Our funding program at a glance
The Elite Network of Bavaria is an initiative of the Free State of Bavaria to support talented young students and researchers. Our unique, internationally oriented and carefully coordinated and attuned funding programs support talented young academics from around the world in every stage of their academic career – from leaving school through to the postdoc phase – and offer Bavarian universities the opportunity to expand their range of teaching and research.
Our funding lines offer the best conditions for research and study
The Elite Network of Bavaria comprises five coordinated and attuned program lines: the Max Weber Program, Elite Graduate Programs, International Doctorate Programs, the Marianne-Plehn-Program and Junior Research Groups. Talented young students at Bavarian universities can become a member of the Elite Network of Bavaria at any time between leaving school and postdoctoral study.
The Max Weber-Program allows us to support talented young students through a Max Weber Scholarship. The Elite Graduate Programs are Master’s programs which offer high-achieving and motivated students the ideal conditions for study: with an international and often interdisciplinary approach and an emphasis on research, Graduate Programs also feature an innovative concept and excellent student supervision.
The International Doctorate Programs of the Elite Network of Bavaria facilitate doctoral study at an internationally elite level and include a professional position at the university during the doctoral phase.
Outstanding doctoral students can alternatively apply for the Marianne-Plehn-Program with a part-time employment of 25% at any university in Bavaria.
The Elite Network of Bavaria creates spaces in which an attitude of alert readiness can develop to be productively irritated by other scientists and their other knowledge.
Prof. Peter Strohschneider
By supporting Junior Research Groups, we offer attractive career prospects for postdocs from around the world.
Bavarian universities also benefit from our range of funding programs. They can apply to set up Elite Graduate Programs and International Doctorate Programs, thereby expanding their program of research and study at the highest level with courses that extend well beyond conventional structures and disciplines.
Our members form a strong community
We believe that an active exchange and networking between our members across funding programs should be at the heart of our Elite Network. With their ideas, inquisitiveness and variety of 4 intercultural backgrounds and biographies, our members form a vibrant network.
More than 15 years’ experience operating the Elite Network of Bavaria has taught us that, also after the graduation celebration, whether active or alumni, our members form a strong community and a vibrant Network. With this in mind, we not only provide the ideal conditions in which to research and study, but also offer platforms for a high-level academic exchange of ideas and views as well as more informal networking events.
Examples include: hosting the Elite Network of Bavaria FORUM, an interdisciplinary and very interesting series of lectures, allowing up to 20 members to take part in the world-famous Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, holding various soft skill seminars for our members and, last but not least, organising our long-standing football tournament, the EliteCup.
The people I have encountered through the Elite Network of Bavaria and the experiences it has afforded me have changed how I see the world.
Pei-Hsuan Huang
Our aspiration: outstanding quality
We aspire to offer talented young academics from around the world the best conditions for research and study as well as an attractive network. To achieve this, we evaluate our funding lines on an ongoing basis and work to improve them with our expert bodies, the International Commission and the Advisory Board.
We also regularly evaluate our program as a whole; the last such evaluation was conducted in 2017 by a Commission under the leadership of Prof. Birgitta Wolff, President of the Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main. In its final report, the Commission described the Elite Network of Bavaria as “utterly exemplary in terms of support for gifted and elite students”. The report also stated: “The Free State of Bavaria has hereby set clearly visible milestones in the academic landscape.”
The overall funding provided to the Elite Network of Bavaria is in excess of €20 million per year.
