FUNDING PROGRAM: HEiKA-STAR

The funding for HEiKA Strategic Areas of Research is intended as comprehensive seed funding for consortia working towards a larger joint funding application with national or international research funding institutions. Examples include applications for structural elements such as Research Training Groups (GRK), Research Groups (FOR), Collaborative Research Centers (SFB-TR), or similar, which have the potential to create sustainable connections between KIT and Uni HD and promise significant impact for both partner universities.

It should be noted that HEiKA funding is explicitly not intended to replace existing federal and state schemes that provide support for the preparation of applications for large research consortia. These funding schemes can and should be utilized following the HEiKA funding period to assist the consortia in the final phase of the concrete application process. In contrast, the HEiKA funding period precedes this to facilitate the establishment of collaboration and the completion of joint preparatory work.

Each HEiKA Strategic Area of Research can be funded with up to 200,000 euros per year. In exceptional cases, a higher funding amount is possible. In this case, please contact the HEiKA office BEFORE submitting your application. The funding period is up to 24 months. Approximately 3/4 of the way through the funding period, an evaluation of goal achievement will take place, during which further funding for up to 12 additional months can be requested.

Applications will be considered from consortia comprising a minimum of four recognized scientists from KIT and Uni HD. These can also explicitly belong to qualified junior researchers (e.g. junior professorship, tenure-track professorship, junior research group leader). The application consortium must be equally composed to ensure a sufficient commitment to achieving the goals. In addition to the application team, other researchers may also participate in the STAR consortium. The involvement of other research institutions or third-party entities is permitted, but at their own expense. Consequently, these HEiKA-external partners are not eligible for funding from the funds advertised here.

Advance notice of proposal submission: please notify the HEiKA office in advance about your intention to submit a proposal by 16 September via e-mail, providing the information on the working title and research field of the application as well as contact information of the main applicants. This is necessary to adequately prepare the selection process.

Submission: The application can then be submitted by the consortium in electronic form (as DOCX and PDF) by October 21, 2024, at midnight (cut-off deadline) via e-mail. Please use the HEiKA office email address for all matters concerning the call for proposals: info@heika-research.de.

Applications can be written in German or English. The use of the Application Form [DOCX] for HEiKA Strategic Areas of Research is mandatory. Please be sure to follow the instructions for completing the form in the accompanying Information Sheet [PDF].

The funding with a duration of up to 24 months begins on January 1, 2025.

Funding can be provided for expenses for personnel, including student assistants (however, not for the applicant’s own position), expenses for material costs and investments (e.g. scientific instruments), if they directly serve the goals of the proposal or the preparation of the targeted third-party funding application.

Expenses for construction and furnishing measures, operating and maintenance costs, for general institute equipment (such as IT equipment, office furniture, protective equipment), for the acquisition and replacement or repair of basic equipment are not eligible.

Part of the grant for HEiKA-STAR are the call-specific funding guidelines, which contain all further information on eligible expenditure and reporting obligations in the event of funding.

Applications received will be reviewed by the HEiKA office regarding the general requirements and eligibility criteria. They will then be pre-evaluated by the Strategic Board of HEiKA. Consortia for new HEiKA-STAR that promise the greatest impact and have very good prospects for further funding applications will be invited to the HEiKA selection meeting on November 5, 2024, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm in Karlsruhe (save the date). The invitation to the pre-selected teams will be sent out at the earliest one week prior to the meeting. Applicants will have the opportunity to present their proposal to the Strategic Board in a short pitch-like presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session, to win the requested funding. Under this call for proposals, two to four new HEiKA-STARs may be funded.

There is no legal entitlement to funding.

The final funding decision will be announced by November 15, 2024, at the latest.

The following evaluation criteria will be applied in the funding decision:

• Scientific quality, originality, and relevance in relation to the state of research.
• Relevance to the scientific community and society.
• Scientific qualification, competence, and visibility of the applying consortium.
• Complementarity and interdisciplinarity of the activity.
• Feasibility within the intended funding period and the prospect of subsequent third-party funding.
• Contribution to the sustainable networking of the two universities and to increasing visibility.

By submitting the application, the applicants confirm that the costs applied for funding are not part of other funding applications that have been simultaneously submitted to other funding organizations.

If such an application is submitted after submission, the applicants undertake to inform the HEiKA office immediately.

The HEiKA-STAR funding programme aims to strengthen sustainable research collaborations between KIT and the Uni HD. The focus is on the funding of new joint research areas that will establish long-term links between the two partner universities. The call for proposals is specifically aimed at consortia that will jointly apply for major funding from national or international institutions such as the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), or the European Union (EU).

A central focus of the programme is therefore the systematic consolidation of existing collaborations in order to transform them into effective consortia that can be successful in external funding programmes. Preparing for future applications is an integral part of the HEiKA-STAR funding phase, and the funded projects are expected to carry out important preliminary scientific work that is essential for future applications. A HEiKA-STAR proposal should therefore clearly explain how the planned measures, such as preliminary scientific work and intensification of collaboration, will put the consortium on the road to success.

Funding decisions are made by the HEiKA Strategy Board, an interdisciplinary committee that advises the Rectorate of Heidelberg University and the Executive Board of KIT on matters of the strategic partnership. The board is responsible for selecting and approving proposals within the framework of HEiKA's funding calls.

The Strategy Board is currently chaired by Andreas Dreuw, Vice-Rector for Research and Digitalisation at Heidelberg University, and vice-chaired by Thomas Hirth, Vice-President for Transfer and International Affairs at KIT. A complete list of the board members can be found here: https://www.heika-research.de/en/thats-heika/organization

As described in the call documents, eligible consortia must consist of at least four recognised scientists (PIs) from KIT and Heidelberg University. These may explicitly include qualified junior researchers such as junior professors, tenure-track professors or junior research group leaders.

In this context, qualified junior researchers are those who have successfully acquired their own (junior) research group as Principal Investigator (PI) in a formal selection procedure (internal or external). They must also have personnel responsibility for at least one TV-L-13 position (or equivalent) and be actively involved in teaching and mentoring young researchers within their faculty.

Each HEiKA Strategic Research Area can receive up to 200,000 euros per year, with a maximum funding period of 24 months. It is important to note that the awarded funds are subject to strict annuality, i.e. they cannot be carried over to the following financial year or reallocated between funding years within the approved period.

When planning the budget, please distribute the requested funds as evenly as possible between the two partner institutions in order to balance the HEiKA budgets of Heidelberg University and KIT. Budget transfers between KIT and Heidelberg University are not permitted.

Further details can be found in the documents in the download area (above).

There is only a two-week window between the application deadline on 21 October and the selection meeting on 5 November. In order to ensure smooth preparation within this tight timeframe, early notification of your intention to apply is crucial. This notification should include the work title and research area, contact details of all four main applicants and the preferred format for follow-up funding so we can invite additional experts to the selection process if necessary.