Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (German: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as well as other national and international partners; it promotes international academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from Germany and from abroad.

Every year the Foundation grants more than 700 competitive research fellowships and awards, primarily going to academics from natural sciences (mathematics included) and the humanities. It allows scientists and scholars from all over the world to come to Germany to work on a research project they have chosen themselves together with a host and collaborative partner. In particular, these fellowships and awards include a number of large prizes, such as Humboldt Professorships and Sofia Kovalevskaya Awards. Fellowships and awards from the Foundation are considered to be among the most prestigious and generous awards in Germany; the alumni network is the foundation’s greatest asset, comprising over 26,000 Humboldtians in more than 130 countries — including 50 Nobel laureates. In Bonn Germany, research institutions as well as 20 universities will establish the German Section of the Scholars at Risk Network (SAR) to emphasize controversy over violations concerning academic freedom. They recently announced that they provide more support for scholars at risk in countries where academics are being persecuted.

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