Marine mammals are fascinating creatures. Their visual system in particular, and how it contributes to underwater orientation, for example, is still a mystery. Frederike Hanke from the University of Rostock wants to change that.

The Foundation supported research in sub-Saharan Africa through the funding of fellowships and cooperation projects. In this interview, two of the German coordinators describe their experiences. 

Europe is experimenting with the application of automated decision-making to manage asylum and migration processes. Researchers in an international project are investigating whether and how the use of algorithms is able to contribute to fairness.

The funding line ‘Collaborative projects’ of this initiative is primarily targeted at the natural sciences and engineering. Deadline for application is March 1, 2024. 

The title of the new program for the promotion of research and education in Lower Saxony is "zukunft.niedersachsen". Thanks to additional funding of 580 million euros, three future fields are to be massively developed in order to make Lower Saxony visible as a research  location, also internationally.

At a Leopoldina symposium held on December 19, 2022, the Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation Dr. Georg Schütte presented a new funding initiative. Fifty years after publication of the "Limits to Growth" report, the foundation creates a renewed geo-scientific focus on the Earth system as a whole.