The Bayer Science & Education Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will be awarding joint research fellowships by contributing a total of EUR 3 million to the programme through 2018 to finance 10 Humboldt-Bayer research fellowships a year.

Fellows will be selected together with applicants for a regular Humboldt postdoctoral research fellowship in the life sciences, chemistry or pharmacy. In addition to standard funding from the Humboldt Foundation, candidates selected for a fellowship will receive additional offers from Bayer. For example, the company and its foundation will establish contact for them with individuals in the Bayer Group, invite them to events or foundation alumni meetings, offer career and job search counseling, provide mentors and arrange plant tours.

“Bayer's goal is to promote the best junior talents and strengthen the global exchange in the life sciences, chemistry and pharmacy. In doing so, we attach great importance to our partnership with the Humboldt Foundation's globally unique network,” said Professor Wolfgang Plischke, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG responsible for Innovation, Technology and Sustainability, and member of the foundation's Board of Directors.

For the Humboldt Foundation, partnerships with leading companies like Bayer are an important means for awarding more fellowships and at the same time promoting collaborations between industry and the research community. According to Secretary General Enno Aufderheide, the fellows, companies and the Humboldt Foundation itself benefit equally from this strategy. “In this way, we have access to researchers interested in continuing their career in a global, research-oriented company, who in the past have shown only little interest in a Humboldt fellowship,” said Aufderheide.

The Bayer Science & Education Foundation supports people who show unique dedication and can claim outstanding achievements in their field, particularly when they are just starting a career in science. The foundation focuses on natural science, technology and medicine.