1. UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER GÖTTINGEN
Christiane Hennecke, M.A. Director Department of International Relations University Medical Center Goettingen, Germany

2. Presentation Overview
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

3. Profile of the UMG 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”

4. UMG PROFILE History Göttingen: central location in Germany
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

5. UMG PROFILE Organisation
Georg August University of Göttingen Foundation, 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 teaching Health care Management and administration
ADVANTAGES OF A FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY
Autonomy in tenure procedures
Independent financial management
University property is part of the endowment

6. UMG PROFILE Health Care, Education and Research under one umbrella
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

7. UMG PROFILE Our people (2007) 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

8. UMG PROFILE Funding (2007) 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

9. UMG PROFILE Performance statistics for health care (2007)
1,442 beds in more than 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)
Case Mix (CM)

10. Key Activities of the Dept of International Relations
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)

11. Key Activities of the Dept of International Relations
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

12. Funding Opportunities
7th Framework Programme of the EU:
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.

13. ERC: Strategic Principles
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

14. ERC Grant Schemes Two complementary funding 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

15. ERC Starting Grants
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

16. ERC Starting Grants
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)

17. China’s Participation
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, Germany Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Starting Grant call in 2008:
Statistics are not yet available

18. ERC Advanced Grants
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

19. ERC Advanced Grants
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)

20. Host Organisation
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

21. China’s Participation
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)

22. Next Calls
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
Physical Sciences and Engineering: 24 Feb 2010
Social Sciences & Humanities: 7 April 2010
Life Sciences: 17 March 2010

23. Further Information on EU-Funding
ERC Website:
Cordis FP7 „Find a call/ Ideas“:

24. Fellowships for Research in Germany
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)

25. Fellowships for Research in Germany
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)

26. Fellowships for Research in Germany
Alexander von Humboldt Research Scholarships Enables 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 year Long-term Fellowships: next deadline expected for August 2010

27. Website & Contact Details
Christiane Hennecke, M.A. Tel: +49 (0)551 39 8770   
Thank you!