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 October 23, 2024, 9:30 to 10:30 am.

How do taboos emerge in science? What exactly is considered taboo in different fields? And how can these taboos be dismantled? These are some of the questions that will be addressed during the theme week from September 17–19, 2025 in Hannover. Apply now for a scientific symposium, deadline: February 11, 2025.

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

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. 

For calls with an application deadline after January 1, 2025, researchers who submit applications for project funding can at the same time apply for funds to improve equal opportunities. Such funds can be used for measures such as childcare, support for people with physical disabilities, awareness-raising workshops, or coaching.

Trained as a mechanical engineer, the Kampala-based researcher Peter W. Olupot has spent the last decade finding ways to produce affordable water purification systems using rice husks, a common byproduct of rice production.