The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation (DSS) are launching a pilot programme to attract international AI talent to Germany as a centre of science. The programme aims to attract outstanding international postdoctoral researchers and early-career scientists to the science and research institutions on the educational campus in Heilbronn.

“International competition for AI talent has intensified significantly in recent years. To keep pace with this rapid development, we must attract as many young AI talents as possible to Germany as a centre of science at an early stage and offer them long-term prospects. The joint pilot programme with the Dieter Schwarz Foundation is therefore the right step towards strengthening both the expansion of Germany’s international AI competitiveness and local AI expertise,” said DAAD President Prof. Dr Joybrato Mukherjee.

“In a world that is changing rapidly due to artificial intelligence, the courage to engage in international cooperation is the key to success. Our joint pilot project with the DAAD bridges the gap between international excellence and our unique local ecosystem. By integrating early-career researchers into our research landscape at an early stage, we are laying the foundations for innovations that will have an impact far beyond the region,” added Prof. Dr Gunther Friedl, Managing Director of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation.

Attracting international talent to the region

The new programme “Attracting International AI Talent to Heilbronn” will introduce early-career researchers from around the world to Heilbronn as an AI hub through virtual networking events, research visits and short research tours. The pilot project will initially run for three years and aims to support up to 70 international talents annually through various funding formats. The relevant agreement was signed today in Heilbronn.

Multi-stage funding programme with prospects

The programme’s funding package comprises three interlinked elements: virtual information and networking formats, short stays as part of a one-week research trip to initiate collaborations, and research stays of up to twelve months. From 2029, the aim is to establish long-term international research groups at the site on this basis.

Broad partner network with a focus on AI

The programme strengthens application-oriented AI research at the Heilbronn science hub. The participating partners include the institutions based at the Education Campus that conduct applied AI research, including the Technical University of Munich (TUM Campus Heilbronn), the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) together with the Center for Advanced Studies (CAS), Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, the Ferdinand Steinbeis Institute, Heilbronn site, and the Fraunhofer Heilbronn Research and Innovation Centres (HNFIZ). 

The Education Campus in Heilbronn as an innovation ecosystem 

The education campus in Heilbronn brings together a concentration of higher education and research institutions that is unique in Germany, currently hosting more than 8,000 students. A particular focus is on practice-oriented AI research across the entire value chain – from the training of skilled workers through research to transfer and application.

The call for applications for the programme opens on 1 May and will be published shortly in the DAAD scholarship database.