Night Science – Space for the Creative Mind
Forecasted
Night Science – Space for the Creative Mind from the Volkswagen Foundation supports interdisciplinary researcher tandems to explore creative, unconventional ideas in the natural, life, and engineering sciences.
Funder: Volkswagen Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): June 2027 (Full application, projected)
Funding Amounts: Up to €200,000 per tandem for a 1-year project; covers direct costs and up to 10% overheads for eligible institutions.
Summary: Supports interdisciplinary tandems of researchers to develop unconventional, creative ideas in the natural, life, and engineering sciences through a year-long program with workshops.
Key Information: Selection is by qualified lottery after pre-selection; no salary funding for applicants; one partner must be at a German institution.
Description
This initiative from the Volkswagen Foundation provides a unique funding opportunity for pairs ("tandems") of researchers in the natural, life, and engineering sciences (excluding medical sciences) to foster creativity and pursue unconventional, boundary-pushing ideas. The program is designed to support researchers who wish to step back from their routine commitments and engage deeply in interdisciplinary exchange, experimentation, and reflection. Rather than funding specific research projects, the focus is on the creative process itself, with participants benefiting from a structured support program that includes three mandatory creativity workshops over the course of the funding year.
The aim is to empower researchers to rethink approaches, develop new hypotheses, and cultivate innovative thinking in a pressure-free environment. Up to ten tandems are selected each cycle via a qualified lottery, following an internal pre-selection based on team synergy, expertise, willingness to experiment, and openness to self-reflection.
