The Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation are providing around 2.68 million euros to strengthen cooperation between Israeli and Lower Saxony universities and research institutions. A total of 9 outstanding research projects are being funded in the context of the programme zukunft.niedersachsen. The projects are being carried out jointly by scientists from universities and research institutions in Lower Saxony and Israel.
‘For 46 years, our funding programme for research cooperation has made an important contribution to scientific and cultural exchange between Lower Saxony and Israel. Today, more than ever, the programme is also a clear signal that we stand in solidarity with our partners in Israel’, said Lower Saxony’s Science Minister Falko Mohrs. ‘Particularly under the current circumstances, it is important to me to strengthen cooperation, especially among young scientists from both countries, in order to expand the innovative strength of both countries.’
Since 1977, the Ministry and the Foundation have been supporting scientific exchange between universities and research institutions in Lower Saxony and Israel with the joint initiative ‘Research Cooperation Lower Saxony – Israel’. The programme is divided into the three subject groups ‘Humanities and Social Sciences’, ‘Bio- and Life Sciences, Medicine’ and ‘Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering’, which are funded in alternating years. In the most recent call for proposals, research projects in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering were eligible for funding. The funded projects have a duration of up to three years. They are each supported with up to 300,000 euros. As research projects may have to be carried out under more difficult conditions against the backdrop of the current war in the wake of the terrorist attack by Hamas, the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony is on hand to advise the project organisers.
The funded projects deal with issues such as cell biology, theoretical physics, photonics or haptic feedback in the use of robotic systems. The reviewers paid particular attention to the thematic relevance, an innovative approach and the technical expertise in the collaboration. Experimental methods and promising synergies between the project partners were also evaluated favourably in the applications.
Source: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (in German)