research Award* for outstandingly qualified academics from Germany and abroad on an annually-alternating basis for areas within science and engineering, life sciences and the arts • Thyssen Humboldt Award* for eminent humanities scholars from abroad • Konrad Adenauer Research Award* for an internationally recognised Canadian humanities scholar • Phillip Franz von Siebold Award* for an eminent Japanese academic (*by nomination)

  25. Konrad Adenauer Research Award for Canadian scholars in the humanities and social sciences Provisions • award money of 60.000 EUR, coupled with an invitation for a research visit to Germany Nomination • The initiative to bestow the Konrad Adenauer Research Award in any given year must be taken by Canadian universities and/or research institutions

  26. Other Sponsorship Programmes • Federal Chancellor Scholarships for outstanding prospective leaders from the USA, the Russian Federation and China • TransCoop Programme for sponsoring transatlantic (USA, Canada) research cooperation with Germany in the arts and social sciences • Hezekiah Wardwell Fellowships for Spanish musicians and musicologists

  27. TransCoop Programme Sponsorship provisions • 45,000 EUR over a period of three years’ cooperation providing the American and/or Canadian partner can raise matching funds at least equalling the endowment • funding may be used for reciprocal visits, organising/running conferences, material and printing costs and personnel Applications • Deadlines: 30 April and 31 October

  28. TransCoop Programme for sponsoring transatlantic (USA, Canada) research cooperation with Germany in the humanities and social sciences Application requirements • German, American and Canadian academics from the humanities, social sciences, economics and law • doctorate, academically active • no age limit • autonomous research plan agreed by the research group

  29. Other Fields of Activity • Frontiers of Research Symposia • German Mobility Centre • National Contact Point for Human Resources and Mobility • Welcome Centres (2006-2008)

  30. Five out of twenty-two thousand • Robert Grubbs – 2005 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. 1975 Humboldt Research Fellow. One of the leading American researchers in organometallic chemistry. • László Sólyom – President of Hungary and the powerhouse behind democratic change in his country. Humboldt Research Fellow 1981, 1984 and 1988. Humboldt Research Award Winner 1999. • Tricia Striano – Sofja Kovalevskaja Award Winner. The excellent American junior research psychologist is investigating early-childhood development. • Hamadi Boga – Georg Forster Research Fellowfrom Kenya. The biologist is investigating flagellating micro-organisms in the intestinal tract of termites. • Erin Taylor – one of ten German Chancellor Scholars,a programme for future leaders. The American political scientist is comparing German and American strategies in the dialogue with the Islamic world.

  31. Contact Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Jean-Paul-Straße 12 53173 Bonn Germany Tel: +49 228 833-0 Fax: +49 228 833-199 www.humboldt-foundation.de info@avh.de

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