NRW Rückkehrprogramm

Bielefeld University is once again pleased to be able to offer early career researchers the opportunity to set up their own research group at Bielefeld University as part of the NRW Rückkehrprogramm.

The 2025/2026 call is aimed at early career researchers in the field of biosciences.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia already has leading institutions in this field and has set itself the goal of further strengthening this outstanding position. This should be based on a broad understanding of this subject area. There is no limitation to individual subject areas.

Please submit your application by 09 January 2026, 16:00 CET via the tool provided by the Ministry of Culture and Science NRW: https://nrw-rueckkehrprogramm.ptj.de

Bielefeld University's principle of "Transcending Boundaries" is the driving force behind basic, cutting-edge research at an international level. Researchers at Bielefeld University transcend boundaries - between disciplines, between people and between science and society.

Bielefeld University offers an outstanding research environment for the life sciences and combines numerous interdisciplinary approaches.

For example, the focus area "Microbiology in a data-driven world" aims to investigate and understand the biotic and abiotic interactions between organisms and the characteristics of individual organisms. This knowledge will then be used to generate microbial communities that serve a desired purpose through design, construction, optimisation and analysis.

Please contact Dr Iris Brune if you are interested in applying as part of the NRW Rückkehrprogramm at Bielefeld University.