The Minerva Weizmann Programme
Programme Information
The Minerva Weizmann Programme supports excellent individual and group research projects exclusively at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, with nearly 3,6 Mio. € each year.
About the Minerva Weizmann Programme
The Minerva Stiftung maintains research projects at the Weizmann Institute with a touchstone of excellence. Many of these undertakings are based on close cooperation with German scientists and serve frequently as springboards for new projects and partnerships.
The programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) to support approximately eighty projects with ca. 3,6 Mio. € annually. Coming to roughly 26 new projects a year, funded projects can receive 25k-50k € annually and run over three years. Funds can be flexibly used for staff, equipment, consumables, cooperation with Germany or even for publications.
Professor Marina Rodnina, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, chairs the Minerva Weizmann Committee which meets once a year for selecting the projects to be funded.
How it all started
Initiated by both German and Israeli scientists as the first scientific exchange ever after WWII the Minerva Weizmann Programme can be seen as the remarkable programme which eventually led to the founding of the Minerva Stiftung. After Gerhard Schmidt, Amos de Shalit (both from the Weizmann Institute) and Otto Hahn (the then President of the Max Planck Society) pioneered in 1959, the first programme agreement between the Minerva Stiftung and the Weizmann Institute was signed in 1964 and provided funding for more than nineteen projects and a total of fifty-two scientists and researchers. Those first scientific contacts between Germany and Israel have developed into a funding for roughly 2,000 research projects in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and the biosciences. Read more about it here.
Workshop or Group Visit
As part of the Minerva Weizmann Programme, research groups from German research institutions and universities can be invited by a Weizmann research group for a group visit to the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. The two-to-three days exchange intends to strengthen the German-Israeli scientific cooperation which is why it makes reciprocal follow-up meetings part of the application requirements. In case of exceptional circumstances, the group visits can be substituted by a collaborative workshop with a special focus on bringing together junior scientists from the Weizmann Institute and Germany to start a scientific dialogue and establish lasting research contacts.
Please note that project applications can be submitted by Principal Investigators from any Weizmann faculty exclusively to support basic research. In case of interest, please contact a Principal Investigator from Weizmann. More information about the programme is provided by the Weizmann Research Grants & Projects Office.
Short-term visits
Within the framework of their projects, the Principle Investigators of Minerva Weizmann projects can invite German junior scientists for short visits to their research site in Rehovot. The funding for these research stays will be provided by the Weizmann Institute. Eligible are scientists who are German or have lived in Germany for more than five successive years and are currently working or studying at a German research institution. Please note that PhD and Postdoc applicants will be given preference in the selection process.
German researchers interested in such a visit are asked to submit their request directly to the respective Principle Investigator at Weizmann. For details and the list of ongoing projects, please visit the Weizmann Research Grants & Projects Office.
