ALL: Alexander v. Humboldt Foundation: award for 1 y research in Germany
Name: Alexander v. Humboldt Foundation: Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award

This award would be suitable for spending a sabbatical year in Germany. An academic in Germany with whom you would collaborate during your sabbatical could nominate you for this award.

Funds Available: €45,000 to spend a period of up to one year cooperating on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany. The stay may be divided up into blocks. In Germany, research awards are generally exempt from income tax under German tax law. In addition, further expenditures (such as travel or language courses) are covered in the context of the invitation to stay in Germany for research purposes. The Humboldt Foundation grants about 20 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Awards annually.

Relevant Research Areas: all disciplines are eligible.

Deadlines: An independent Selection Committee appointed by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation meets twice a year, in spring and autumn, to decide on the nominations in the respective round. Reviewing an application takes up to 10 months at the moment (usually 6).

Description:  Scientists and scholars from outside of Germany, internationally renowned in their field, who completed their doctorates less than 18 years ago and who in future are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements which will have a seminal influence on their discipline beyond their immediate field of work, are eligible to be nominated for a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award.
Award winners are honoured for their outstanding research record and invited to spend a period of up to one year cooperating on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany. The stay may be divided up into blocks.

Nominations: An established academic who is employed by a university or research institution in Germany must take the initiative to nominate a candidate from outside of Germany for the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award. Nominations may also be initiated by award winners of the Humboldt Foundation working abroad, provided that the nomination is made jointly with a colleague working in Germany. Close relatives (parents, brothers/sisters, children) and spouses/partners are not eligible for nomination. Self-nomination is not possible.

The nominee's outstanding academic qualification must be internationally recognised and documented by corresponding successes in research, such as positively received academic publications or previous awards.

Nominating academics must guarantee that they can provide the necessary infrastructure for the award winner's own research projects or lecture tours (e.g. access to libraries, materials, facilities). German hosts are also expected to be well prepared for the award winner's research stay and to act as his or her personal mentor (e.g. finding accommodation).

In the past few years, approximately 35% of all nominations in the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation research award programmes were approved.

Most important selection criteria: The main selection criteria are the individual nominee's academic eligibility, which must hold promise of top academic performance in future, as well as his or her international reputation and overall personality

Eligibility:
Academics outside of Germany, regardless of their discipline or nationality, may be nominated for a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, provided that they have received their doctoral degree within the past 18 years. German nationals or candidates with previous stays in Germany should have lived predominantly abroad in the last 5 years and should contact info@avh.de if in doubt regarding eligibility. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation particularly encourages the nomination of qualified female academics. The Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award can only be granted once to any one academic. Researchers who have already received an award for their academic achievements from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation are not eligible to be nominated.

Further Information:
https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/bessel-award.html

Agency contact:  Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Phone: (+49) 0228-833-0
Email: info@avh.de

URS Contact
Vera Kettnaker
Research Programs Advisor (Natural Sciences and Engineering)
Telephone: 613-533-6000 ext. 77314
Email: vmk@queensu.ca

If you require this announcement in an alternative format please contact Research Services at fundopps@queensu.ca.

 

Five (5) business days prior to a funding agency submission deadline, University Research Services requires: (i) an electronic or hard copy of your application (with Department Head and/or Dean signatures if required by the funding agency)  and (ii) a department head approved Awards application in the TRAQ (Tools for Research at Queen's) system.  For researchers conducting research within the Hospitals (KGH, HDH, PC) or utilizing Hospital resources above and beyond the standard of care, approval must be obtained two to four weeks prior to the agency deadline from the most appropriate Hospital Operational Director(s) identified within the DSS entry application prior to obtaining Department Head approval.