exzellenz verbindet – be part of a worldwide network dr. steffen mehlich director, sponsorship and...

Exzellenz verbindet –be part of a worldwide network

Dr. Steffen Mehlich

Director, Sponsorship and Network Department

31 October 2007

Panel on „German-American Professional Exchanges“

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Connecting academic excellence worldwideKnowledge transfer and cooperation at the highest level

Melanie Schmitz:

4c

Melanie Schmitz:

4c

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Excellence worldwide

Autonomy and freedom

Neutrality and independence

Durability and sustainability

Historical and Intellectual Roots

Alexander von Humboldt (1769 – 1859): discoverer, universal genius, cosmopolitan and patron of excellent scientific talent

1953: establishment of today’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

international network of academic cooperation and trust

Academic Excellence

sole selection criterion: academic excellence

individual sponsorship for people, not projects

no quotas for countries or subjects

free choice of academic host/collaboration partner in Germany

worldwide excellence network of Humboldtians

Networks of the Knowledge Elite

The Humboldt Network: 22,000 scientists and scholars from all disciplines in more than 130 countries in the world (40 Nobel Prize winners)

Unique specialist and private network

Life-long sponsorship in the Network Programme

More than 70 Humboldt Associations worldwide

Humboldt Foundation Programmes

Flexible sponsorship programmes for cutting-edge researchers at all stages of their careers

- for postdoctoral researchers

(scientists who completed their doctorate less then 4 years ago) Research Fellowships: 6 to 24 months

- for junior resarch group leaders

(scientists who completed their doctorate less then 6 years ago) Sofja Kovalevskaja Award

Humboldt Foundation Programmes

for experienced researchers

(scientists who completed their doctorate less then 12 years ago)

with an own, clearly defined academic profile

- Research Fellowships: 6 to 18 months- Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award; 45,000 €, nomination

for internationally recognised cutting-edge researchers

- Humbold Research Award; 60,000 €; research stays in Germany over a period of 6 to 12 months (may be divided into segments); nomination

Application procedure

applications at any time to the Humboldt Foundation directly

assessment by independent expert reviewers

decision by Humboldt Foundation Selection Committees

duration of procedure: approx. 3 to 6 months

Research Awards

Humboldt Research Award*for internationally renowned academics from all disciplines from abroad

Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award*for younger, foreign, top-flight researchers from all disciplines from abroad

Sofja Kovalevskaja Award**for excellent, cutting-edge junior researchers from all disciplines from abroad to build up their own junior research groups in Germany

(*by nomination/**by application)

Origin of Guest Researchers

2002 - 2006: a total of 2,478 new research fellows from abroad

Disciplines of Guest Researchers

2002 - 2006: a total of 2,478 new research fellows from abroad

Disciplines of Guest Researchers according to USA

2001-2006: total 1845

Fellowships and Awards for U.S. scientists and scholars

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1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000-2006

Fellowships

Awards

Lynen

0100200300400500600700800900

1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000-2006

Fellowships

Awards

Lynen

1954 – 2006

Successful U.S. Applications for AvH Fellowships and Awards

0102030405060708090

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2002

2004

2006

FellowshipsAwards

1954 – 2006

Alumni Network

maintaining continuous, life-long contact to all Humboldtians worldwide

actively sponsoring academic contacts amongst Humboldtians worldwide through events at home and abroad; Humboldt Associations

systematic network sponsorship

An association for a lifetime

Network Sponsorship

Humboldt Network Online

search and find Humboldtians electronically

Humboldtians update their own data online

Bibliographia Humboldtiana

Special Programmes for the U.S.

German Chancellor Fellowships

for outstanding prospective leaders fromthe USA, the Russian Federation and China

Application requirements

candidates from all professions and disciplines with particular emphasis on the arts, law, social sciences and economics as well as fine arts

autonomous (research) project with a German dimension

TransCoop Programme

for sponsoring transatlantic (USA, Canada) research cooperation with Germany in the humanities and social sciences

Application requirements

German, American and Canadian academics from the humanities, social sciences, economics and law

doctorate, academically active

no age limit

autonomous research plan agreed by the research group

Frontiers of Research Symposia

Form

3-day conferences for scientists (with the USA: for engineers and humanities scholars, too)

in cooperation with foreign partner organisations

annually-alternating in Germany and the partner country

matching funds from both sides

bi-national, interdisciplinary conferences involving outstandingjunior researchers (USA, Japan, Great Britain, China)

American Friends of the AvH

American Friends of the AvH coordinates its activities with the

Alexander von Humboldt Association of America (AvHAA),

an independent non-profit membership organization for Humboldtians residing in the United States. The AvHAA encourages professional collegiality among its members, reinforces contacts with German scientists and scholars, and promotes programs of the AvH.

The office of the American Friends of AvH

1012 14th Street NW

Suite 1015

Washington, DC 20005, USA

Email: deidre.kelly@americanfriends-of-avh.org

Website: www.americanfriends-of-avh.org

Contact

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Jean-Paul-Straße 12

53173 Bonn

Germany

Tel: +49 228 833-0

Fax: +49 228 833-199

www.humboldt-foundation.de

info@avh.de