Bonn-Melbourne Research Excellence Fund
Project Funding
Funding for joint research projects with faculty from the University of Melbourne (matching funds from both universities for a total of up to €20,000 per project).
Submission Deadline
A new call for 2026 is expected to open in May 2025.
Currently no Call
Funding Conditions
The Bonn-Melbourne Research Excellence Fund fosters the developlement of high-quality research activities that include Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in a significant role. Applications from all schools and disciplines are encouraged that propose innovative and sustainable projects built around collaborative research linking researchers from the University of Bonn and the University of Melbourne. The expectation is that these initial projects will lead to long-term research collaborations, institutional and research relations, and when applicable, generate publications, exhibitions, and/or external funding for ongoing collaboration.
In 2024, up to three applications will be funded (each with two principal investigators: one from the University of Bonn and one from the University of Melbourne).
- Expenses for University of Bonn or University of Melbourne research staff to travel to the partner university (for Bonn staff: transportation, accommodation, and per diem rates in accordance with the Travel Expenses Act of the State of NRW; for stays of visiting researchers in Bonn, please consult our recommended per diems and mobility lump sums)
- For justified exceptions (e.g. for the initiation of teaching collaborations), travel expenses for Bonn or Melbourne students to the partner university (based on applicants’ calculations)
- Material expenses and student assistants needed to conduct research activities and events
- Personnel expenses, scholarships, publication costs, and basic equipment (e.g. laptops, computer, etc.) are excluded from this funding
For more specific information, please consult the grant program’s guidelines.
Successful funding applications will be awarded up to AU$32,000/ €20,000 per project (up to AU$16,000 from the University of Melbourne and up to €10,000 from the University of Bonn). Grants should be spent within 12 months of receipt of funding and must be used for research (broadly defined) and follow the budget guidelines. Applications with a smaller budget seeking funding for an exploratory workshop in either Bonn and Melbourne are also encouraged.
The budget costs for the University of Melbourne and the University of Bonn must be shown separately in the financing plan.
- Academic quality: What is the academic merit of the proposed work? How will the project contribute to novel thinking and creative outcomes? If applicable, how does the proposal incorporate interdisciplinarity?
- Project design and rationale: How clearly presented and justified is the basis for, and design of, the project? How do the proposed activities assist with establishing new and growing emerging research collaborations? What are the anticipated benefits of involving ECRs and/or graduate researchers? Will the project use appropriate research methods to achieve its intended outcomes?
- Collaborator complementarity: What is the added value of the new or emerging collaboration? How do the proposed activities combine mutual areas of interest and strength?
- Research outcomes and potential impact: What desired outcomes do the planned activities set out to achieve? For example, publications, grant proposals, clinical interventions, technological innovations, exhibitions, performance, enhanced networks and/or research-based seminars, conferences or workshops? What are the anticipated benefits of the activities to local or international communities?
- Capacity for future collaboration/ funding: What is the potential for this project to foster ongoing collaboration, and through what mechanism(s)? How well does the proposed collaboration plan to access external funding?
Researchers of the University of Bonn who have completed a doctorate submit a joint proposal with faculty from the University of Melbourne. Bonn researchers must be able to show proof of their employment at least until the end of the collaborative research project.
- Online form
- Project description (PDF file), consisting of:
- Names, titles, and departments of PI’s and team members
- Layperson’s abstract of the proposed project (up to 250 words)
- Narrative description of the proposed project for a multi-school, multi-disciplinary audience (max. 4 pages)
- Budget and budget justification, explaining in detail all anticipated expenditures
- Current CV’s (max. 2 pages for each PI, max. 1 page for each team member)
Detailed information on the application process can be found in the grant guidelines2.
Contact
Dr. Christian Klöckner
2.002
Poppelsdorfer Allee 102
53115 Bonn (Germany)
Funded by the Federal and State Governments as part of the German Excellence Strategy
