100 million Swiss francs for a new research centre

The Werner Siemens Foundation (WSS) is celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2023. To mark the occasion, the Foundation is launching its “project of the century”. Outstanding researchers are invited to submit proposals for a WSS Research Centre dedicated to developing technologies for sustainability. The centre will be financed with a ten-year grant worth 100 million Swiss francs. Up to five projects will receive a WSS research prize of one million Swiss francs.

Ensuring sustainable use of our planet’s resources is probably the greatest challenge facing humanity, and it’s vital that we take great care in using and managing limited natural goods such as energy, air, water, food, habitats and raw materials. The world of science can – and must – do its part in meeting the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations.

The Werner Siemens Foundation, too, actively promotes sustainability: on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the Foundation is inviting researchers to submit proposals for the formation of a WSS Research Centre dedicated to developing technologies for a sustainable use of natural resources. The future WSS Research Centre will be located in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, and will receive an endowment of 100 million Swiss francs over a ten-year period.

Seeking outstanding ideas

Exceptional researchers who work at a university, higher education institution or research facility are invited to submit their proposals. The focus of the call is on technologies and findings from the natural and engineering sciences that can help realise the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Partnerships, joint projects and affiliations with other scientific disciplines are possible, but not mandatory. The broad scope of the invitation is intentional, says Professor Matthias Kleiner, former president of the German Research Foundation and Leibniz Association, and long-serving member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Werner Siemens Foundation. “The goal of the Werner Siemens Foundation is to foster outstanding research, and that needs the greatest possible freedom.”

Generous research prizes

Projects are chosen in a two-step selection process. Researchers are invited to submit their cutting-edge, exceptional and bold ideas up to 10 January 2023. After evaluating the submissions for their scientific value, the Werner Siemens Foundation will choose up to five proposals, all of which will receive a WSS research prize worth one million Swiss francs in unrestricted research funding. The prize winners then submit their detailed plans for a WSS Research Centre; the final decision is expected at the end of 2023.

The future centre is the largest project in the history of the Werner Siemens Foundation. “We were looking for an innovative way to celebrate our anniversary, one that has the potential to protect our planet’s natural resources,” says Dr Hubert Keiber, Chair of the Foundation Board of the Werner Siemens Foundation.

> more about the project