• Interdisciplinary consortia of two or more researchers employed at the University of Siegen who have completed their doctorates and are related to one or more of the University of Siegen's profile areas are eligible to apply.
• Applicants should prepare a third-party funding application for a joint project within 12 months, which, if approved, will be carried out at the University of Siegen.
• Applicants may submit a maximum of one application per call.
• Repeated submission of a (rejected) application is not possible.

The following funds can be applied for as start-up funding for the preparation of coordinated collaborative proposals to the DFG, EU, federal and state ministries and foundations:

• Material and travel expenses (operating and maintenance costs for equipment are excluded; consumables only in the context of specific preparatory work for the project)
• Auxiliary staff for preparatory work - (for this purpose: calculation tool for auxiliary staff)

Project implementation, preparation of follow-up applications and the financing of regular project positions are not eligible for funding

Up to €25,000 can be applied for.

Applications must be submitted electronically to the Prorectorates for Research, Infrastructure and Networking and comprise two documents:

1. Data sheet with binding confirmation that the application will be submitted
2. Application according to the application template (max. 5 pages)

Please only use the template provided for your application. Unfortunately, incomplete applications and applications that deviate from the template cannot be considered. Applications submitted outside the deadline cannot be considered either.

The application template includes the following sections:

1. Concrete project outline
2. Current state of research and innovative content
3. Structure and coherence of the consortium, including assignment of the applicants to work areas and highlighting of specialist expertise in the subject area of the application, if available, previous collaborations between the applicants
4. Presentation of the possibilities for realizing a joint, ideally coordinated programme (including naming possible competing projects in the subject area). The specific requirements of the program should be addressed.
5. Binding work plan and timetable for the application
6. Financial plan
7. Performance profiles for each applicant

The spokespersons of the applications present their projects in the form of a short presentation to the Research Commission and are then available to answer questions. The decision on the applications is based on four selection criteria:

1. Scientific innovation content: in particular, the scientific relevance and originality of the main topic or research idea and the work plan and timetable are to be assessed.
2. Qualification of the applicant group: Evaluation of the technical requirements for carrying out the project and the completeness of the thematic coverage. The prospects of success of a planned application for third-party funding should also be roughly assessed here.
3. Networking potential: The potential for new cooperation topics and/or constellations should be assessed.
4. Resources applied for and services to be agreed by the applicants: It must be checked whether the resources requested are appropriate for the services envisaged by the applicants.

In addition, the commission also takes into account subject-specific framework conditions. In a summarizing vote, the present application is considered in its entirety.