Funded projects 2020
Table of contents
Initiation/ development of research cooperation
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.07.2020 - 31.10.2020
Applicant: Dipl.-Ing. Lucas Klinkenbusch, Chair of Fundamentals of Design, Faculty of Architecture
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Participating Partners:
- School of Audiovisual, Architecture and Design (ESAD), Tunis (Tunesia)
- Innovation and Planning Agency, Vienna (Austria)
As part of the funding, networking meetings were held in two regions of Tunisia to establish contacts and initiate collaborative projects. The focus was on expanding the cooperation between the TU Dresden and the School of Audiovisual, Architecture and Design (ESAD) in Tunisia. This was followed by a first joint workshop with faculty and students from both universities - due to Corona restrictions, this workshop took place in a hybrid format. Joint research projects between the two partners are also planned.
Following the funding, a DAAD application for the "German-Arab Transformation Partnership" was submitted and approved. The partnership between TUD and ESAD will be expanded to include the region of southern Tunisia, where concrete measures are to be taken to create a network of academic partners with local structures and actors. Alongside the expansion of joint cooperation, the project focuses on the acquisition of cultural and professional competencies in the local context of southern Tunisia. The "Mobile Academic Innovation Lab" will facilitate future ESAD teaching events and Local Stakeholder Meetings at various locations in the Southern Tunisia region. The project is expected to generate a signal effect for the whole region and thus to promote a development and networking of academic and local stakeholders. TU Dresden will be present as an important partner of these developments.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.02.2020 – 30.09.2020
Applicant: Dr. Maximina H. Yun, Zentrum für Regenerative Therapien TU Dresden (CRTD)
Unit: Central Academic Unit
Participating partners:
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Boston (USA)
The project aimed to establish a long-term research and training cooperation between CRTD and the University of Massachusetts Medical School by jump-starting an international and highly interdisciplinary collaboration. Its long-term academic aim is to tackle a set of important biological questions including how a thymus can regenerate de novo and what are the differences between adaptive immune systems in highly regenerating amphibians (such as axolotls) and mammals, generating insights of potential translational importance (e.g. to promote human thymus regeneration).
Due to the Covid19-pandemic all planned visits were replaced by virtual meetings. Nonetheless the key aim of establishing this international collaboration was successfully achieved. As an outcome of the funding the scientific collaboration with Rene Maehr's lab was solidified with an application to a DFG grant which was successfully awarded (2021– 2024). Furthermore, knowledge transfer of bioinformatic skills to junior members was achieved, and the researchers are preparing a first manuscript together with the Maehr lab.
Expansion/ extension of research cooperation
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.03.2020 – 28.02.2021
Applicant:Dr. Thea Lautenschläger, Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology
School: School of Science
Participating partners: Universidade Kimpa Vita (UniKiVi), Uíge (Angola)
The project planned for five students from the TU Dresden to travel to Uíge to collect data for their final papers. Together with the Angolan colleagues and students, the TU Dresden students were to visit villages in the province and collect samples from herbarium specimens there. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, this project could not be implemented so far, so that the requested funds were reallocated to SHK and WHK funds for processing the plant extract sample collection. The processed collection is now available for international research projects and is the basis for further publications as well as new projects. The already available laboratory work with the Angolan plant extracts also made it possible to write a publication. The DRESDEN-concept partner Senckenberg Natural History Collections was involved in the project.
The cooperation with the Angolan University KimpaVita, which has been going on for 10 years now, gives TU Dresden a high visibility in the African context. The establishment of a protected area in Angola, which is currently almost finished, shows a significant output.
Funding line: Funding for cooperation with strategic partners
Period: 01.01.2020 - 31.10.2020
Applicant: Dr. Lisa Klingelhöfer, Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie, Universitätsklinikum Dresden
School: Medicine
Participating partners:
- King's College London (UK)
As part of the funding, the collaboration with King's College London on joint research into Parkinson's disease was expanded. Researchers from both universities are working together to develop a validated questionnaire for recording gastrointestinal symptoms that can occur in Parkinson's disease. This will be validated in a multicenter study.
The planned visit to King's College London had to be postponed due to the pandemic but virtual meetings enabled the collaboration to continue, such as the intercultural adaptation with translation of the questionnaire from German into English, so that the study can be carried out soon.
The results of this research are to be published in a journal. In addition, an application for third-party funding is to be submitted. The project will continue and intensify the existing cooperation between the Department of Neurology at the TU Dresden and the Department of Neurology at King's College London.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 14.02.2020 – 28.02.2020
Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Ernst-Friedrich Markus Henke, Institute of Semiconductors and Microsystems, Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering
School: Engineering Sciences
Participating partners:
- University of Auckland (New Zealand)
The applicant Dr. Henke has been approved by the DFG for an Emmy Noether junior research group. The project "MEiTNER - Multifunctional dielectric elastomer electronics for next generation soft robotics" started on 01.06.2020 at the Institute for Semiconductors and Microsystems at the TU Dresden. A scientist from the University of Auckland is also working in this junior research group as a Mercator Fellow. The funding through the flexible funding program for internationalization served as a kick-off meeting in Auckland to plan the future collaboration between TU Dresden and the University of Auckland.
