Minerva Foundation

The Minerva Fellowship Programme, financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has been enabling Israeli and German scientists (doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers) to spend a research period at an institution in the other country since 1973. The fellowship programme is not only intended to support joint research, but also to strengthen cultural exchange between the two countries.

The BMBF now provides 1.75 million euros each year for this programme. Minerva scholarships are open to researchers from all disciplines. Priority is given to doctoral and post-doctoral students. The funding period is usually six months to two years, for doctoral students up to a maximum of three years. Since 1973, the Minerva Fellowship Programme has funded more than 1,700 doctoral and post-doctoral students from both countries. Applications are accepted in January and June.

In addition, the Minerva Short-Term Research Grants, jointly funded by the BMBF and MOST, enable young German and Israeli researchers to make initial contact with partners in the host country (max. support for eight weeks). Participation in seminars and workshops is also made possible.

Since 1964, the Max Planck Society has cooperated particularly closely with the Weizmann Institute (WIS). The Weizmann-Minerva Programme includes funding for research projects at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot to the tune of approximately 3.6 million euros per year. Each year, the BMBF funds approximately 26 new projects with a duration of three years, which receive funding of up to 50,000 euros per year. So far, about 2,000 projects in chemistry, physics, mathematics and life sciences have been funded through the Weizmann Minerva Programme.

Applications are reviewed by the Minerva-Weizmann Committee (currently chaired by Professor Marina Rodnina from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry), which is made up of equal numbers of scientists from Germany and the Weizmann Institute. The explicit programme goals include cooperation with German research partners and the promotion of young scientists. Since 2008, young scientists from Germany have therefore been able to apply directly to the ongoing projects for a short stay.

Since 1975, 24 Minerva Centres have been established at Israeli universities and the Weizmann Institute (WIS) (seven with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, six with the WIS, four with Tel Aviv University, two with the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), Bar-Ilan University and Haifa University, and one centre [Minerva Center for Human Rights] with both the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University).

The centres are to conduct cutting-edge research in cooperation with German academics. The scientific spectrum of the centres, which have become an important part of the Israeli research landscape, includes not only the biological and earth sciences, chemistry, computer science, and environmental research, but also law and literature as well as religious studies and history.

The centres are financed in equal parts by the income from long-term endowment capital invested in Israel and provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and by an own contribution from the beneficiary Israeli research institution. Most recently, the Minerva Center on Cell Intelligence was established at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021. Up to three new Minerva Centres are to be established in the near future.

The Minerva Foundation has established a Centre Committee (currently chaired by Jürgen Renn of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) to coordinate and supervise the Centres. It is composed of internationally recognised scientists from all disciplines who, together with external reviewers, are responsible for the selection and review of newly applied centres as well as for the regular evaluation of existing centres. Since a reform in 2011, the Centre programme has been even more strongly oriented towards competitive procedures.

The establishment of Minerva Schools began in 1997. The schools serve the goal of enabling advanced students in all fields of science to make their first contacts in the partner country during their studies. In the process, promising students are brought together with outstanding representatives of their field from both countries for encounters lasting several days. Since 2006, more than 30 Minerva schools in Germany and Israel have been funded. The maximum funding amount per Minerva School is 25,500 euros. In 2022, four Minerva schools were funded.

The Gentner Symposia, which have been funded since 1972, are named after Wolfgang Gentner, one of the German initiators of academic cooperation with Israel. The symposia, which usually have 25 to 50 participants, are held in all fields of research and are financed with up to 30,000 euros from funds of the scholarship programme. They can take place both in Germany and in Israel. Particularly qualified young researchers also participate in these symposia. Between 1995 and 2022, nearly 50 Minverva-Gentner symposia took place.