‘Ideas and knowledge are the key to the future’ – this is the guiding principle of the STAEDTLER-Foundation, which has been supporting the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region for over 20 years. The charitable foundation has since donated more than ten million euros for cultural and research projects.
The STAEDTLER-Foundation is particularly active at FAU. The Foundation funds an annual doctoral thesis award and finances ‘Deutschlandstipendium’ scholarships for outstanding academic achievements and commitment to social projects.
Funding for excellence in research
The STAEDTLER-Foundation is now placing special emphasis on funding the most innovative research projects. The Emerging Fields Initiative (EFI) was launched at FAU in 2010, with the aim of identifying particularly promising and innovative interdisciplinary projects The STAEDTLER-Foundation has been using the ‘seal of quality’ of this highly competitive evaluation process since 2018 to specifically support innovative research ideas which are of considerable importance to society. As a strong partner to FAU, the STAEDTLER-Foundation has already invested in bold emerging projects and thus in promising ‘uncharted scientific territory’. Funding from 2021 onwards will focus on excellent fields of research, in other words initiatives that have proven to be sustainable, have developed quickly and are competitive on an international level.