The new scheme, building on existing agreements with the Go8 and ATN universities, was established by a Memorandum of Understanding between Universities Australia and the German Academic Research Exchange (DAAD) in December 2014.
The scheme will fund travel and living costs, enabling Australian researchers to visit their German counterparts and German researchers to visit Australia. There is also a strong focus on supporting early career researchers.
With a budget of 430 million euros per year the DAAD is the largest funding organisation in the world for international academic exchange.
“We are delighted to be expanding the opportunity to all Universities Australia members to take part in this research exchange with one of the world’s research powerhouses,” said Universities Australia Chief Executive, Belinda Robinson.
“By increasing our participation in research partnerships worldwide, we not only enhance Australia’s research output, we also provide the opportunity for our researchers to collaborate on frontier research projects that lead to solutions to local issues.”
“Germany is Europe’s largest national economy and for many Australian universities, it is already one of the top priority countries for international research collaboration. This scheme will improve on established links and make way for new partnerships to develop,” Ms Robinson said.
The DAAD President Professor Margret Wintermantel said that “the agreement is a breakthrough for academic relations between Germany and Australia. It sets the stage for far-reaching collaboration with all the universities in the country.”
Thirty six of Australia’s universities have chosen to participate in 2015 and have committed over AUD $1.4 million in funding. The DAAD will provide a similar amount in euros for the successful German applicants.
The scheme is open to Australian researchers at participating Australian universities in all academic fields.
Applications for funding under the Australia-Germany Joint Research Cooperation Scheme are invited from 9 April to 30 June 2015.
Further information including the application pack is now available here.
