Scholarship program of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament and Israel

Call for tenders for the 2025 funding year

To commemorate the pogrom of November 9, 1938, the Baden-Württemberg state parliament has provided the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK) with scholarship funds since 1988 to foster German-Israeli relations.

Target group

Baden-Württemberg's universities are eligible to apply. Applications can be made for funding for students, young academics and interns who are planning a stay in Baden-Württemberg or Israel as part of university partnerships, as well as for study trips and events in this context. To apply, students must be enrolled full-time at a university in Baden-Württemberg or Israel. Young academics are defined here as people who are working on a doctorate after completing their studies or who are continuing their research for a maximum of two years after completing their doctorate in order to establish themselves as academics in their field. The application requirement for interns is full-time enrollment at a university in Baden-Württemberg or Israel. When submitting an application, the realistic feasibility of the requested measure in the funding year 2025 must also be taken into account, taking into account the applicable travel and safety instructions of the Federal Foreign Office.

Object and duration of funding

Funding can be requested for the following purposes

for study and practical stays of one to six months (incl. examination period, provided that examination achievements are recognized in the home country),
for events (workshops, symposia, conferences, etc.) and for study trips.

Universities of Education in Baden-Württemberg can also apply for funding as part of the "Teachers for the Future" program line. Eligible for funding is a one-week excursion to Israel, which has been included as part of the lecture plan. As part of the excursion, joint seminars for German and Israeli students are to take place, enabling student teachers to experience innovative, future-oriented education in practice on site, to reflect on it in seminar courses and to apply their learning effects to the preparation of teaching units. The call for proposals for the program is subject to the budget funds transferred by the Baden-Württemberg state parliament for the 2025 financial year. In the case of the "Teachers for the Future" program line, third-party donors must also be taken into account.

Funding period

If the application is approved, funding will be provided in 2025. The funding year corresponds to the financial year: January 1 to December 31. It is not possible to transfer unspent funds to the 2026 financial year.

Scholarship / funding amount

The monthly scholarship rate for study and internship stays is for

Students (Bachelor and Master) € 900
Young academics (with an existing Master's degree)
1,200 € The universities can be granted up to € 5,000 per application for the funding of events.
For the funding of study trips or excursions with students and/or junior researchers, the universities can be granted funds of up to €5,000.

The travel costs of accompanying lecturers are to be covered by the universities themselves from central funds. Students are not expected to make a personal contribution as part of the call for proposals. It is up to the university to decide whether such a contribution is to be made by the participating students for the benefit of the overall financing of the measure. Universities of teacher education can also apply for up to €5,000 from the state scholarship program for participation in the "Teachers for the Future" project. The travel costs of accompanying lecturers must be covered by the university of teacher education from central funds. Students are not expected to make a personal contribution as part of the call for applications. It is up to the University of Teacher Education to decide whether such a contribution is to be made by the participating students or will be covered by the university.

Application documents / reporting obligations

Applications for funding under the State Parliament Scholarship Program can only be submitted via the university. Applications are submitted in consultation with the International Office. The contact persons there are requested to enclose the following documents with applications for study and practical placements:

Application form (to be completed by the university),
Letter of motivation and description of the planned stay in German or, in the case of applications from Israel, with a German summary,
Curriculum vitae in tabular form,
Transcript of Records,
Current certificate of enrollment or confirmation of study place from the Baden-Württemberg or Israeli university, stating the exact period of the planned study visit including the examination period,
If already available, a letter of admission from the foreign university,
Internship agreement with a company in Baden-Württemberg or Israel (if you have not yet been accepted for an internship, please add a letter of intent with details of the intended internship position to your application),
if already known, details of travel dates.

To support participation in events / study trips / excursions, the following documents should be submitted by the universities:

Application form,
Description of the event (objectives) incl. cost and financing plan (incl. identification of third-party funding providers),
Determination of the number of participants.

These documents must also be enclosed with the application for a "Teachers for the Future" project. Following a grant, the respective university is required to submit proof of the use of the funds to the Ministry of Science. This also includes a factual report on the funded measure. The deadlines can be found in the approval notice in due course.

Selection criteria

In the case of funding for individuals, the decisive factor is interest specifically in a stay in Israel or Baden-Württemberg within the meaning of the program. This is not a merit-based scholarship. The program primarily pursues an intercultural approach and is intended to contribute to international understanding. In their letter of motivation, students should be able to explain how they can meet the special challenges that a stay in Israel can entail. Israeli students coming to Baden-Württemberg are also asked to address the idea of the program in their letter of motivation. In addition, ideas should be developed and outlined as to how the students can subsequently pass on the knowledge gained during their stay abroad to other students or transfer it to the university. The application evaluation also takes into account the existence of (unpaid) social commitment in association structures, interest groups or similar.

The following is assessed for events / study trips / excursions:

Support for intercultural exchange between German and Israeli participants as defined by the program (in particular, a description of how the measure can promote intercultural exchange at the home university before, during and after implementation),
Statements on the group of people to be reached before and after the program and how this can be ensured,
Integration into the curriculum or a research project,
Sustainability / anchoring at the university or in the university structure (ensuring that more than just the immediate circle of participants benefits from the findings of the measure),
Presentation of the university's own contribution (it is obligatory to cover the travel costs of the accompanying lecturers; further financial participation is not mandatory, but will be taken into account in the assessment).

In principle, measures that have already been considered in the past are also eligible for funding. The decisive factor is that the group of student participants changes.

Application deadline / application process / contact person

Applications for the funding year 2025 can be submitted to the Ministry of Science until November 15, 2024.

If you have any questions regarding the call for applications, please contact Ms. Knappe, e-mail Mareen.Knappe∂mwk.bwl.de, phone 0711 - 279 3116.