The Innovation Grant call for proposals is a person-orientated support programme by the Excellence Strategy of the University of Tuebingen. It is awarded to young early-career scientists in the natural sciences and life sciences as well as humanities and social sciences. They are given the opportunity of converting the results gained from their doctoral theses into utilisable processes, services or products.
To be considered, the projects have to demonstrate the prospect of being able to produce results that are commercially utilisable or that can establish themselves through these ventures with independent institutions.
The criteria for the award are the scientific quality of the work with regards to relevance, originality and up-to-dateness of the underlying work. Furthermore, the scientific background of the candidates, the innovation content of the application and its scientific attractiveness and viability will also be taken into account.
Applications are possible twice a year (Deadline 28.02. and 31.08.).
Find out more: Innovation Grants (Sciences and Life Sciences) or (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Fair and respectful treatment generates trust in the police and promotes cooperation. Internationally, researchers have repeatedly confirmed this notion of Procedural Justice Theory. Current studies in Germany verify that citizens react sensitively to personal contact with the police.
Fair and respectful treatment can have a positive effect on both the short-term interactions with the police and long-term attitudes towards the police. As part of the Innovation Grant, training materials will be developed and tested together with the German Police University to direct attention to fairness in police-citizen relations.
The current growth of quantum technologies emerges from the focused, task-oriented, step-by-step transfer of scientific knowledge and experimental know-how into applications such as sensing, metrology, communication and computing. Unique physical principles like quantum superposition and entanglement enhance the performance compared to classical systems. The grand challenge is the development of hardware platforms for the stable implementation of these principles.
There is a competition to develop compact, turn-key solutions for multiple laser frequency control because such key components bear large economical potential already in the present development stage of quantum technologies. The goal of this Innovation Project is to foster the transfer from our experimental know-how and laboratory solutions of multiple laser frequency control to useful components for the quantum technological platforms, in particular to invent compact and economical solutions for laser frequency stabilization with an absolute accuracy and stability of MHz to kHz.
Felix Schreiber
Teachers and school leaders should know what they are talking about when they speak e.g. about digitalization, inclusion or sustainability. They need instruments and procedures to find their way in the increasingly confusing field of educational research, which is characterized by multiperspectivity. In science, systematic reviews are a matter of course in order to maintain an overview. However, little has been done so far to provide similar tools and research overviews for teachers in their daily work. Therefore, the innovative potential of the project is to transfer methods for the elucidation of tangled terms and topics in educational sciences and their results into a webinar, to develop digital tools and to produce further research reviews. In this way, teachers and school leaders will receive guidance on complex terms and topics and their professional actions will be supported.
Naybel Hernandez-Perez
[S,S]-Ethylene-diamine-disuccinic acid ([S,S]-EDDS) is a biodegradable chelating agent produced by the actinomycete Amycolatopsis japonicum. Chelating agents are used in any application where metal ions interfere with a reaction or where a certain ion concentration needs maintained at a constant level. They are used commercially in numerous applications such as textile and paper processing, detergents, or agricultural nutrients, as well as for cosmetics, food, and medical products.
The most widely industrially used chelating agent is ethylene-diamine-tetraacetate (EDTA). It is chemically synthesized using non-renewable fossil resources and is non-biodegradable, making it difficult to remove in conventional wastewater treatment plants. Due to environmental concerns, the use of EDTA for many applications in Western European countries is increasingly restricted leading to a demand for alternative biodegradable chelators to be employed.
One such alternative is [S,S]-EDDS; it exhibits complexing properties comparable to EDTA, but is fully biodegradable in this isomeric form.
During her PhD thesis, Mrs Hernandez-Perez, further genetic modifications were made in A. japonicum to improve [S,S]-EDDS production. In the funded project, a “super plasmid” containing al genes that have exhibited a positive effect on [S,S]-EDDS production will be constructed.
Philipp Beuchel
The shortage of school leaders and teachers currently poses a significant challenge on the German education system. This only increases the need for action regarding the crescent importance of the management of stress and resources which has found its way into curricula and teacher education in the recent years already. However, until now there is a lack of high-quality implementation in this field. Mindfulness-based trainings represent a promising and more and more popular opportunity for addressing that demand in the private sector. In the school sector, the potential of mindfulnessbased trainings has barely been realized yet. The present project implements mindfulness-based formats that address different agents and different levels of the education system: a leadership seminar addressing school leaders to support school development, a training for teachers to support these stressed individuals, and a school project that addresses the entire school life including students and their parents. The comprehensive approach, facilitating sustainability and efficacy, marks the innovative potential of the project: trainings and projects are supplied for several stakeholders in schools, supported by digital school- and teacher-related information and training materials. Furthermore, all the project measures will be scientifically evaluated and certified in accordance with the eligibility criteria of health insurances in order to facilitate the dissemination of the project’s
products.
