International Research Training Groups Now Available for Projects Between Germany and Japan

The joint initiative by DFG and JSPS provides funding for up to nine years to suppor the establishment of joint degree or double degree programmes for doctoral researchers in Germany and Japan.

As part of their ongoing collaboration, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Foundation) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) have announced the establishment of Japanese-German International Research Training Groups with the aim to strengthen joint researcher development systems for doctoral students at Japanese and German universities.

International Research Training Groups (IRTG), offer German higher education institutions the opportunity to collaborate with research institutions in other countries for the establishment of joint degree or double degree programme for the doctoral researchers. The programme is designed to promote innovative top-level research and corresponding qualification measures for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. A central feature of IRTG are coordinated and reciprocal research visits by doctoral researchers to the respective partner institutions (between six months and one year). Doctoral students in the IRTG will have supervisors in both countries.

The proposed Japanese-German Research Training Groups are open to all subject areas covered by JSPS. Interdisciplinary projects are particularly encouraged.

Eligible to apply are universities and equivalent institutions of higher education in Germany and Japan. IRTG can only be established by universities and research institutions entitled to confer doctoral degrees.

The IRTG must bring together two teams of researchers from Germany and Japan, respectively. Each team should have approximately five to ten members with proven expertise both in the IRTG’s main research topic and in providing outstanding supervision to doctoral students. Each research team in an IRTG must be based at a single institution in Japan and Germany, respectively. In convincingly justified cases, an IRTG may be based in more than two institutions.

The maximum funding period is nine years. During this period, DFG will cover personnel costs for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, as well as grants and fellowships for doctoral researchers. In addition, funds are available for visiting researchers, research students, travel, workshops, small equipment, consumables and coordination. On the German side, approximately 10-15 doctoral researchers will be funded by DFG within a single IRTG in parallel.

Applications are accepted at any time.

(This report was the subject of a RESEARCHconnect Newsflash.)