UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER GÖTTINGEN

Christiane Hennecke, M.A.Director Department of International RelationsUniversity Medical Center Goettingen, Germany

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Profile of the University Medical Center Goettingen

Key Activities of the Department of International Relations

Research Funding Opportunities within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union

Further funding opportunities offered by international funding institutions

Presentation Overview

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Goettingen is a historic university city

1737: Funding year of the University (Faculty of Medicine was the founding faculty)

44 Nobel laureates lived and worked in Goettingen

2007: awarded the status of “University of Excellence”

Profile of the UMG

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1737 Founding year of the Medical Faculty Founding faculty of the Georg August University

1999 Restructuring to an „integration model“ (according to the Higher Education Act of Lower Saxony): full-time salaried executive board for research and teaching, health care, administration/management

2003 Establishment of the Foundation University of Göttingen made up of two separate foundations: the ‚University‘ and the ‚University Medical Center‘

2007 Awarded the status of ‚University of Excellence‘ (the only northern German university with this status)

Göttingen: central location in Germany

population 120,000

24,000 students

UMG PROFILEHistory

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Georg August University of GöttingenFoundation, made up of two separate foundations

„Stiftungsausschuss“ of the University Medical Center: advisory as well as supervisory board

Executive board with three departments:Research and teachingHealth care Management and administration

ADVANTAGES OF A FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY

Autonomy in tenure procedures

Independent financial management

University property is part of the endowment

UMG PROFILEOrganisation

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RANGE OF SERVICES:

> University medical center, provider of specialized as well as basic health care

AREAS OF FOCUS:

> Neurosciences

> Cardiovascular system

> Oncology

INTERNATIONAL RENOWNED CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE:

> European Neuroscience Institute Goettingen

> German Research Foundation Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain

> Goettinger Center for Molecular Biosciences

UMG PROFILEHealth Care, Education and Research under one umbrella

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7,026 employees

5,460 full-time employees

118 professors

3,730 students (winter semester 2007/2008) of medicine, dentistry and molecular medicine

7 vocational schools for health care-related occupations

621 vocational school students and apprentices

Largest employer and largest institution in the region offering vocational and on-the-job training

UMG PROFILEOur people (2007)

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459.0 million euros in operating revenues

415.5 million euros total balance

120.6 million euros subsidy from the State of Lower Saxony for research and teaching (including auxiliary responsibilities )

31.2 million euros acquired third-party funding

3.0 million euros tuition fees

UMG PROFILEFunding (2007)

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1,442 beds in more than 40 clinical departments

49,435 inpatients

103,669 outpatients

81.6% average bed occupancy rate

8.0 day average length of stay

1.478 Case Mix Index (CMI)

64.887 Case Mix (CM)

UMG PROFILEPerformance statistics for health care (2007)

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EU-Liaison Office for Life Sciences

Informing researchers about funding opportunities within the 7th Framework Programme

Providing assistance during proposal writing (incl. budget calculations)

Managing over 60 successful EU- and international projects (Total amount of funding: around 25 Mio Euro)

Same support for researchers applying for other international research funding (e.g. NIH, HFSP)

Key Activities of the Dept of International Relations

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International Cooperation

Initiating and fostering international cooperation with universities worldwide

Preparing fellowship agreements for guest researchers and doctors doing further qualification

Administration of the EUROLIFE network

Key Activities of the Dept of International Relations

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Funding Opportunities

Coop-eration

Ideas

People Capacities

Cooperation: Basic and applied collaborative research

Ideas (European Research Council, ERC): Funding for investigator-driven research beyond the “frontier” of knowledge.

7th Framework Programme of the EU:

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Bottom-up Approach: Investigator-driven, innovative „High-risk / High-gain“ research projects from all fields of science

Excellence is the sole evaluation criterion: - Quality of Principle Investigator: scientific track-record showing great promise- Quality of research project: ground breaking research proposal- Research environment: quality of host institution

Investment in research talent:

Nationality and age of researchers is not relevant,

but host organisation to be located in EU member state or associated state

ERC: Strategic Principles

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Two complementary funding schemes:

ERC Grant Schemes

ERC Starting Grants (StG): For young researchers who are at the beginning of their career as an independent researcher

ERC Advanced Grants (AdG): For established independent research leaders

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Principle Investigator:

- Nationality, age, current place of work not relevant- Eligible 2-10 years after PhD- Excellent publications, incl. at least 1 important

publication without participation of PhD supervisor

Frontier Research Project:

- Highly innovative research project in basic research- PI has freedom to choose his/her research team

ERC Starting Grants

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Host Organisation: To be located in EU member state or associated state!

