Night Science Expanded – Workshops to strategically enhance creativity
Night Science Expanded – Workshops to strategically enhance creativity supports researchers with practical workshops to develop ideas, frame research questions, and foster interdisciplinary discovery.
This grant was recently updated
Registration for Foundation-funded researchers for the 11 February 2027 workshop now offers a waitlist place. The target group changed from researchers at all career stages to PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers and professors; registration links for all workshops were also updated.
Funder: Volkswagen Foundation
Due Dates: February 11, 2027 (One-day workshop) | May 4, 2027 (One-day workshop) | September 2–3, 2027 (Train-the-trainer) | November 8–9, 2027 (Train-the-trainer) | Registration: first come, first served
Funding Amounts: Free workshop participation; travel and accommodation reimbursed for current Volkswagen Foundation funding recipients
Summary: In-person workshops help researchers develop creative thinking tools, frame research questions, and foster interdisciplinary discovery.
Key Information: You may register for only one workshop; researchers without current Foundation funding are also welcome.
Description
The Volkswagen Foundation’s Night Science Expanded programme offers practical training for PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and professors in the natural, life, and engineering sciences. Delivered in English by the Night Science Institute at the Herrenhausen Palace Conference Centre in Hanover, the workshops make creative research methods accessible to researchers within and beyond the Foundation’s funding network.
The programme focuses on the creative process behind scientific discovery: developing innovative ideas, reframing difficult problems, identifying meaningful research questions, and exchanging approaches across disciplines. One-day workshops introduce practical mental tools for gaining new insights. Two-day train-the-trainer workshops explore these methods further and prepare participants to teach Night Science workshops or courses at their own institutions, helping embed creative thinking within their organisations.
