Dear reader,

“The coalition agreement is a signal for a new start and promises many things that science needs”, Hans-Christian Pape, President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, noted with pleasure, welcoming the new German government’s science policy plans. Based on these plans, the Humboldt Foundation will also be allocated more money for funding its international research network.

This strong signal for internationalisation and science diplomacy has come at just the right time because the number of applications from international scientists and scholars seeking a research fellowship from the Humboldt Foundation rose this year despite the Covid-19 pandemic. A recent evaluation confirms that Humboldt Research Fellowships have strong international appeal and a positive impact on the individual’s research career. A compliment – also for Germany as a location for conducting research!

We invite you to join us at our digital Advent concert featuring musicians from the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, where we will be looking back at the Foundation’s activities in 2021. A number of these highlights such as the recently selected Humboldt Professors and our systematic commitment to diversity are already to be found in this newsletter. And should you have time as the year draws to a close, you could read in our publication Humboldt Kosmos about science communication or take our Fake News Quiz to see how good you are at distinguishing between genuine and invented headlines.

We wish you interesting reading!