The University of Bremen continues to expand its support for post-docs. Each year for the next three years, six outstanding international young researchers will be able to take up research at the excellence university within the frame of its TRAC program (TRAC: Fellowships for TRansnational Academic Careers). This Bremen post-doctoral initiative is to be co-financed from the EU‘s COFUND program in an amount of 1.2 million euros. The first calls for project proposals were announced on 7th February 2013.
The BremenTRAC fellowships are aimed at independent young researchers pursuing self-defined research objectives which are closely aligned with the University of Bremen’s high-profile research areas. “The University’s ‘Institutional Strategy’ for future development, which scored success in the Excellence Initiative, already contained measures to strengthen support for post-docs – all the better that we will now be able to supplement this with an offer for international post-docs“, says Prof. Rolf Drechsler, Vice Rector for Research and Young Academics at the University of Bremen.
Bremen is among the small number of German universities that have so far been successful in securing this source of EU support. Up to now, the majority of COFUND grants have gone to Swiss universities as well as regional and national research funding organizations. Conceived by the University’s department for research and young academics, “BremenTRAC” was among the most highly evaluated proposals to win approval for funding in the 2012 selection round.
COFUND financing represents a further cornerstone of the University’s support for young researchers. Its Central Research Development Fund began financing new research projects back in 1976, and over recent years it has stepped up its support for post-docs. The successful Institutional Strategy submitted in the Excellence Initiative provided an important boost. With the addition of BremenTRAC it will now be possible to fund both young Bremen as well as young international researchers for periods of between two and four years. N.B: It is official policy only to fund research positions, and not stipends, half of which are reserved for female applicants.
For further information, please contact:
Universität Bremen
Department for Research and Young Academics
Dr. Achim Wiesner
Phone: 0421-218-60320
e-mail: achim.wiesner@vw.uni-bremen.de
www.uni-bremen.de/en/post-doc.html
