New Call in 2026: Promotion and association of new junior group research leaders at KIT

In year 2 and 3 of the second funding period (2026 and 2027), the CRC1441 aims to promote and associate new junior group research leaders at KIT with the overall goal to include the most talented and suited early career researchers as principle investigators in the third funding period of the CRC proposal (2029-2032). In a competitive process, financial support for typically one doctoral researcher position by the CRC 1441 will be granted over the period of 2 years. This may be an interesting opportunity for W1-junior professors or group leaders to grow and promote their work with new collaborations within the broad thematic range of the CRC 1441.

The application for support in CRC1441 consists of the following three parts, which should be written in English:

  1. Cover letter, outlining the benefit of the grant and to the research/scientific career of the applicant, stating that the person is still early career researcher at the beginning of the second funding period in 2029

  2. max. 2-page proposal including state of the art, own expertise, contribution to the CRC 1441, work program and financial plan (see template)

  3. max. 2-page Curriculum Vitae including publication list (see template)

As stated above, the overall aim is to include the funded group to the CRC in the second funding period. For the application, please state your group size, your scientific independence and your state as early career researcher in your curriculum vitae or cover letter. As a reminder, the following definition applies for early career researchers according to the DFG: the year of the oral exam is usually no later than eight years prior to the start of thr project (in this case, the start of our third funding period 2029). Career breaks (e.g., family-related) are considered, extending the early career period by up to two years per child.

Please send the above mentioned files as PDF or Word file to florian.maurer∂kit.edu. The deadline for application is the 25.5.2026.

In case of formal or content related question, also do not hesitate to contact florian.maurer∂kit.edu.