The visiting professorship scheme for which the University of Bonn has successfully secured funding has a five-year term and represents an expansion of the program set up back in 2016. The professorship will be funded by CAPES for the full five years and is intended to give exceptional Brazilian researchers the opportunity to spend six months or a year at the University of Bonn. One new feature is the fact that both a postdoc and a PhD position are now being funded. The funding from CAPES amounts to €500,000 in all and will be spread across five years. There are only around 10 professorships of this kind in the world at present, three of which are based in Germany.
“Our internationalization strategy is centered around a plan to attract the world’s leading researchers to our University,” explained Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch, Rector of the University of Bonn, after the contracts had been signed. “So I’m delighted that we’ve once again been successful in securing funding for the CAPES visiting professorship scheme.” Prof. Dr. Birgit Ulrike Münch, Vice Rector for International Affairs, added: “The program is a big win for everyone involved. Brazil is a key player in the global research environment, and there are only three CAPES professorships in the whole of Germany. The holder of the professorship will have the opportunity to research, teach and build networks at a prestigious University of Excellence. However, we’re also lining ourselves up to harness additional synergy effects for future research projects involving top Latin American researchers.”
The visiting professorship scheme covers the areas of human sciences, social sciences, economics, life and medical sciences, natural sciences and agriculture. CAPES is responsible for nominating the individual researchers who take part.
The first time the scheme was run, Professor Roberto Hofmeister Pich from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) was appointed as a visiting professor at the University of Bonn. He is also a Bonn University Ambassador and has done much to strengthen the partnership between the two institutions.