(26.11.13) In October and November, the DFG, together with other German research and funding organisations, travelled in a delegation organised by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH) Moscow. The promotional visits to Stavropol, Krasnoyarsk and Yekaterinburg were designed to further cooperation with the region's new federal universities and the research centres of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

On 8 October, representatives of the DFG and the DAAD visited North Caucasus Federal University (NCFU) in Stavropol. Addressing an attentive audience of more than 300, the research funding organisations promoted the possibilities for collaboration with Germany. In addition, discussions were held in the university rector's office on the focus of international cooperation at the new university. North Caucasus University numbers 33,000 students and was founded in 2012, making the Stavropol university the youngest of all Russia's federal universities.

At the "Day of German Science" held in Yekaterinburg on 12 November, the DFG was represented by Christian Schaich, who is responsible for partnerships in Eastern Europe and the CIS (Community of Independent States). In a presentation given jointly with the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH) in Moscow and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the DFG outlined its international funding programmes to the Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The International Bureau of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research reported on networks and projects taking place under the auspices of the Russia country campaign, which is scheduled to run for two years, from 2012 to 2014.

From 18 - 19 November, a delegation of the DWIH Moscow, represented by the DAAD, the DFG, the Helmholtz Association and the Free University of Berlin, visited the centre of research Krasnoyarsk. On the agenda here, too, were public information events and behind-the-scenes discussions with the Heads of the Federal University (SFU) and the Siberian State Aerospace University (SibSAU), as well as the Executive Committee of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences housed in the scientific suburb of Akademgorodok. The visit concluded with talks with the President of the Federal University, who is Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Region. With its 41,000 students and six research institutes, the Federal University offers opportunities for basic research in a wide range of areas.

In addition to Stavropol and Krasnoyarsk, the elite circle of federal universities includes seven universities in Archangelsk, Yakutsk, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Rostov and Vladivostok. These federal universities and a further 29 National Research Universities receive state funding to the tune of €125 million. Similar to the German Excellence Initiative, this funding creates beacons of excellence in research and science in Russia, thereby also offering German universities new avenues for cooperation. This is especially important for the major research centres outside Moscow and St. Petersburg, since it means their potential is more readily apparent beyond the country's borders and they are also able to use their own resources to fund collaborative ventures.

Further information

• Visit to the NCFU, Stavropol
• DFG and DAAD outline their Funding Programmes to the NCFU
• Visit to the SibSAU, Krasnojarsk
• IMAGINARY at the SFU, Krasnojarsk