Research Service Centre

The Research Funding Unit informs and advises HU Berlin researchers on the acquisition of third-party funding projects from national, European and international research funding programmes and supports them in applying for individual and cooperative research projects. The department also advises and supports the university management on university applications and research strategy issues.

The Department of Third-Party Funding Administration and Controlling is responsible for the administration of third-party funding acquired for research projects on behalf of researchers at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The unit ensures the appropriate use of third-party funds for the individual projects in close cooperation with the project leaders and is responsible for third-party project controlling in order to optimally support the project leaders in the utilisation of third-party funds.

The department represents the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as a recipient of third-party funding vis-à-vis third-party funding providers and co-operation partners.

Due to the diversity of third-party funding providers and their different funding guidelines, two groups and a staff unit have been established within the department to cover specific funding programmes and ensure synergies in joint, standardised management. These groups and a staff unit are (a) DFG, (b) Federal Government and Foundations and International Research Funding Programmes, and EU Staff Unit (integrated into DFG group).

The staff in the Innovation and Transfer Unit support academics, graduates and students in utilising the expertise acquired at the university in collaboration with industry and society. The unit's staff also provide advice on securing intellectual property. The services range from identifying commercialisation potential, analysing marketability and arranging funding and cooperation partners to supporting the development of the business concept and arranging follow-up financing. The employees also look after the two university start-up incubators on the Adlershof and Mitte/Nord campuses.

The Legal Research Affairs Unit pools legal expertise in connection with research matters. Its task is to advise the members of HU Berlin on the establishment and implementation of collaborations as well as on legal matters and contracts related to research, and to monitor and review the processes.

The central task of the Research Information and Monitoring Unit is the provision and maintenance of the research information system (HU-FIS) and the management of third-party funding statistics. Building on this, the staff unit advises and supports the university management and the units in the Research Service Centre in strategic research matters with continuous research monitoring and covers the Humboldt-Universität's research reporting system. In addition, the staff unit is responsible for coordinating and supporting the interdisciplinary research structures of Humboldt-Universität (Interdisciplinary Centres (IZ), Integrated Research Institutes (IRI)) and the affiliated institutes.