The funding will be provided jointly by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the German project partners and by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) for the Tunisian project partners.
Under this call for proposals, funding can be provided for joint research and development projects (R&D-projects) involving at least one German and one Tunisian research institution or university as well as one German and one Tunisian enterprise (2+2). The projects should have a high practical relevance and expect insights and usable research results that lead to new technologies, products and/or services. These can be both process and product innovations. At the end of the project, the projects should reach a level of technology maturity (TRL) between 4 and 7.
Under this call for proposals R&D-projects are funded as joint projects that work on the following topics:
- Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus,
- Applied Biotechnology and Healthcare,
- Green economy / circular economy.
Cross-sectoral bilateral mobility between the project partners –the exchange of Tunisian and German researchers and innovation staff to German and/or Tunisian enterprises – is highly welcomed in order to further strengthening the bilateral partnerships between the German and the Tunisian institutions in research and industry.
In addition, funding can be provided for the implementation of a bilateral Innovation Forum. The Innovation Forum aims to develop a concrete long-term partnership between the German and Tunisian project partners as well as a broad transnational network with further German research and education institutions and innovative companies as well as with corresponding institutions in Tunisia to initiate future research cooperation or business relations.
Funding recipients:
- On the German side: German universities, research institutions and enterprises (particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)) are eligible for funding.
- On the Tunisian side: Tunisian public higher education and scientific research institutions are eligible for funding.
The application procedure consists of two phases. In the first phase, jointly elaborated project outlines are to be submitted until 31 May 2023.
