Student Support (Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation)

The Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation supports educational and public institutions nationwide with the aim of sparking and sustainably promoting students' interest in physical questions. A wide range of formats are funded – from practice-oriented projects at schools and extracurricular learning locations to competitions and scholarships. With this funding initiative, the Foundation complements its portfolio in the fields of education as well as training and further education, making a significant contribution to strengthening STEM competencies. Designed as a grant, the program enables teachers, extracurricular providers, and universities to implement innovative teaching concepts and to inspire students early on for physics as a research and field of study. Funding is provided continuously and tailored to the specific needs of each project.

Interested schools, teachers, and operators of learning locations can submit applications, provided their activities are anchored at a school, university, or an extracurricular learning site. The flexible use of funds allows for organizing smaller, time-limited workshops on the one hand, and conducting comprehensive student laboratories or competition formats on the other. Applications are submitted directly via the respective menu items on the Foundation’s website, depending on the subprogram. Through this funding offer, early-career scientists are encouraged to develop a special enthusiasm for physics, and educational actors are given the opportunity to set sustainable learning impulses. In doing so, the Foundation contributes to sustainably strengthening physics education in Germany and to setting pioneering impulses in STEM education.