Context and aims of Rise up!

Starting your first associate professorship (W2) opens up opportunities to broaden your research horizons and explore questions over the longer term. Truly bold and innovative undertakings, however, require financial leeway that, in many cases, exceeds the core funding of associate professorships. Rise up! offers the freedom to be creative, to take risks, and to advance truly innovative research at this important career stage.

Who may apply?

If you wish to apply, you must fulfil the following criteria:

• You have accepted the call to an associate (W2) professorship at a German university. In case you have already taken up this position, the start date must be less than 12 months prior to the Rise up! application deadline.
• This is your first call to a tenured or non-tenured associate professorship at W2 level or equivalent (e.g., equivalently equipped positions in Baden-Württemberg).
• You should have substantial international experience.
• Your research focuses on fundamental questions in the biological, medical, and chemical sciences. A clear link to the life sciences is required. The Foundation encourages applications, which have the potential to provide novel important insights into fundamental processes. The Foundation does not, however, fund zoological research or systematic botany, for example.
• You propose an especially bold and creative research programme that may have a transformative impact on your field of research.
• You have a proven track record and can demonstrate international visibility of your scientific achievements.
• For the proposed research, you are not receiving and are not expecting to receive any
  • institutional funding in addition to the core funding associated with your professorship
  • third-party funding (e.g., ERC grants) 
    equivalent or above the scope of Rise up! funding.

Do you have any questions?

If you still have questions after referring to the Guidelines for applicants and the Rise up! FAQs, please call us or email us.