The Einstein Foundation Berlin promotes international cutting-edge research in and for Berlin. Established in 2009 by the State of Berlin as a civil-law foundation, it has since strengthened Berlin as a center of research and enhanced its visibility worldwide.
The scientists we fund are doing exceptional work in their respective fields: they develop new approaches in medical research, analyze the digital transformation, and investigate how societies change. Among them are three Nobel laureates as well as numerous recipients of prestigious awards – including the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation and grants from the European Research Council.
For research. For Berlin.
We are currently supporting ten programme lines with more than 20 million euros annually:
- joint research priorities across institutional boundaries,
- the appointment and retention of outstanding researchers,
- excellent early-career researchers, and
- the development of (international) scientific networks.
These include, for example, Einstein Professorships, international research stays (Visiting Fellows), a postdoctoral funding programme, collaborations with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Oxford, as well as support for Einstein Centers, where researchers from different institutions work together on pioneering topics.
Applicants and projects are selected by a distinguished Research Board. It ensures that - regardless of discipline or institution - the most promising and highest-quality proposals are identified. The final decision on funding is taken by the Executive Board. This guarantees that the Foundation's resources are allocated according to academic quality criteria and with the greatest possible independence.
To date, around 250 researchers and ten Einstein Centers have been funded. In these centers, researchers work on topics such as preventive medicine, the digital future, or population and diversity.
Thanks to its independence, its cross-disciplinary funding approach and its clear regional focus, the Einstein Foundation holds a unique position in Germany's research funding landscape. It strengthens science as a key driver of our future, helps attract leading international researchers to Berlin, and showcases the city's scientific achievements. In this way, the Einstein Foundation is helping to establish Berlin as a place where new ideas and solutions emerge and where the contours of tomorrow's society are being shaped.
The Einstein Foundation has launched an initiative with international appeal: the Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research. The €350,000 Award annually recognizes outstanding researchers and institutions whose work helps to advance the quality and robustness of research findings on a global scale.
Funding is awarded on the basis of applications from professors and project leaders at the following Berlin universities: Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Universität der Künste Berlin and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Publicly funded institutions such as the Berlin institutes of the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association, the Leibniz Association and the Fraunhofer Society can also be funded as cooperation partners. In addition, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has the status of a cooperation partner. In the Einstein Professorship Programme, the publicly funded non-university institutes in Berlin can apply for funding together with the eligible institutions or on their own.
The Einstein Foundation Berlin is independent and science-driven. There are neither subject nor institutional quotas – all disciplines from A for Ancient History to Z for Zoology can apply, as can creative projects, for example from the University of the Arts. Funding is awarded on the basis of the scientific quality of the application. Another important criterion is the contribution to Berlin's scientific landscape. Applications are generally evaluated by external experts in a peer review process. Based on their assessments, the Scientific Commission makes recommendations for funding or rejection to the Foundation's Board of Directors.
The founder is the state of Berlin, which provides the Einstein Foundation with annual state funding for business operations and promotional activities, in addition to the foundation capital of five million euros provided in 2009, the year the foundation was established. The Foundation also receives matching funds, i.e. for every euro raised privately, it receives 50 cents from the Land of Berlin. In addition, the Foundation receives 'matching funds' from the state of Berlin as an incentive for private donors, i.e. every euro of private funding is matched by 50 cents of public funding.
The Foundation honours the work of Albert Einstein and its immense significance for science and society in Berlin and across the globe. We are grateful to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, responsible for preserving the legacy of Albert Einstein, for its valued cooperation and participation in the Foundation Council and the Berlin Board.