Funding examples

Students stand in a semicircle and listen to a man. — © Hans Georg Lippert

Numerous people pose for a group picture. — © Max Schmidt

Three young people are standing in a laboratory. They are wearing lab coats and protective masks. — © Paula Santos-Otte

Young people sit and stand outside in a field and work. — © Julia Krafft, Lucas Klinkenbusch

A young woman stands in front of a wall labeled Harvard Medical School. — © Lisa Schütze

Young people stand on a hill and take photos of the surroundings. — © Natalia Fomina

The Funds for Student Research (FOSTER) will celebrate its fifth anniversary in 2025 as part of the Excellence Strategy "TUD 2028 - Synergy and beyond".
FOSTER can draw a very positive balance after four years of existence. As part of calls for proposals and regular funding, over 230 impressive research projects by TU Dresden students and teaching staff have been realized to date.

Whether a research stay, publication, summer school or student research project - the diversity and interdisciplinarity of the projects funded across all departments of our university is impressive.

This page gives you an insight into our funded projects and the success stories of FOSTER participants. Be amazed at the excellent student research at TU Dresden and be inspired!

FOSTER grantees in conversation

Drei junge Frauen stehen vor einem Plakat.

Nele Kheim and Helen Rothfuß: BioS Reports

This year, FOSTER is celebrating its fifth anniversary as part of TU Dresden's Excellence Strategy. FOSTER promotes student research and thus gives it more visibility. One of these projects is BioS Reports by Nele Kheim and Helen Rothfuß, who give interesting insights into the possibilities of FOSTER funding in an interview. Learn more

Lena Rieck: Participation in the European Group of Organization Studies (EGOS)

Technologies make communication accessible to more people and minimize boundaries between status groups? Lena Rieck refutes this theory and shows that video conferencing can actually reinforce existing barriers and significantly hinder participation and cross-departmental work. She presented the results of her study, supported by FOSTER, at EGOS in Vienna. Learn more

Sieben Menschen stehen vor einer bunten Wand.

iGEM: Diatom-based Remediation using Immobilized Proteins (DRIP)

The iGEM team is dedicated to researching a biological platform for the removal of micropollutants such as pharmaceutical residues and nanoplastics. With the help of FOSTER, the idea was developed in the laboratory and experiments were carried out. The result: a gold medal, a TOP10 ranking and several nominations for the project in the world's largest synthetic biology competition. Learn more

Acht junge Menschen werden mit Urkunden ausgezeichnet.

Anne Jaschan, Patricia Beuter and Natalie Fichte

The Student Research Exposition is an exhibition of student research projects at TU Dresden. Students from all disciplines have the opportunity to present their final thesis, seminar paper or other research project to a non-specialist audience - either as a pitch and poster or as a science slam. In this interview, the organizers talk about how FOSTER supported them. Learn more

A young man holds a certificate in his hand.

Alexander A. Zyla: Participation in ISPC25 in Kyoto, Japan

With the support of FOSTER, Alexander A. Zyla presented the results of his diploma thesis at the 25th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry in Kyoto. For his feasibility study, which he carried out using a novel process principle of a two-phase plasma catalyst, he received the "Silver Medal" award during the poster presentation. Learn more

Book cover of Sächsische Realitäten: Analysen aktueller Protestphänomene der radikalen Rechten in Sachsen (Saxon Realities: Analyses of Current Protest Phenomena of the Radical Right in Saxony), edited by Michael Krell and Tom Böhme.

Michael Krell and Tom Böhme: Anthology "Saxon Realities"

How do radical right-wing protest movements organize themselves in Saxony? What role does the micro-party "Free Saxony" play? Michael Krell and Tom Böhme carried out an interdisciplinary research project with FOSTER support - and published an anthology. In this interview, they talk about their findings, challenges and the importance of student research. Learn more

Playground in front of a historic old town setting with half-timbered houses; in the background, the twin-towered façade of the Gothic Market Church of St. Cosmas and Damian in Einbeck under a blue, partly cloudy sky.

Jonathan Möller: Participation in the spring conference of the DPG

With the support of FOSTER, Jonathan Moeller organized a workshop on the reform of physics exercises at the DPG conference in Göttingen. The focus: better teaching through structural changes. The results appear in the conference proceedings PhyDid B. Learn more

Portrait photo of a young man with short brown hair, fair complexion, and blue eyes. He is wearing a dark suit, a white shirt, and a blue tie. The background is a neutral gray.

Johannes Achberger: Development and establishment of an oncolytic immunotherapy in a targeted manner against glioblastomas

Johannes Achberger is working on the development of a new therapy for malignant brain tumors. He is focusing on the use of oncolytic virotherapy. The oncolytic viruses destroy tumor cells in a targeted manner (oncolysis) and support the immune system in recognizing and fighting the tumor. Learn more

A woman stands in front of a pinboard and presents a poster. Other people sit in the audience and listen to her.

Carolina Kolodziej: Teaching-learning format ARCH4HEALTH Student Research Lab

In the ARCH4HEALTH Student Research Lab, students go through the entire research process on social and health-related construction topics within one semester. The module is based on the concept of research-based learning and is dedicated to one current research topic per semester. The aim is to make the findings visible through publications and poster sessions. Learn more

Two students are sitting at a table, bending over a file folder. A woman stands in front of them and looks at the documents.

Matthias Ritter and Julia Nowak: Teaching-learning format "Research colloquium for student teachers"

Student teachers often lack support when writing their academic thesis. In addition, they are rarely involved in research projects. A peer-supported research colloquium has therefore been set up to support students in writing their state examination theses, improve the quality of their work and provide practical research experience. Learn more

Curious about further projects?

A Book of Abstracts is published in each funding period, which presents all funded projects and offers a deeper insight into the possibilities of FOSTER funding:

Four hands holding up different newspapers against a bright orange background. The newspapers display text and images related to business and finance.

Don't miss any more news and success stories!

Discover the news overview on the FOSTER homepage! Here you can gain insights into current projects, success stories and experiences of our funded students and project teams. From exciting research experiences to impressive presentations - let yourself be inspired and find out what is possible in the field of research-oriented learning. Experience now