Funding via HAW-ForschungsAkzente is intended to enable universities of applied sciences (UAS) to carry out a single research project that is limited with regard to topic and duration. The open-topic funding aims to enable UAS to conduct research at an international level and to offer state-of-the-art scientific qualifications.

The funded research projects should thus contribute to the development of new research focuses with a higher research risk or to the further development of the university's research profile. The aim is to enable UAS to open up new areas of research and thus expand their innovation base.

A continuous employment of academic staff (one FTE) is required for the duration of the project. Project-specific, targeted investments in research equipment, facilities, or demonstrators are possible, provided they support the competitiveness of the UAS and its strategic development.

The projects are selected for funding in a two-stage process (outline -> full proposal). Project outlines can be submitted once a year on fixed submission deadlines (calls). The first call for HAW-ForschungsAkzente is in spring 2025, the second in spring 2026.

Entitled to submit project proposals are all Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in accordance with Section 3 (1) of the Bund-Laender Agreement on the “Research at UAS” programme. Funding will only be granted to the UAS submitting the proposal.

The detailed funding conditions can be found in the current funding guideline. There you will also find all the documents needed to submit a project proposal.