The Minerva Stiftung is the flagship of German-Israeli Scientific Cooperation

The Minerva Stiftung

The Minerva Stiftung is the flagship of German-Israeli scientific cooperation. It is financed by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, and works closely with leading universities and research facilities in Israel.

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Minerva Center Programme

Minerva Center Programme

Minerva Centers are scientific pioneer institutions in Israel with topics that are innovative and of special interest to the scientific community in Israel and Germany. The research at the Centers is carried out in cooperation with German partners and are funded by the Minerva Stiftung. Minerva Centers are located at the six Israeli universities and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

© Michael Nagel

The Minerva Fellowship Programme

The Minerva Fellowship Programme

Since 1973 the Minerva Fellowship Programme enables Israeli and German scientists to complete a research residency at institutions in the respective other country. Graduates and postdocs get the possibility to further their scientific background while conducting a research project at their host institution in Israel or Germany. They promote research and strengthen the cultural and scientific exchange between Germany and Israel. To date, more than 2000 Minerva Fellowships have been awarded to German and Israeli researchers.
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The Minerva Weizmann Programme

The Minerva Weizmann Programme

The Minerva Weizmann Programme was the first scientific Programme between Germany and Israel. For its implementation, the Minerva Stiftung was founded to maintain and cultivate the scientific exchange between the two countries. Since 1964 the agreement has been renewed every year and secured funding for roughly 2,000 projects in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and the biosciences. Today approximately eighty projects are supported with a total of € 3,580,000 annually.

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Former Minerva Fellow Noam Libeskind talked in a keynote speech about his research
Building bridges – that was an important message at this year's Max Planck Alumni Symposium at the Harnack House in Berlin from June 30th to July 1st, which was open to Alumni of the Minerva Foundation for the first time.

Minerva Programmes

Conference room with a presentation titled "Wissenschaftsmanagement in Zeiten des Krieges" on the screen.
Lou Bohlen presented the Minerva team's work during a presentation at the Max Planck Society, discussing the impact of the past two years of war on their operations.
Logo of the Minerva Center Programme
Deadline has been extended until December 3rd, 2025
In relation to the following topic: “Integration – Differentiation – Disintegration”
Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute, and Ulman Lindenberger, former Managing Director of the Minerva Foundation
In his farewell address to the members of the Minerva Weizmann Committee, which met in September 2025 at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Ulman Lindenberger shared his journey through academic life in Israel.

Minerva Topics

The Minerva Center for Human Rights (MCHR) is part of a joint initiative that inaugurated the Max Planck Center for Democracy, Security and Human Rights on November 11, 2025.
The Minerva Center for Human Rights (MCHR) at the Faculty of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) is part of a joint initiative with the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (MPI-CSL) in Freiburg: The Max Planck Center for Democracy, Security and Human Rights.
Solidarity trip to Israel by President Cramer, the MPG, and the Minerva Stiftung in November 2023
President Patrick Cramer and a small delegation from the Max Planck Society and the Minerva Stiftung traveled to Israel at the End of November 2023.
Team of the Minerva Stiftung
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Minerva Inside

The Managing Directors of the Minerva Stiftung: Prof. Dr. Christian Doeller (left) and Maximilian Prugger
A joint team: Prof. Dr. Christian Doeller and Maximilian Prugger
Delegation of the Max Planck Society at the airport in 1959
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Today, the Minerva Stiftung, founded in the 1960s as a subsidiary of the Max Planck Society, is the flagship of German-Israeli scientific cooperation. It is financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and works closely with leading universities and research facilities in Israel.
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