Call for proposals 2025: FOSTER.AI
What is FOSTER?
As part of the Excellence Strategy "TUD 2028 - Synergy and beyond", FOSTER - Funds for Student Research was established as one of three programs to promote research-oriented learning and teaching. FOSTER enables students and lecturers to apply for funding to support student research.
Eligible projects in this call for proposals
This year's call for proposals has a thematic focus for the first time:
The focus is on projects in which artificial intelligence plays a central role. Funding is available for projects in which AI itself is the subject of research, as well as projects in which AI is used in a targeted manner to provide support - for example to structure literature research, to develop research questions or to generate hypotheses. The prerequisite for funding is that the projects serve to promote student research or research-oriented teaching-learning projects.
Projects from the STUDENTFORUM@TUD, STUDENTRESEARCH@TUD and ENABLE2RESEARCH@TUD lines with a funding volume of €5,000.00 to €25,000.00 are to be funded as part of this call.
Students who wish to organize student conferences, research expos, research competitions, pitches, etc. can apply for material, personnel and travel funds.
Students can submit their own research ideas and projects. Both individual and group project funding is possible. Eligible for funding are, for example, fees, reagents and personnel resources for SHK/WHK activities. Publication costs in connection with research projects can also be subsidized.
Funding is available for curricular formats as well as innovative modules or optional courses (e.g. summer school, colloquium). This funding line can also be used to finance the development and implementation of innovative, research-oriented teaching and learning formats (e.g. FLiK modules), including personnel resources.
| Note: Please note that due to the end of TUD's current excellence status, the project duration of the call projects may only be from January to December 2026 (with cash expenditure until November 2026)! |
Funding objectives
The strategic goal of FOSTER is to develop a university-wide culture of student research at the TUD. This is to be achieved by FOSTER both supporting particularly suitable students in their research activities and promoting research-oriented teaching/learning activities.
The objectives of this call are
- Conception and independent implementation of student research projects
- Independent individual or group-based student work on an innovative and/or interdisciplinary research topic
- Development, implementation and evaluation of research-oriented teaching/learning formats that introduce students to active research and make student research at TU Dresden visible
Funding conditions
- Students and lecturers at TU Dresden are eligible to apply. The planned projects must aim to promote research by TU Dresden students.
- The application form and the relevant annexes must be submitted for the application. (The didactic concept is mandatory for teaching-learning projects.) The application form, the financial table and information on the didactic concept can be found on the FOSTER program website.
- The approved funds may only be used for the purpose stated in the application and for the period applied for. Personnel and material costs can be claimed (project-related support from Student Assistants or Research Assistants, Research Associates, material costs and travel expenses).
- After completion of the project, a final report and a table of the use of funds must be submitted unsolicited no later than two months after the end of the project.
Timing
Notes
- Please submit the application in such a way that it can also be understood by people from outside the field.
- The funded projects are required to provide information on the project status on request during the project period.
- Publication of results and experiences is expressly desired.
- If funding is successful, the project can be listed on the TU Dresden website.
- For student research activities, it is mandatory to name a lecturer as supervisor.
- Several applications can be submitted per applicant/project manager, provided that the ideas are clearly delineated.
- Each application will be made available in anonymized form to two external reviewers at random. For this purpose, the personal data on the first page of the application will be blacked out. Please refrain from mentioning personal details in the rest of the application.
- A committee will decide on the funding on the basis of the expert reports.
Please take the opportunity to ask questions and receive further information on this year's call for proposals. We cordially invite all interested parties to attend:
- Information event on June 23, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | online
- Workshop on the didactic concept on August 14, 2025 | 9:00 am to 1:00 pm | Fritz-Foerster-Bau, Mommsenstr. 6, Room FOE-101
Would you like to take part in the workshop? Then please register bindingly via foster@tu-dresden.de. Please bringall your preparatory work and drafts (an already developed concept, schedules, materials, etc.) with you!
© TUD | Michael Kretzschmar
Research Associate
NameDr. Franziska Schulze-Stocker
Funds for Student Research (FOSTER)
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FOSTER is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free State of Saxony as part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State governments.