The Global Minds Initiative Germany: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation starts funding the first researchers in Germany

21.10.2025

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has provided funding to the first 74 researchers in Germany through the Global Minds Initiative Germany, financed by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). Sixty-six of these individuals are receiving a Humboldt Research Fellowship. Another five are coming to Germany with funding provided through a Humboldt Research Award and three with funding from a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award. The recipients hail from 25 countries, including Canada, Chile, China and the US.

Speaking about the start of funding activities for top international talents, Federal Minister of Research Dorothee Bär underscored:

„We launched the Global Minds Initiative Germany last summer and I am very pleased that we are already welcoming the first funding recipients to Germany. They are an enormous gain for our science system. With their experience, their expertise and their research projects, they will enrich Germany as a location for conducting research and will help boost our international competitiveness. The strong demand shows that our programme has attractive offerings and comes at exactly the right time. In Germany, we have excellent conditions for conducting research. On top of this, academic freedom is enshrined in our constitution – this is our big advantage and we champion it.“

Robert Schlögl, president of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, says on the programme start:

"The reasons why researchers apply for a fellowship in Germany and from the Humboldt Foundation are individual and diverse. The initial feedback we have received from new recipients should be encouragement and, at the same time, show what we should continue to promote and defend here: academic freedom, Germany’s attractiveness as a location for conducting research, and open-minded, international collaboration. Which is why I am so pleased that the Humboldt Foundation can now provide concrete support within the Global Minds Initiative Germany. With the help of our flexible funding opportunities we can offer outstanding researchers a temporary base in Germany and initiate long-term collaborative activities."

The additional funding the initiative is providing enables the Humboldt Foundation to respond to the strong demand from abroad and a record-breaking number of outstanding applicants by awarding more Humboldt Research Fellowships, Humboldt Research Awards and Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Awards in a first step. More fellowship and research award recipients will be selected under the Global Minds Initiative Germany in the coming months. It is expected that it will be possible, starting in 2026, to implement further funding options and programme lines that are currently being negotiated.

The Global Minds Initiative Germany

The Global Minds Initiative Germany programme was launched in July by the BMFTR. It aims to offer prospects in Germany to international researchers at various stages of their careers and, in the process, strengthen the country’s high-tech agenda and raise its profile as an attractive location for conducting research. The Global Minds Initiative Germany draws on programmes operated by the Humboldt Foundation and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and on offerings from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for students and doctoral candidates.

The Global Minds Initiative Germany: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation starts funding the first researchers in Germany

The Global Minds Initiative Germany

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