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Funding is available for projects working on technologies, concepts and scalable solutions for the circular reuse and recycling processes for rare earth elements and other critical metals. Deadline: 15 February 2027; online Q&A on 14 January at 10.30 am.

How do new research ideas come about? In one- or two-day workshops run by the 'Night Science Institute', researchers learn practical methods for developing innovative ideas, rethinking problems, refining questions and sharing creative approaches.

The Opus Magnum funding initiative offers outstanding professors from the humanities and social sciences the opportunity to write a larger scientific work, relieved by a teaching substitution. Online Q&A on 26 October, deadline: 18 Nov, 2026

This is about the future of your research area: What is the current status? What prospects are there for further development - and how can they be realised? With the "Scoping Workshops" the foundation offers space for discussion and intensive exchange. Application deadline: 2 March 2027, Online Q&A: 26 January 2027

Twice a year - at the beginning of each semester in April and October - the Volkswagen Foundation offers a free, one-hour live webinar in English on the funding portfolio. The next webinar is scheduled for 13 April 2027, 10 a.m.

Since 2023, Science Communication Support (Scicomm-Support) has been providing support to those facing hostility in the field of science communication. Julia Wandt has been involved from the very beginning and explains what makes Scicomm-Support unique on a global scale and the challenges she faces in her work.