Fully-funded Georg Forster Research Award for Academics from Developing Countries | Germany

Featuring: €60,000 award money (research stay of up to 12 months in Germany possible)

Up to six Fully-funded Georg Forster Research Awards are given annually by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to internationally renowned researchers from developing and transition countries in honour of their academic achievements to date. Georg Forster, a renowned German ethnologist (1754–1794), was the inspiration for the name of the research award, which is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

See the Georg Forster Research Award programme details and Recently selected award winners for additional information.

Important Notifications

Nominations were accepted until the deadline. Sadly, nominations for this programme are not being accepted at this time. The next round of nominations is expected to start in the summer of 2024. We will email you to let you know when the next round of nominations opens if you register now.

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What Does The Georg Forster Research Award Offer?

The sum of the award is €60,000. Award winners are also asked to conduct a research project of their choosing at a German specialist institution in collaboration with German colleagues. The award permits a maximum stay of one year, or more than one stay of up to six months each. An additional funding of up to €25,000 can be provided, when needed, to support academic collaboration, it will be used to pay for junior researchers’ participation in conferences, specialist literature, and scientific equipment at the home institution.

The award is meant to encourage the long-term promotion of exceptional scientific multipliers in developing and transition countries, whose research will help to improve living conditions in their home countries.

Georg Forster Research Award makes an effort to provide funding and tailored support to their visiting researchers. Invitations to a variety of events or the chance to take language classes are just two of the perks that award winners might enjoy. Every Humboldtian’s unique life journey, including their careers and potential collaborations, is supported by our alumni sponsorship measures in a flexible manner.

The following are some useful resources to assist you in the application process:

• General regulations and information for research award winners (PDF, 376 KB)
• Support during your research stay
• Sponsorship for alumni abroad

Eligibility Criteria for Nomination Submission

Nominations for a Georg Forster Research Award from experienced researchers are welcome at research institutions in Germany. The Humboldt Foundation award winners from abroad are now eligible to submit nominations, in addition to German researchers.

Please visit the Georg Forster Research Award website’s Information for Nominators page for further information on the nomination procedure. They will send an email to confirm receipt of the nomination and start the evaluation process as soon as they have all the required paperwork. Naturally, all information will be kept completely private. Please do not hesitate to contact them at info[@]avh.de if you have any questions. They are always glad to assist.

Additional resources can be found at: Information for expert reviews, Information for nominators, and Information for independent peer reviews.

Potential Successful Nominees

Researchers who have made fundamental discoveries, developed novel theories, or produced findings that have had a lasting effect on their discipline outside of their immediate field of study and who will continue to contribute to the development of evidence-based strategies for addressing the unique problems faced by developing and emerging countries are eligible for nomination. In addition, the nominee needs to fulfill the following requirements:

• The nominee must be a national of a developing or transition country (PR China and India are excluded; see the list of countries (PDF)). At the time of nomination, the nominee had to have lived and worked for at least five years in one of these countries.
• The nominee’s academic achievements must be internationally recognized and proven by corresponding successes in research.
• The nominee is not expected to have previously received an award from the Humboldt Foundation for her/his academic work.

Note: Self-nominations or nominations of close relatives or partners are not allowed. However, the program strongly encourages the nomination of qualified female researchers.

How To Apply

Please note that applications are accepted for this program every year

The selection procedure

Typically, the nomination season closes on October 31 of each year. To choose the recipient of the award, the impartial Selection Committee, which is made up of researchers from many fields, usually gets together in the summer of the subsequent year. The independent peer reviews, the academic credentials of the nominees, and the importance of their research for the advancement of their native country all factor into the Committee’s decision.

Among the primary selection criteria are:

• The nominee’s exceptional global standing as a researcher
  
• Research findings that have an obvious influence outside of the immediate field of study; this is why research prizes are awarded based on the significance of the research’s developmental relevance (the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations can be used as a frame of reference).
  
• The multiplier effect of the nominee in science management, research, education, and other development-related activities outside of the research field.

Additional Information

Nominees and nominators must always abide by the rules of good scientific practice (see PDF) and the principles of scientific ethics.

• Continue here, if you have already created and saved an online nomination form.