Glossary

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

A foundation established by the Federal Republic of Germany on 10 December 1953, based in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, that brings researchers from all over the world to Germany and keeps supporting them afterwards. Through the Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship it also sends researchers from Germany abroad. Read more →

Basic research

Experimental or theoretical work done mainly to gain new knowledge about the foundations of phenomena, without a particular application in view; this is the definition of the OECD Frascati Manual. Applied research, by contrast, aims at a specific practical goal. The DFG funds mainly basic research that researchers devise themselves. Read more →

Bonn Science Night German: Bonner Wissenschaftsnacht

A public science festival held every two years since 2000 by the City of Bonn, the Rhein-Sieg and Ahrweiler districts, the University of Bonn and research institutions of the region. A “Tent City of Knowledge” in the city centre shows experiments and exhibits; the 15th edition took place on 21 and 22 May 2026. Read more →

Cluster of excellence German: Exzellenzcluster

A large research collaboration on one field at a German university or group of universities, funded under the Excellence Strategy for seven years at a time with 3 to 10 million euros a year. From 2026 to 2032 there are 70 clusters; the University of Bonn has eight, more than any other German university. Read more →

DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service)

A registered association of German higher education institutions and student bodies that funds the international exchange of students and researchers, in both directions. Founded in Heidelberg in 1925, it was refounded in Bonn in 1950 and has its head office on Kennedyallee. Read more →

DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)

The central self-governing organisation of research in Germany, an association under private law jointly funded by the federal and state governments, which funds research projects in all disciplines. Founded in 1920 as the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft, it has had its head office in Bonn since 1949 and its present name since a merger in 1951. Read more →

Effelsberg radio telescope

The 100-metre radio telescope of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in a valley of the Eifel hills, one of the largest fully steerable radio telescopes on Earth. It has been in full operation since 1972 and observes, among other things, pulsars, star-forming regions and jets from black holes. Read more →

ESA European Space Agency

The European space agency of 23 member states. Its highest political body, the Council at Ministerial Level, meets about every three years to decide each country’s contributions; at the meeting in Bremen in November 2025 Germany subscribed about 5.4 billion euros of some 22.1 billion, the largest share. Read more →

Excellence Strategy German: Exzellenzstrategie

A permanent programme of the German federal and state governments, based on an agreement of 2016, that gives extra money to top-level research at universities. It has two funding lines: clusters of excellence, run by the DFG, and universities of excellence, run by the German Council of Science and Humanities. Read more →

German Council of Science and Humanities Wissenschaftsrat

The body that advises the federal government and the state governments on science, research and higher education; founded on 5 September 1957, it describes itself as the oldest science policy advisory body in Europe. In the Excellence Strategy it runs the funding line for universities of excellence. Read more →

German Space Agency at DLR DLR: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center)

The part of DLR in Bonn that acts as Germany’s space agency: it plans the national space programme and manages Germany’s contributions to ESA and EUMETSAT on behalf of the federal government. It continues the work of DARA, a separate agency set up in 1989 that merged with DLR in 1997. Read more →

Grant

A sum of money that a funder awards for a specific research project, after choosing the best proposals in open competition. At the DFG researchers can apply at any time, on any topic, and the money can pay for equipment, work-related travel and project staff. Read more →

Host

The researcher at a German university or research institution with whom a Humboldt fellow will work. Applicants choose the host themselves and agree the research plan before applying; the foundation does not match them, and the application goes forward only once the host’s statement is uploaded. Read more →

Humboldt Research Fellowship

A fellowship of the Humboldt Foundation that pays a researcher from abroad a monthly stipend to work in Germany on a project of their own choice. Unlike a project grant, it goes to a person. Postdoctoral researchers can receive it for 6 to 24 months and experienced researchers for 6 to 18 months (status as of 3 November 2026). Read more →

Humboldtian

A former Humboldt fellow. The foundation keeps supporting them after the stay, for example with later research visits to Germany, and counts well over 30,000 Humboldtians in more than 140 countries (status as of 3 November 2026). Read more →

Joint Committee

The DFG body that takes the final funding decisions. It brings together the 39 scientists of the Senate with representatives of the federal government (16 votes), the 16 state governments (one vote each) and the Stifterverband (two votes), so researchers always hold the majority. Read more →

Key publications

The one to three publications that an applicant for a Humboldt Research Fellowship names as the basis for judging the quality of their research. Since April 2026 experienced researchers may list only papers in which they were the lead author, for example sole or corresponding author. Read more →

Lead agency procedure LAP

A way of funding international research projects in which only one agency, the lead agency, assesses the joint proposal, and the partner agencies accept its result and each fund their own country’s team. It spares researchers two separate reviews of the same project. Read more →

NCN Narodowe Centrum Nauki (National Science Centre)

Poland’s agency for funding basic research, based in Kraków, which runs open calls such as OPUS. It has worked with the DFG since 2014, first in the Beethoven calls and since 2021 under Weave. Read more →

Peer review

The assessment of a research proposal or paper by other researchers who know the field well. At the DFG people with a close collaboration, a rivalry or a teacher–student relationship with the applicant are left out, reviewers’ names stay confidential, and scientific quality is the only criterion. Read more →

Postdoctoral researcher postdoc

A researcher who has completed a doctorate and is in the first years of a research career after it. For the Humboldt Research Fellowship this means a doctorate completed within the last four years. Read more →

Pulsar

A rapidly spinning neutron star: a sphere made mostly of neutrons, about 16 kilometres across but more massive than the Sun. It sends out beams of radio waves that sweep across space as it rotates, so from Earth it seems to switch on and off like a lighthouse. Pulsars are among the objects observed with the Effelsberg telescope. Read more →

Radio telescope

An instrument, usually a large dish antenna, that collects the naturally occurring radio waves from objects in space; the signals are turned into data and images. It is built to detect extremely weak signals, and several radio telescopes can be linked to obtain more detailed images. Read more →

Review board

One of the DFG’s 48 elected bodies, each covering a group of subjects. Its members, elected every four years by around 150,000 eligible researchers, compare all proposals in their field, weigh the reviews and recommend which to fund. Read more →

Third-party funding German: Drittmittel

Money for research that comes from outside a university’s regular budget, for example from the DFG, won for a particular project. The regular budget pays for staff, buildings and teaching; third-party funding pays for the extra work of a project. Read more →

UN Campus

The site in Bonn’s former government district where United Nations organisations work. Its centre is the UN Tower, the former parliamentary high-rise known as the “Langer Eugen”, which the federal government made available to the UN in 2006. Since spring 2026 the city has offered guided tours. Read more →

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The UN climate treaty; the name also stands for its secretariat, the UN body that supports the global response to climate change. The secretariat has been based in Bonn since 1996 and organises the annual climate conferences (COP), three of which have been held in Bonn. Read more →

University of excellence

A university, or consortium of universities, that receives permanent Excellence Strategy funding for its overall strategy. It needs at least two clusters of excellence (a consortium three) and is evaluated every seven years. From 1 January 2027, 15 institutions hold the status, the University of Bonn among them (status as of 3 November 2026). Read more →

Weave

A lead agency procedure for joint projects of researchers from two or three European countries or regions, launched in December 2020 by European research funders. The DFG and the NCN have used it since September 2021; it has no budget of its own, so joint proposals compete with national ones. Read more →

Sources checked on: 3 November 2026