Newsroom

Funding offer 17 April 2023

zukunft.niedersachsen: Lower Saxony Professorship

The "Lower Saxony Professorship" addresses exceptional academics who are professionally excellent and have several years of (management) experience in the science system. They are expected to have the capacity to shape the profile and structure of their university location and impact the research region at large.

Frau in einem Museumsarchiv mit großformatigen Gemälden
Story 16 April 2023

Provenance research: The stories behind the things

Diving into archives, tracing the migration of museum objects through time and contexts – this is how provenance researcher Claudia Andratschke describes her work. A portrait.

Frau im Labor lächelt in die Kamera
Story 13 April 2023

Quantum technology: Computing with light

Stefanie Kroker works in the field of nanometrology, creating the tiniest structures and developing techniques to measure them as precisely as possible. Research on quantum computing could also benefit from this. A portrait.

Many hands with wooden jigsaw pieces
Publication of the Foundation 11 April 2023

Strategic guidelines transdisciplinarity transfer science communication

The Volkswagen Foundation's strategic guidelines on transdisciplinarity.

Podium mit several people
News 04 April 2023

African scientists create "Knowledge for Tomorrow"

The Volkswagen Foundation launched its research commitment in Africa 20 years ago. Now, the Foundation is inviting its fellows to Naivasha, Kenya, for a future-oriented dialogue.

Several persons in discussion
News 29 March 2023

Supporting Science in Sub-Saharan Africa: On the satisfaction derived from developing solutions

Not only crises caused by political upheavals or famines continue to wreak havoc on societies and communities on the African continent. Gilbert Fokou, a social anthropologist from Cameroon, sees himself as a bridging interface between the people and decision-makers in politics. He is driven by a strong determination to help the very poor. 

Eine Frau, die aufmerksam zuhört
Story 06 March 2025

So that everyone can have their say: Citizens' assembly on AI research

Rhetoric expert Anika Kaiser researches how people can make themselves heard on the major issues of our time – artificial intelligence (AI) being a case in point. She is the right person to take care that this grassroots democratic process does not remain too detached from reality: in her first life, she trained as a painter.

Frauen mit Kopftüchern sitzen an Tischen und haben Steinblöcke mit Inschriften vor sich liegen, die sie betrachten.
Story 26 February 2025

Archaeology as reconstruction: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Mosul

He came to Mosul with the task of excavating ancient Nineveh. In the meantime, however, the mission of the ancient orientalist Stefan Maul goes far beyond this: he is rebuilding the study of antiquity in Iraq. And he is teaching the people what the Islamists robbed them of: pride in their cultural heritage.