In addition to the scientific activities, Dr. Henke also met with the participants of the summer school funded in 2019 (German-New Zealand Summer School on Soft Robotics, Biomechanics and Advanced Human Machine Interaction) as part of the grant and started planning a second summer school in Auckland, but its implementation is delayed due to the Covid19 pandemic.
The long-term added value of the cooperation between the University of Auckland and TU Dresden is multi-faceted. With its scientific focus, the University of Auckland is an excellent match for the research profiles of the TU Dresden and can increase the visibility of the TU Dresden with its international reputation and good contacts and cooperations.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.01.2020 - 31.12.2020
Applicants: PD Dr. Roman N. Rodionov, Angiology Research Lab, Universitätsklinikum Dresden
School: Medicine
Participating partners:
- Flinders University, Adelaide (Australia)
The project addressed a long-standing controversy regarding the role of the enzyme Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH2). It aimed to identify the role of DDAH2 by first identifying the interaction partners of the enzyme and the roles they play. The study that took place within the framework of the funding was a collaborative effort with Flinders University, strategic partner of the School of Medicine at TU Dresden. Moreover, the project collaborated with the Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) using its services provided by Mass Spectrometry Facility.
The long-term goal of the project is to design inhibitors of DDAH2 to allow the development of therapeutic approaches to cardiovascular disease models. Besides, further working cooperation with research groups at TU Dresden and internationally may be established to contribute to the quality research generated by TU Dresden.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.12.2019 – 31.10.2020
Applicants: Dr. med. Désirée Kunadt, Medizinische Klinik I, Hämatologie/Onkologie, Uniklinikum Dresden
School: Medicine
Participating partners:
- San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan (Italy)
In the funded project, leukemia cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were analyzed molecularly at different time points by RNA sequencing. For this purpose, patient samples were provided by the University Hospital Dresden and analyzed for changes in the cellular transcriptome by RNA sequencing at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan. Subsequently, analyses were performed in Dresden using the collected data with regard to correlations between the course of the disease and the transcriptional and post-transcriptional alterations, which have been poorly understood to date. Both hospitals have outstanding experience in the field of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and basic molecular biology research of acute leukemia.
The results of this project are to be published in a high-ranking journal after data generation and evaluation. In the long term, the method of RNA sequencing is to be established at Dresden University Hospital in order to be able to provide better care for patients. A perspective research goal is also to contribute to the generation of new and improved therapies. This is also intended to consolidate Dresden as one of the leading centers for AML and allogeneic stem cell transplantation and to integrate and network Dresden internationally as a permanent partner and research location.
Furthermore, after learning and establishing this sophisticated sequencing method, the University Hospital Dresden would like to further advance this technique internationally by passing on the expertise gained in order to improve the therapy and prognosis of patients and to further network Dresden internationally as a more attractive cooperation partner.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.11.2019 – 30.06.2020
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Feger, Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortslehre, Faculty of Environmental Sciences
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Participating partners: Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun (India)
Within the framework of the funding, opportunities for deeper cooperation with the Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC) were identified and concretized. The project serves to establish a network of research groups and to expand a strategically important research cooperation in the thematic field of soil/hydrosciences. In doing so, it aims to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of climate change adaptation in the context of agricultural and forestry land use and disintegrated water resource management.
In November 2019, a visit was made to the IISWC headquarters in Dehradun (northern India). The partner institution is of particular strategic importance due to its strong network in India, providing access to a large number of long-term field experiments under very different climatic conditions. The main topics of the planned collaboration are climate change adaptation strategies and scenario analysis using GIS-based watershed modeling. Due to Corona, the planned return visit of two Indian scientists to the TU Dresden in spring 2020 could not take place, but further cooperation could be concretized through video conferences.
The DAAD application "Global Climate and Environment Centres" has already been submitted, as well as an application to the BMBF within the framework of the Indo-German Science Technology Centre. UNU-FLORES has also been acquired as a further partner. The further implementation of the projects fits into the research profile line "Energy, Mobility and Environment" of the TU Dresden and strengthens the potential area "Water Research" of the Excellence Strategy.
Digital teaching format
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.06.2020 – 31.03.2021
Applicant:Prof. Dr. Axel Gehrmann, Center for Teacher Education and Educational Research
Unit: Central Interdisciplinary Institution
Participating Partners:
- Penn State University (USA)
- Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
- Niederschlesische Universität Wroclaw (Poland)
- Tokyo Gagukei University (Japan)
The originally requested project "Research-related expansion of the partnership of the ZLSB with universities in Israel and the USA", which could not be carried out due to the pandemic, provided for mobilities to Israel and the USA. Therefore, the approved funds were reallocated and used for the organization of an international virtual lecture series, which could be successfully carried out in WS 2020/21. Through the Lecture Series, the cooperation with the partners of the IMPRESS network could once again be significantly strengthened. Through video lectures, video school presentations and the conducted Q&A sessions with education experts, principals and teachers of the six countries, the students of pedagogy are very well informed about the education systems of the participating countries and sensitized for their specific challenges and opportunities. The video contributions of the education experts are available on the Homepage zur Lecture Series in the form of a media library and have been promoted beyond the ZLSB. By involving schools from the participating countries, a practical relevance was also established, which enabled students of pedagogy to gain insights into schools from the IMPRESS network. This has already resulted in the first concrete internship plans, which are to be implemented as soon as the mobility situation permits.
