External Calls for Proposal

With its call for proposals entitled “Focus on Networks: Strengthening Networks as Drivers of Innovation,” the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education Teaching is offering funding for existing teaching-related networks. These networks consist of individuals who collaborate on a long-term basis across different universities with the aim of further developing higher education teaching in various dimensions.

As a supplement to university structures, networks have several important functions: they support individuals in their personal motivation to advance topics and promote exchange and cooperation across university boundaries. In this way, they have the potential to create innovations for teaching.

For further information, please visit https://stiftung-hochschullehre.de/foerderung/fokus-netzwerke/External link.

Applications can be submitted via the funding portalExternal link from October 6, 2025, until December 1, 2025, at 2 p.m. at the latest.

Important information on the internal university procedure for obtaining the necessary confirmation from the university management: In addition to the documents listed in the call for proposals, such as the project description, financing plan, and work plan, a specified form confirming the university management's institutional support for the project must be submitted. To obtain this confirmation, please send your complete application documents (including the financing plan) to the Academy for Teaching Development (exclusively by email: ale@uni-jena.de) by November 24, 2025, at the latest. 
This email must confirm that 
(1) no other funding is available for the proposed project and that 
(2) no significant changes will be made to the application or the financing plan before it is submitted to the foundation portal. 
The confirmation from the university management will then be obtained by the ALe office as soon as possible and forwarded to the applicant for submission (via the above-mentioned portal).

The “The world is my campus” call for proposals aims to promote exemplary projects that reform
degree courses or redesign courses in order to support students more strongly in their role as future          responsible actors in science and society. The focus here is on promoting individual responsibility, anchoring current scientific issues in studies and actively shaping society's future through democratic        educational experiences.

Key data of the funding

Start of funding: July 1, 2026

Duration: max. 4 years

Max. amount of funding: 3.5 million euros

Funding decision: Beginning of May 2026

Type of funding: Funding is provided for exemplary projects for the (re)design of degree courses, in particular through the development of inter- or transdisciplinary curricula and stronger links to social contexts - also across universities. The funding enables, among other things, the release of teaching staff and the financing of personnel, material and investment resources.

Eligibility and application procedure

The university management is eligible to apply; each university can submit a maximum of one individual application and participate in a maximum of one joint application.

The approval of all participating institutions is required for the further development or redesign of a degree program during the funding period. This must be documented by a resolution of the responsible body, usually the faculty council, and attached to the application in the form of minutes. In the case of inter-faculty projects, the approval of all institutions concerned is required.

Submission deadline for university applications: October 30, 2025

Upstream University Procedure

In order to obtain a general overview of the planned measures at faculty level, the university management requests that each faculty submit an expression of interest by July 2, 2025 to ale@uni-jena.de (by email only). In the expression of interest, the following aspects must be briefly presented on no more than one page:

• Description of the curricular development project (What is planned?)
• Objectives of the project (What is the aim?)
• Suitable measures for implementing the project (In which direction should the measures go?)

On the basis of the expressions of interest, considerations are made as to which priorities the university as a whole can set itself. The faculties will then be informed by July 11, 2025 about the strategic direction of the overall application and the selection of the submitted projects. From mid-July, the faculties will be able to work on the detailed orientation of the selected projects for the actual application.

University-internal submission deadline: September 19, 2025 by e-mail to ale@uni-jena.de

Further information on the call for proposals

Detailed information on the call for proposals can be found on the following website of the Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching: https://stiftung-hochschullehre.de/foerderung/die-welt-ist-mein-campus/External link

Previous tenders were as follows:

• 'Freiraum 2026' - Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching
• 'Lehrarchitektur.' Shaping the university of the future
• 'Freiraum 2025' – Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching
• 'Freiraum 2023' – Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching
• 'Fokus Portale/Fokus Netzwerke' – Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching
• 'Freiraum 2022' – Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching
• Empowering University Teaching through Digitalisation

Previous tenders were as follows:

• eTeach free spaces in the eTeaching Network Thuringia
• Cooperative impulse projects in the eTeach network Thuringia 2024
• Cooperative impulse projects in the eTeach network Thuringia 2023
• Cooperative impulse projects in the eTeach network Thuringia 2022

Previous tenders in this area were as follows:

• Ars legendi prize for excellent university teaching 2025
• Ars legendi prize for excellent university teaching 2024
• Ars legendi prize for excellent university teaching 2023
• Ars legendi Faculty prize in Medicine
• Ars legendi Faculty prize in Mathematics and Natural science

Previous tenders in this area were as follows:

• Fellowships for Innovations in digital University Teaching 2025/26
• Fellowships for Innovations in digital University Teaching 2024/25
• Fellowships for Innovations in digital University Teaching 2023/24
• Fellowships for Innovations in digital University Teaching 2022/23
• Fellowships for Innovations in digital University Teaching 2021/22

Previous tenders in this area were as follows:

• MINTchallenge: expertise in sustainable development
• SMART qualifies 2022: MINT for digital world
• SMART qualifies: MINTplus - plusMINT

Previous tenders were as follows:

• Digital Education Area - FMER announcement on the development of a digital education platform
• Promotion of artificial intelligence in higher education (federal-state initiative)

Previous tenders were as follows:

• German Employer Award for Education 2025
• Futureversities: Strengthening universities as drivers of social transformation
• Data Literacy Learning Steps (Stifterverband)
• AI-Campus searches Teaching Fellows 
• Employer award for education 2022
• Room laboratories - Stifterverband and Dieter Schwarz Stiftung (Stifterverband)
• DigitalChangeMaker Fellowships (Stifterverband)
• 'Kolleg Didaktik:digital': Junior Fellwoships of the Joachim Hertz Stiftung
• Curricula of the future