Newsroom

Type

Topics

News 08 July 2020

Next step for MOONRISE: Moon dust melted under lunar conditions

Even though the MOONRISE project has not yet arrived on the moon itself, it has now successfully completed an important step on the way there: For the first time, researchers were able to produce dense material under lunar conditions in the Einstein-Elevator in Hannover.

Learn more
Cover des Jahresberichts 2019
Publication of the Foundation 26 June 2020

Annual Report 2019 (in German)

Learn more
News 26 June 2020

Annual Report 2019 – an overview

Record year: With a total of 253.2 million euros, the Volkswagen Foundation has approved more funding in 2019 than ever before.

Learn more
News 22 June 2020

About ants and water filters - video on nanotechnologies

Entertaining and informative: The young South African scientist Dr. Anita Etale explains the benefits of nanotechnologies.

Learn more
Menschen in Bangladesh auf der Straße
Story 17 June 2020

Responsibility – following the Rana Plaza disaster

Since the collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory, occupational safety in Bangladesh has improved – according to the results of a Foundation-funded study. But what will remain if the politicians don't keep at it?  

Learn more
Story 12 June 2020

Sentencing with the aid of algorithms

Many courts in the USA use software to assess the risk of recidivism of defendants. Should AI also be used in the German judicial system? An interdisciplinary research group is now seeking answers to the provocative issues raised in this context.

Learn more

Stories

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.

Read article
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.

Read article