The lecture series held in the winter semester 2020/21 represents a successful start to the internationalization of teaching and of internationalization@home within the field of pedagogy at the TU Dresden, as it clearly showed the potential of international cooperation in teaching and the added value that arises from the participation of international experts in a digital format for teaching and research.
Development support
Funding line: Funding for cooperation with strategic partners
Period: 01.02.2020 – 30.09.2020
Applicant:Prof. Dr. Stefan R. Bornstein, Medical Clinic III, Philosophische Fakultät
School: Medicine
Participating partners:
- King’s College London (UK)
The originally requested start-up funding for the "Global Mental Health Alliance", a primarily research-based alliance with a focus on global mental health, was preceded by the "We Talk" format - a series of talks with King's College London and other partners on topics such as mental health and community well-being - due to the Corona pandemic. As a first step, this is intended to increase the visibility of the already existing projects at King's College London and TU Dresden in order to facilitate meaningful and goal-oriented collaboration, including for research purposes.
The project will include new departments, such as Global Mental Health and Health Architecture, in the transCampus partnership and thereby form a cluster network in the transCampus, which will be a connecting point for many other departments. Moreover, the TU Dresden benefits from the strategic, international orientation of King's College, which consciously promotes the global impact of a modern university. The focus of these activities is also on increasing mobility at all levels (students, doctoral students, staff).
Guest residency/ guest lecture
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 14.01.2020 - 19.01.2020
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Karl Lenz & Dr. Tino Schlinzig, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy
School: Humanities and Social Sciences
Participating partners:
- University of Maryland (USA)
- Stockholm University (Sweden)
- University of Applied Sciences Landshut (Germany)
- German Youth Institute Munich
Within the framework of the funding, a public seminar by Prof. Barbara Hobson (Stockholm University) at the TU Dresden and the international conference "Care-Practices of Fathers in International Comparison: Do Policies Matter?" were held. The event took place from January 16th to 18th, 2020 in Landshut and was organized by the applicants together with the participating partners.
Following on from the lecture by Prof. Barbara Hobson at TU Dresden and the joint conference at HS Landshut, the newly founded "International Father Research Network" is currently working on a joint publication. The aim is to publish this in 2021 in an internationally renowned publishing house. A corresponding proposal with the abstracts of the contributions has been prepared and is currently being circulated. Furthermore, annual meetings of the network are planned at changing venues and under rotating responsibility of the members.
In the long term, the funding is intended to further expand the research and cooperation of the department on a European and international level, in order to position doctoral and post-doctoral students in particular in the professional discourse.
University partnership
Funding line: Flexible Funding program Internationalization
Period: 01.04.2020 – 31.12.2020
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Maria Lieber, Institute of Romance Studies, Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies
School: Humanities and Social Sciences
Beteiligte Partner: Università di Trento (Italien)
The funding through the flexible funding program for internationalization served the coordination of the bilateral Master's program between the TU Dresden and the Università di Trento. This made it possible to finance a assistant position responsible for scientific and administrative tasks within the partnership.
Since 1995 there has been a close scientific cooperation between the TU Dresden and the Università di Trento in various fields, which in 2009 resulted in a DAAD-funded bilateral Master's program of the Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies and the Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia. Through the partnership with the Università di Trento, a scientific network of joint research projects has emerged, e.g. with regard to the research on Italian manuscripts in the SLUB Dresden, which has been deepened, among other things, in joint summer schools and workshops.
Conference / Symposium / Colloquium
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 16.09.2020 – 19.09.2020
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Thomas Hummel, Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde, Universitätsklinikum Dresden
School: Medicine
The conference of the European Chemoreception Research Organization brought together researchers from different countries as presenters to share research results on human olfaction with students as well as PhD and postdoctoral students from all over the world. The project was planned as a face-to-face conference, but was then converted to an online format due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the context of the congress, numerous other projects were initiated - e.g., knowledge exchange projects were planned and proposals or publications were promoted.
Workshop/ Seminar
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 21.02.2020 - 22.02.2020
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Antonia Kupfer, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy
School: Humanities and Social Sciences
Participating partners:
- University of Leeds (UK)
- University of Bath (UK)
- University of Southampton (UK)
- University of Oxford (UK)
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Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg (PLUS) (Austria)
Funding was provided for the international workshop "Meaningful Work" with social scientists from Germany, Great Britain and Austria, which took place at the Institute of Sociology at the TU Dresden. The participants used the workshop to present, comment on and discuss results from their research work. Furthermore, impulses for joint collaborations were set. For example, an anthology is currently being compiled in which the applicant will publish research results together with the workshop participants.