Visiting Fellows are established or leading researchers at universities, research institutes and research-based companies who come to Berlin for longer guest visits at Charité (incl. Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and German Heart Center Berlin (DHZC)) or MDC in order to develop a larger, joint research project with their hosts on site and, possibly, to set up their own research group. The visits can also serve to mentor an individual junior researcher at the host institution. The funding is also explicitly intended to provide seed financing for promising new research foci and thus to strategically prepare strong scientific collaborative projects and alliances capable of receiving third-party funding. In addition, with regard to the Visiting Fellows, the diversity at the location, in particular with regard to gender, origin, internationality and age, is to be strengthened.
The program includes three different funding options depending on the objective and maturity of the project as well as the involvement of the Visiting Fellow:
- Track A: Funding of the Visiting Fellow to develop a project idea and design
- Track B: Funding of the Visiting Fellow and seed funding for a research group to design and implement a pilot phase of the project
- Track C: Funding of the Visiting Fellow and funding for a research group to conduct the project
Applications are submitted for one specific track and will be reviewed respectively. In any case, it is expected that the Visiting Fellow and the host will continue the project and, if applicable, the research group at an early stage by raising other funds and developing it into a collaborative project with substantial third-party funding. Provided that the respective requirements are met, the Visiting Fellows are also to be integrated into their institution as Gastprofessorinnen and Gastprofessoren in accordance with the state higher education regulations.
The nominated Visiting Fellow must be an established or leading researcher in the respective life sciences field. He or she should be able to demonstrate appropriate scientific experience and success, whereby, in addition to the usual achievements in research and teaching, explicit achievements in knowledge and technology transfer or establishment of scientific infrastructures will be given equal consideration. The nominated Visiting Fellow may work in Germany or abroad at a university, a research institute or a research-based company. The nomination of Visiting Fellows who are active in private-sector research and development is expressly encouraged.
The Visiting Fellow is expected to come to Berlin at least three times a year for multi-week stays or at least one time per year for a multi-month stay. In addition to the physical visits, plans for remote collaboration can also be outlined.
Applications can be submitted via the online portal. The aplication deadline ist February 24, 2025. The funding decisions will be announced end of May 2025; the earliest possible start of funding is May 1, 2025.
