Scholarship Database

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Re-invitation Programme for Former Scholarship Holders • DAAD

Objective

This programme offers former scholarship holders the opportunity to carry out research and working projects in Germany and to maintain contacts as part of DAAD's global alumni network. The scholarships are funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Who can apply?

You can apply if you are former

holder of DAAD research grants or study scholarships and have been funded for more than six months by the Federal Foreign Office or in a programme co-financed with Federal Foreign Office funds.
East German scholarship holder who studied for at least one year in Germany.

What can be funded?

The programme provides funding for

research and working projects at state or state-recognised institutions of higher education or non-university research institutes in Germany.
Working stays at an institution in business, administration, culture or media for former scholarship holders who work outside the science sector.

A research or working visit can also take place at several host institutions.
Funding may only be claimed once within three years.

Duration of the funding

Funding is provided for one to three months. Please indicate in your application how long you wish to receive funding. The funding must begin in 2026. The funding period will then be determined during the selection process by a selection committee. The committee takes into account your work plan.
The grant is non-renewable.

Value

Monthly payments of
2,000 euros for assistant teachers, assistant professors and lecturers
2,150 euros for professors
Monthly payments for former scholarship holders who work outside the science sector will be calculated based upon their qualifications accordingly.
Travel allowance, unless these expenses are covered by the home country or another source of funding.
In case of a disability or chronic illness: on application, a subsidy may be provided for justified additional costs incurred abroad that are necessary to realise the project in Germany and that are not covered by a third party; whether and to what extent a subsidy will be paid, will be reviewed and determined on an individual basis (see important information for scholarship applicants, section F, point 8)

Please note: Health insurance coverage is mandatory in Germany. If you do not have a corresponding home health insurance, you will be insured by the DAAD. The costs will be deducted from the scholarship payment.

Selection

An independent selection committee reviews applications.

The most important selection criteria are:

Academic achievements and, if applicable, publications, which must be documented in the curriculum vitae and a list of publications
A convincing and well-planned research or work project
In the case of working stays outside the science sector, particular attention is paid to the following questions:
- Will the stay in Germany have a sustainable effect on your professional activity?
- Can you expect it to have multiplier effects, for example, in the form of planned publications?
- Will your stay in Germany promote existing cooperations?

The selection committee also gives due consideration to equal opportunities; you can provide relevant information in the application form.
For more information on the selection procedure, go to Important Scholarship Information / Section E.

What requirements must be met?

Please check if the following criteria are fulfilled:

You have not lived in Germany for at least three years.
The research or working project must be coordinated with a cooperation partner in Germany.
Applicants from third countries or German applicants, who live in a foreign country, are asked to get in touch with the responsible branch office or section within the DAAD before they hand in an application to discuss possible special application requirements.

Language skills

A German language certificate is not required. Though we assume that the applicant has contacted the German host institute in advance to make sure that the applicant will be able to communicate with his/her colleagues, e. g. in English.

Application deadline

Application deadlines are updated annually in the second quarter. In most cases, they are in the same period as the previous year. You can find the current dates here:

15.09.2025
Selection takes place in December 2025
Start of the funding from February 2026

17.02.2026
Selection takes place in May 2026
Start of funding from August 2026

Application documents

Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal

Online application form
Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages)
If necessary, list of your published academic publications
Comprehensive statement about research or working project (max. 10 pages), to be uploaded in the portal under ‘research project’
Time schedule and itinerary (host institutions / cooperation partners) of planned research or working visit (to be uploaded in the portal under ‘time schedule’)
Confirmation from the academic host in Germany that must refer to your project and guarantee that the host institute in Germany will provide you with a workplace.
German or English translations of documents submitted in the national language (to be uploaded with the corresponding documents)

The application procedure occurs online through the DAAD portal.
Please note that the access to the application portal only appears while the current application period is running. After the application deadline has expired, the portal for this programme is not available until the next application period.

Please note

The access to the DAAD portal opens at least 6 weeks before the application deadline.
Your application is only valid if you submit all the required documents to the DAAD portal by the application deadline.
(If documents are to be submitted by post, please send them as soon as possible. The postmark date serves as proof that they have been dispatched on time.)
The DAAD portal closes at 24.00 hrs. (CET or CEST) on the last application day. If possible, please do not send your application on the final date in case technical problems occur.
Incomplete applications cannot be considered. You are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete.
The application documents remain with the DAAD. Your personal data is saved by the DAAD in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act and with the EU Data Protection Regulation insofar as this data is needed to process the application.

Information and advisory centres

Branch Office London
German Academic Exchange Service
9 Gower Street
WC1E 6HB London
United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 (20)/7831-9511
E-Mail.: scholarships.london@daad.de
WWW.: http://www.daad.org.uk

After the selection process:

DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
German Academic Exchange Service
Section ST24 - Western, Northern and Southern Europe
Mrs. Veronica Metje
Phone: +49 (228) 882-528
Mail: metje@daad.de

More detailed information

DAAD website 'Important information for DAAD scholarship applicants'

General information on the application via DAAD portal

The access to the DAAD portal opens at least 6 weeks before the application deadline.
Click on ‘Application portal’ at the bottom of the page to go to the DAAD portal. There you will be provided with an online application form to enter your application data.

This is what you have to do:

Register in the DAAD portal (Read notes about registering in the portal >>)

Applying online in the DAAD portal (Read notes on applying in the portal >>)

Download and complete the online application form
Prepare application documents
If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
Scan paper documents and save in PDF format. Please note that you can only upload PDF files to the portal.
Upload the completed application form and the other application documents to the portal in PDF format. Translations, if applicable, should be uploaded together with the document issued in the original language.
Submit the uploaded application documents online.

Please note:
If you have any technical questions or problems your local information and advice centres could not help you with, please do not hesitate to contact portal@daad.de via e-mail.
You can also call the technical portal hotline on weekdays from 9-12 and 14-16 (CET/CEST) on +49 (0) 228 882-8888.
Please consider possible processing times of your request when you are planning your application.