Dear all, 

I gladly forward the open call for proposals for our new research funding programme (for establishing up to ten research groups) on topics related to digitisation. 

Best regards,

Daniel

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In the process of actively shaping the chances offered by the digital transformation, the Bavarian government has developed the strategy "BAYERN DIGITAL". The Centre Digitisation.Bavaria (German: Zentrum Digitalisierung.Bayern, short: ZD.B) provides the core element of that strategy. The ZD.B has established a platform for research, collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship in order to strengthen digital competences in Bavaria and foster collaborations between industry and research on key topics in this area.

One central initiative is the establishment of the ZD.B junior research groups (short: research groups) on topics of digitisation at Bavarian state universities and state universities of applied sciences (in the following both referred to as universities). The goal of the funding programme for establishing the research groups is to support young postdoctoral scholars working on topics that are relevant for digitisation in technical, industrial, or societal areas.

*** Funding Programme ***

The funding programme of the Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Science and the Arts will support up to 10 junior research group leaders---with an excellent PhD degree---to establish an independent research group working on innovative projects with high practical impact. The programme will provide excellent young scholars with the possibility to begin a long-term academic career. The grant features for each research group include the following:

* A volume of up to 250.000,- € per year 

* A duration of up to 5 years (provided a positive intermediate evaluation after approximately 2 years)

* The possibility to supervise PhD students

* The possibility to represent their research topics / discipline in teaching

The funded research groups are formally assigned to a Bavarian state university and will have their work focus there. To foster an intensive collaboration between the research groups, presences and work phases at the ZD.B offices in Garching (Munich) are planned.

All research groups are independent in their research and in the organisation of their research project, as well as in additional fund-raising. The research group leaders supervise scientific theses such as Bachelor, Master, Diploma, and PhD theses. They publish independently as responsible authors and have project budget to hire additional personnel. All publications need to indicate that the research results have been produced in the context of the Centre Digitisation.Bavaria and that it has been funded by the Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Science and the Arts.

*** Prerequisites and Selection Criteria ***

Postdoctoral researchers from Germany and from abroad are entitled to apply for the grant as long as they fulfil the following prerequisites:

* Completion of an excellent PhD

* Excellent achievements in research and teaching, based on an outstanding publication record (quality and originality), awards and honours, third party funding, collaborations, etc.

The application must include the following (according to a given template):

* An academic curriculum vitae including qualifications, list of references, experiences in teaching, and an overview of third party funding obtained and / or research projects in which the applicant participated 

* Three references not including the PhD advisor(s)

* A proposal for a research project with a high practical impact, high originality and especially high relevance for the digitisation. Research projects in the context of universities of applied sciences as well as research projects to be conducted in collaboration with industry are also welcome.

* Letter of intent from the university to which the applicant will be formally assigned

Details on the application can be found following the link provided below.

*** Application ***

The application must be submitted in English in electronic form as well as via a printed and signed document. All necessary material is available for download under http://zentrum-digitalisierung.bayern/nachwuchsforschungsgruppen/call-for-proposals. Only applications that meet the formal requirements will be evaluated. The application must be self-contained without additional, complementary material or publications. It is expected that the application contains a complete and comprehensible concept for additional third-party funding, where reasonable and necessary. The letter of intent, to be signed in advance by the chosen university, must be part of the application.

The deadline for the application to the offices of the Centre Digitisation.Bavaria (address below) and in electronic form, to be sent to ResearchGroups@zd-b.de, is October 1st 2016.