Up to three Dioscuri Centres will be funded
With the person-centered funding program already well established in Poland, the Max Planck Society (MPG) and the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) are now looking for talented scientists to establish their research group at a Czech research institution. Up to three Centre leaders will be funded in the frame of the first call for Dioscuri Centres in the Czech Republic. Early-career researchers from all scientific disciplines are invited to submit their application for a Dioscuri Centre until July 25th, 2022.
© MPG
“We are very excited to introduce our unique funding scheme to another Central and Eastern European country, where excellent research institutions are ready to host internationally successful research group leaders,” says Steffi Heinecke, program officer for Dioscuri at MPG. “The response from the Czech scientific community has so far been overwhelmingly positive and we hope to attract many outstanding applicants that would like to join the growing network of Dioscuri Centres in the region.”
Going beyond the scope of a project grant, a Dioscuri Centre is built around a distinguished researcher position. It is awarded to excellent scientists capable of establishing and leading an outstanding, highly visible research group. Each Centre will be funded with 300,000 euros annually for initially five years. It will be set up at a Czech university or a research institute capable of supporting the Centre with appropriate infrastructure, scientific equipment, supplementary funds, and a long-term perspective for its leader. The work at the Centre will be accompanied by a Partner from Germany and supported further by an international Scientific Advisory Board.
The Dioscuri Programme aims to strengthen and expand scientific excellence in Central and Eastern Europe and is currently being implemented in Poland and the Czech Republic. The funding for the Dioscuri Centres is shared equally between the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the MEYS.
To provide a comprehensive overview of the Dioscuri Programme funding and to support potential applicants in preparing their application, we will offer webinars during the call period. The webinars are scheduled for: Tuesday, 26.04., 14:00-15:30 CEST and Wednesday, 18.05., 14:00-15:30 CEST. To register for one of our webinars, please send an e-mail to
