04 Independent Projects for Postdocs

Call of the Central Research Development Fund (CRDF)

This call addressed to postdocs from Bremen and abroad who apply A) directly after completing their PhD or B) as advanced postdocs with the aim professorship. The offer is support in your scientific career and in the development of your own research profile. Postdocs at an early stage shortly after finishing PhD receive the possibility to lead their own research project. One explicit aim is to independently aquire third-party funding (e.g. “Eigene Stelle DFG” or “Emmy-Noether-Nachwuchsgruppe”).  Advanced postdocs are to be enabled to conduct their own independent research project in a highly productive environment, to network in their respective scientific communitie, and to pave the way for professorship. Moreover, the Personnel Development Bureau and BYRD at the University of Bremen offer a range of customized offers to train a broad spectrum of personal skills.

The University of Bremen combines the call for proposals for Central Research Funding 2025 with a content-related focus on far-reaching interdisciplinarity and the ability to overcome subject boundaries (research diversity). This stimulus is intended to stimulate new and innovative forms of collaboration. This can take place both within the areas currently designated as natural sciences and engineering or social sciences and humanities, or across these divisional boundaries. In this way, the university would like to bring its interdisciplinary strength to the fore.

WHO CAN APPLY?
     A)
Postdocs from Germany and abroad shortly after finishing their PhD: The  doctoral certificate must be on hand at latest 10 months after the application deadline and may not be issued longer than two years before the application deadline (date of doctoral certificate).
     B) Advanced postdocs with aim professorship: The PhD may not date back shorter than two years before application deadline and not longer than four years (date of doctoral certificate). Aim is to be prepared for a vocation for professorship at the end of the project (habilitation equivalent performance, development of a profile that counts as appealable in the respective discipline). Scientists who have already been funded in CRDF 04 A may not apply in CRDF 04 B.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS? An above-average publication output, an excellent independent project proposal and a high potential to achieve the objectives of the funding line (the evaluation of previous achievements will take periods of child care into account). The integration into the research context of the University of Bremen and at the same time scientific autonomy of the applicant must be demonstrated by a detailed letter of intent of the host person at the University of Bremen and is also part of the evaluation. Host person can be those professors who are conducting full-time research at the University of Bremen as well as independent researchers who have the appropriate formal qualifications such as staff responsibility, rooms and laboratory equipment (e.g. senior researcher/lecturer, Emmy Noether group leader, etc.).

FUNDING CONDITIONS: Postdoc position for three years and additional allowance of up to €6,000 per year as well as offers for personnel development and support in writing grant proposals. Research stays abroad are permissible up to nine months. The full postdoc position comes with a teaching load of one class per semester (two hours per week).

PROCEDURE: Applications can be submitted once a year. The University's respective Research Funding Committee decides on the basis of external reviews. The eight available positions are awarded between the natural sciences and engineering and the social sciences and humanities. Half of the positions are to be granted to female researchers.

Deadline for application

1st April 2024 at 23:59h

Application

Group A

Group B

The University of Bremen supports the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID). ORCID is a free, not-for-profit service offering each researcher a unique digital identifier. This helps researchers to distinguish their work and helps funders link researcher output to funding.  If you apply for CRDF funding, we will ask for your ORCID identifier. 
If you have no ID yet, please visit ORCID.

Offices

Natural Sciences and Engineering

Corinna Volkmann
Phone +49 421 218-60321 E-Mail
Building SFG, Room 3130

Social Sciences and Humanities

Petra Schreiber
Phone +49 421 218-60319 E-Mail
Building SFG, Room 3230

Criteria for the Assessment of Applications

The University’s respective Research Funding Committee and the Rectorate of the University of Bremen will decide on your application based on the following criteria.

Group A

1. Applicant's Qualifications

  • First and foremost, outstanding publication activity (quality, significance, taking peer reviewed publications into account as well as sole and first authorship, inasmuch as relevant for the field, quantity)
  • Networking skills and experience of cooperation in the scientific community (for example, research sojourns in other countries, the organization of conferences, edited works)
  • Prizes and other awards for academic achievements

2. Quality of Project

  • Originality
  • If applicable, special significance of the project (e.g. socio-political, regional, relevance of transferability)
  • Convincing reference to the “state of the art” in the research
  • Convincing argumentation for the line of research/hypotheses
  • Purposeful selection of methods/procedures and feasibility
  • Plausible work and time schedule as well as adequate financing plan
  • Interdisciplinarity and potential to overcome disciplinary boundaries
  • Expectations for future acquisition of third-party funding

3. Integration within the Research Environment of the University of Bremen

  • Integration in the research group/institute (thematic fit with the research area)
  • Innovative content and individuality of the project idea within the context of the hosting research area
  • Potential for the development of cooperation with the hosting research area
  • Availability of prerequisite infrastructure/equipment

Group B

1. Applicant's Qualifications

  • Contribution of doctoral dissertation to development of the research field
  • Outstanding publication activity (quality, quantity, and significance, taking peer reviewed publications into account as well as sole and first authorship, inasmuch as relevant for the field)
  • Networking skills and experience of cooperation in the scientific community (for example, research sojourns in other countries, international cooperation projects, the organization of conferences, edited works)
  • Leadership and management experience or recognizable potential (including gender and diversity competence)
  • Prizes and other awards for academic achievement

2. Quality of Project

  • Originality
  • If applicable, special significance of the project (e.g. socio-political, regional, relevance of transferability)
  • Convincing reference to the "state of the art" in the research field
  • Convincing argumentation for the line of research/hypotheses
  • Convincing preparatory work/previous experience
  • Purposeful selection of methods/procedures and feasibility
  • Comprehensive and realistic work and time schedule together with adequate financing plan
  • Interdisciplinarity and potential to overcome disciplinary boundaries
  • Suitability of project for the applicant's advancement within the context of the funding objectives (qualification for a professorship, networking in the scientific community)

3. Integration within the Research Environment of the University of Bremen

  • Integration in the research group/institute (thematic fit with the research area)
  • Innovative content and individuality of the project idea within the context of the hosting research area
  • Potential for the development of cooperation with the hosting research area
  • Availability of prerequisite infrastructure /equipment 
time line