Joint Research Projects

Step 1

The call for proposals for research projects funded by the BMBF is published via the GUC and the GUC project coordinators in Ulm, Stuttgart and Tübingen.

Step 2

The necessary documents have to be handed in before the deadline via the application portal.

Step 3

Representatives of the GUC, of Ulm University as well as of the Universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen, meet and discuss the applications.

Step 4

The applicants are notified of acceptance or rejection via e-mail. The accepted projects are then asked to update their budget plan and hand it in again as a self-calculating excel file.

Step 5

A letter of acceptance and funding guidelines are issued and signed by the Egyptian and German project coordinators. Afterwards the projects can begin to execute their planned activities.

The call for proposals for research projects funded by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) is published once a year in late summer via the GUC and the GUC project coordinators in Ulm, Stuttgart and Tübingen and via the GUC. Teams of researchers from all faculties of the GUC and a German partner university or research institution are eligible to apply. New research collaborations can be initiated or existing collaborations can be deepened. The approved project budget is bound to the respective calendar year and cannot be shifted into the next year.

Special regulations in 2024: Project teams can still submit an application in order to receive funding starting 2024! Funding will then be approved for an exceptional duration until the end of 2025. 

Deadline for projects starting in 2024: 7th July 2024.

All required documents have to be submitted through our application portal Mobility Online. In order to submit your application, please click the link and follow the steps outlined in Mobility Online. The necessary application documents include, but are not limited to:

  • CVs of involved partners
  • Budget calculation (using the template provided in Mobility Online)
  • Detailed description of the planned research

Please refer to the hints in the application portal for the number and format of the required application documents. Proposals exceeding the page limit will be rejected without further consideration!

Representatives of the GUC, of Ulm University as well as of the Universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen, meet and discuss the applications after the deadline.

Selection Criteria:

  • Qualifications of participants/ project members

  • Scientific quality of the cooperative research project (academic excellence)

  • Added value of the collaboration to GUC strategic goals, strengthening of cooperation with Germany, and long-term perspective of the collaboration

  • Involvement of young academics

  • Cooperation with partner universities in Baden-Württemberg (Ulm, Stuttgart, and Tübingen) is given preference in case of equal academic quality and relevance

  • In case of continued co-operations between same partners: the existing track record of the cooperation (e.g., in terms of joint publications)

  • Initiation of new co-operations is positively considered

The applicants are notified of acceptance or rejection via e-mail. The accepted projects are then asked to update their budget plan and hand it in again as a self-calculating excel file.

After handing in the budget plans, a letter of acceptance and funding guidelines are issued. After these are signed by the Egyptian and German project coordinators, the projects can begin to execute their planned activities. The reimbursement procedures are described in the respective section. 

What Activities Can be Funded?

Financial support is primarily allocated for travel and accommodation expenses for single academics and/ or small groups from cooperating German universities and the GUC to participate in Workshops and Research Summer Schools, to conduct Short Term Research Stays up to three months, or to implement joint teaching activities. Postgraduate and PhD students as well as lecturers and professors can benefit from the fund.


The following expenses can be covered:

  • International travel expenses for German and GUC participants: MORE
  • National travel expenses for German participants: MORE
  • Accommodation: MORE
  • Catering for Workshops: MORE
  • Acquisition of consumables (i.e. chemicals) or publications (joint co-authorship) or employment of student helps in Germany (For a total of up to 20% of the allocated budget): MORE