Funding: up to € 2.0 Mio for max 5 years

(Reimbursement of 100% of eligible direct costs + 20% flat-rate for indirect costs)

ERC Starting Grants

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Starting Grant call in 2007:

10 proposals submitted by Chinese PIs 2 successful proposals:

Host organisations chosen by the two Chinese PIs:University of Heidelberg, GermanyLeiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands

Starting Grant call in 2008:

Statistics are not yet available

China’s Participation

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Principle Investigator:

- Nationality, age, current place of work not relevant- Excellent track record of the last 10 years, including

patents, publications in international peer reviewed scientific journals, awards

Frontier Research Project:

- Highly innovative research project in basic research- PI has freedom to choose his/her research team

ERC Advanced Grants

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Host Organisation: To be located in EU member state or associated state!

Funding: up to € 3.5 Mio for max 5 years

(Reimbursement of 100% of eligible direct costs + 20% flat-rate for indirect costs)

ERC Advanced Grants

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What the University Medical Center Goettingen offers as a Host Organisation! Excellent research environment to carry out frontier research projects:

- European Neuroscience Institute Goettingen (ENI)- German Research Foundation (DFG) Center for Molecular

Physiology of the Brain (CMPB) with the Excellence Cluster Microscopy at the Nanometer Range

- Goettinger Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB)

Already 2 successful UMG Starting Grant Holders (out of 8 Starting Grants in Life Sciences hosted in Germany)

→ Very good reputation and profound experience in management of ERC Grants

Host Organisation

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Advanced Grant call in 2008: No proposals from Chinese PIs

Advanced Grant call in 2009:No statistics available yet, evaluation is ongoing since May 2009

(no call in 2007)

China’s Participation

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ERC Starting Grants: Single Submission (with 2-step evaluation) Deadlines for each domain: Physical Sciences and Engineering: 28 Oct 2009 Social Sciences & Humanities: 9 Dec 2009 Life Sciences: 18 Nov 2009

ERC Advanced Grants: Single Submission (with 2-step evaluation) Publication of the Call: Oct 29, 2009 Deadlines for each domain: Physical Sciences and Engineering: 24 Feb 2010 Social Sciences & Humanities: 7 April 2010 Life Sciences: 17 March 2010

Next Calls

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ERC Website:

http://erc.europa.eu/

Cordis FP7 „Find a call/ Ideas“:

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html

Further Information on EU-Funding

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German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)Research Grants for Doctoral Candidates and Young Academics and Scientists: - To carry out a research project or continuing education & training at a German university or non-university research institute- Good knowledge of German language required- Grant: monthly award of 750 euros (graduates holding a first degree) or 1,000 euros (doctoral candidates) + travel-flat rate & contribution towards health insurance costs

Application Deadline: 20 March (For a stay of up to 6-months: applications to DAAD Beijing Branch Office / For more than 6 months: application to China Scholarship Council, Beijing)

Fellowships for Research in Germany

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DAAD-K.C. Wong Research Grants for Chinese Postdoctoral Scientists:- To enable highly qualified Chinese scientists of all subjects together with German colleagues to do joint research - Required language skills depend on suggested project (in general either good knowledge of German or English)- Funding duration: 3-12 months

Application Deadline: 30 April or 15 Nov each year(Application forms can be obtained at DAAD Beijing Branch Office)

Fellowships for Research in Germany

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Alexander von Humboldt Research ScholarshipsEnables highly-qualified foreign doctorate/PhD holders to come to Germany to complete a long-term research project.Applications can be submitted throughout the year.

Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)Supports basic, innovative and inter-disciplinary research focused on elucidating the complex mechanisms of living organisms.Short-term Fellowships: application can be submitted throughout the yearLong-term Fellowships: next deadline expected for August 2010

Fellowships for Research in Germany

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www.international.med.uni-goettingen.de

Christiane Hennecke, M.A.Email: Christiane.Hennecke@med.uni-goettingen.de Tel: +49 (0)551 39 8770   

Thank you!

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