TUM Seed Fund for Coordinated Programmes (DFG)

The success in highly competitive funding programs such as coordinated programs of the German Research Foundation (DFG) or ERC Grants contribute significantly to TUM’s leading position in cutting-edge research on a national and international level. With the TUM Seed Fund, the TUM Board of Management supports professors who are preparing proposals with TUM as the lead coordinator/spokesperson.

Programme lines and scope of the TUM Seed Fund

The TUM Seed Fund is a central initiative that provides financial support as well as a reduction of the teaching load. The fund provides coordinators with the necessary means and time to conduct preliminary research or to organize meetings to conceptualize and prepare competitive proposals for the respective coordinated programs.

The TUM Seed Fund can be requested for the following DFG funding lines:

• Collaborative Research Centers/Transregios (CRC/TRR) (first submission draft proposals and renewal proposals)
• Research Training Groups (Graduiertenkolleg)
• Priority Programs (Forschungsgruppen)
• Research Units (Schwerpunktprogramme)

Application

For Collaborative Research Centers, the TUM Seed Fund aims at supporting researchers during the 12 months prior to the planned submission of a draft proposal. For all other funding lines, the support can be requested for the period of 6 months before the planned submission. The Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation is the head of the selection committee for the TUM Seed Fund. 

For more information, get in touch with the National Funding Support Team via the central email address research-support@tum.de or contact the respective contact persons for your department at TUM ForTe.