Facts & Figures

Including fellows from the 16th call for applications

Number of Fellowships

Since 2007, the Zukunftskolleg has awarded 149 fellowships: 68 Research and (in 2024) 6 ZENiT Fellowships as well as 75 Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Interested in our community? Have a look at our current Research Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows.

If you would like to know more about our former fellows, explore our Alumni Career Path Series.

picture reads 64%

Internationality

Internationality is part of everyday life at the Zukunftskolleg and the university. Fellows come from many regions of the world, and they go to many regions in the world. To expand their international networks, Zukunftskolleg fellows are encouraged to invite mentors and Senior Fellows from all over the world. This builds strong ties within the global academic community.

Departmental Association of current Research and Postdoctoral Fellows

Science is a communal enterprise. This is why fellows do not only belong to the Zukunftskolleg, but also to their respective departments. The departments benefit from the impressive amounts of external funding acquired by the fellow as well as from the fellow’s teaching responsibilities. The fellow, on the other hand, can build relationships with the academic community and use laboratories and facilities of the department.

Number of Senior Fellowships and Mentorships

Experienced researchers are tremendous sources of expertise and knowledge. The Zukunftskolleg supports an intergenerational exchange through several funding instruments, for example Senior Fellowships or the Mentorship Programme.

Since November 2007, our fellows and associated fellows have invited 62 Senior Fellows and 99 mentors.

Gender Distribution

The Zukunftskolleg strives for gender equality: Of our 139 fellows, 65 were female, 81 male and three transgender. A representative of the Office for Equal Opportunity, Family Affairs and Diversity advises the Recruitment Committee of the Zukunftskolleg during the selection process.

Funding Structure

Excellence Initiative (since 2007) / Excellence Strategy (since 2019)

In 2007, the German federal and state governments passed the Excellence Initiative to promote top-level research. German universities were invited to apply for this highly competitive funding programme. In 2019, the initiative was renamed in Excellence Strategy.

From the very beginning of the Excellence Initiative in 2007, the University of Konstanz has been successful and has received 230 million Euro in funding. The university invested parts of these financial means into the Zukunftskolleg, which has been a key component in the application for the Excellence University.

European Union (2012 – 2018)

In 2012, the Zukunftskolleg started its Marie Curie Incoming Fellowship Programme with funds from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme. The EU funds the Zukunftskolleg with 6.2 million Euro.

(European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 291784.)

Hector Foundation II (2017 – 2022)

The Hector Foundation II finances the Hector Pioneer Fellowship of the Zukunftskolleg since 2017 with 2.5 million Euro.

Individual Grants (since 2007)

Our fellows obtained more than 30 million Euro in external funding, e.g. from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Volkswagen Foundation, Heidelberger Akademie, EU, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).