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Funding offer 09 May 2025

AI Research Groups Lower Saxony

The Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and the Volkswagen Foundation are jointly seeking scientists who want to set up their own AI research group. Deadline: 30 September 2025

Funding offer 05 May 2025

Apply now: Scoping Workshops

This is about the future of your research area: What is the current status? What prospects are there for further development - and how can they be realised? With the "Scoping Workshops" the foundation offers space for discussion and intensive exchange. Online Q&A (in German) on 5 August, deadline: 16 September 2025

Eine Frau steht in einem Labor und schaut in die Kamera.
News 29 April 2025

Gender-specific personalised medicine: when viruses awaken the hormones

What lessons can be learned from COVID-19 for future pandemics? Researcher Gülşah Gabriel and her team are opening the door to personalised medicine – and are investigating for the first time how drugs that intervene in hormone metabolism could in future be used to prevent severe viral progression.

Zwei Frauen im Portrait, dahinter eine Illustration mit Mikrofon
Interview 24 April 2025

Rethinking neurodegeneration: new funding offer

Why does neurodegeneration research need new impetus - and how can interdisciplinarity help to achieve a breakthrough? Our Program Directors Dr Theresa Kratzsch and Dr Franziska Rönicke explain the vision behind the new 'NEXT – Rethink Neurodegeneration!' call.

Funding offer 23 April 2025

NEXT – Rethink Neurodegeneration!

Interdisciplinary research teams investigating the fundamental mechanisms of dementia-causing neurodegeneration are invited to apply up until 28 August 2025.

Illustration mit zwei Frauen und einem Mikrofon
Interview 16 April 2025

Research for democracy: funding programme for cooperation projects involving researchers and stakeholders in practice

How do democracies change in the face of global challenges? And what can science contribute to their resilience? Researchers and stakeholders outside of academia are to develop answers in cooperation projects funded by the Volkswagen Foundation for up to five years. Nora Kottmann and Cora Schaffert-Ziegenbalg present the programme.

Eine Frau, die aufmerksam zuhört
Story 06 March 2025

So that everyone can have their say: Citizens' assembly on AI research

Rhetoric expert Anika Kaiser researches how people can make themselves heard on the major issues of our time – artificial intelligence (AI) being a case in point. She is the right person to take care that this grassroots democratic process does not remain too detached from reality: in her first life, she trained as a painter.

Frauen mit Kopftüchern sitzen an Tischen und haben Steinblöcke mit Inschriften vor sich liegen, die sie betrachten.
Story 26 February 2025

Archaeology as reconstruction: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Mosul

He came to Mosul with the task of excavating ancient Nineveh. In the meantime, however, the mission of the ancient orientalist Stefan Maul goes far beyond this: he is rebuilding the study of antiquity in Iraq. And he is teaching the people what the Islamists robbed them of: pride in their cultural heritage.