Research Fellowships of the Winzig Foundation (Call for Research Proposals)

The Winzig Foundation supports innovative research projects nationwide on early childhood development through funding grants that consider both scientific work and scientifically oriented applied research. The focus is on examining the formative influences of the first year of life on long-term developmental trajectories. Projects are funded that clearly formulate hypotheses, employ robust scientific methods, and provide new insights for optimizing early childhood education and care structures. The Foundation places special emphasis on projects that question established theories, further develop them, or offer surprising impulses for a productive revision of existing approaches.

Doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and scientific staff at universities and research institutions may submit applications at any time. A detailed project description including research questions, methodology, and timeline is required. The application must include the completed application form (“Questionnaire Scholarship”), a structured curriculum vitae, and a comprehensive presentation of the planned study design. Selection is based on the relevance to early childhood research, the quality of the hypotheses, and the potential to expand or revise existing models. Through the continuous awarding of scholarships, the Foundation offers a flexible opportunity to gain empirically grounded insights into early childhood development, thereby sustainably deepening the understanding of parent-child bonding, early childhood pedagogy, and brain research.