Research proposals wanted for EFI

Third round of the FAU Emerging Fields Initiative

A new round of applications for the Emerging Fields Initiative (EFI) has begun and all professors at FAU have a new opportunity to apply for funding by submitting their research proposals.

The deadline for submitting a short, informal, non-binding declaration of intent has been moved to 25 September 2015. The full preliminary proposal must then be submitted by 16 October 2015. There are two steps to the EFI application process:

1. Submit a short, informal, non-binding declaration of intent. The declaration of intent is required merely for processing purposes and will not be evaluated. It should contain the proposed project title, the name of the project co-ordinator and the names of the other researchers who intend to support the application. Changes to the project title and participating researchers are permitted and can be made in the preliminary proposal.
2. Submit a preliminary proposal. The required forms and information on the application procedure are available for download at www.efi.fau.de/download.shtm.

All documents should be sent by e-mail (efi@fau.de) to F3. If the preliminary proposal is accepted, a full proposal must be submitted by 6 May 2016.

EFI – investing in the future

EFI was established in 2010 with the aim of identifying outstanding and preferably interdisciplinary research projects at an early stage, and providing them with support and funding in a non-bureaucratic way. After the first two rounds of applications, 18 EFI projects have so far received a total of 12 million euros in funding.

This internal funding scheme for excellent research aims to increase FAU’s reputation as a leading university and help develop its unique profile. Another of EFI’s goals is to contribute to developing strategic contacts with top partners and to make the University more attractive to researchers from both Germany and abroad.

EFI has now established itself as a profitable strategic measure. The six projects funded in the first round had led to over 260 publications, several patents and 40 third-party projects before handing in their final reports and 17 collaborative proposals are currently in preparation. Even more remarkably, three of these projects have already raised several times the amount of initial funding by securing competitive third-party funding.

Further information:

Jeanette Hefele, F3
Phone: +49 9131 8523269
jeanette.hefele@fau.de