Second-round call offers professorships and fellowships within selected DFG-funded consortia. Research Impulses and Research Training Groups are now also eligible to apply.

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Foundation) has opened the present call under its initiative ‘Global Minds in DFG Consortia’, aimed at supporting the recruitment and long-term integration of experienced researchers currently working abroad into the German research system. The call aligns with the Global Minds Initiative Germany (1.000-Köpfe-plus-Initiative) initiated by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).

The call forms part of the second round for professorships and Mercator Fellows in DFG consortia. Support is intended for specifically identified researchers who have been working abroad for at least three years at the time of proposal submission and are expected to add expertise and contribute to the consortium’s international visibility.

Eligible applicants are higher education institutions in Germany that are applicant institutions for a currently funded Clusters of Excellence (EXC), Research Impulses (RI), Research Training Groups (RTG) or Collaborative Research Centres (CRC and CRC/Transregio) as host consortium. Where a consortium is jointly hosted by several applicant institutions, the proposal must also be submitted jointly. Participating non-university research institutions may act as host institutions for the researcher for whom support is requested. A maximum of one proposal per consortium may be submitted in each round.

Two modules are available for up to five years. Under the Professorships module, consortia may appoint an outstanding researcher from abroad to a long-term professorship, with up to €3.5 million available. Under Mercator Fellows Global, consortia may integrate an experienced researcher working abroad as a long-term fellow, with between 15 and 36 months spent on site in Germany over the period and up to €650,000 available.

Mandatory letters of intent must be submitted by the deadline of 8 December 2026.

Research proposals must subsequently be submitted by the deadline of 27 January 2027.