No. 116/2024

26 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 116/2024 FROM THE FOUNDATION’S NETWORK Since 2021, the Humboldt Foundation has been sponsoring six research hubs in Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe. An interim evaluation conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI drew positive conclusions: the hubs’ achievements were significant, and support should be continued until 2026. Under the leadership of African alumni, the hubs work on research findings to overcome pandemics and strategies to increase African societies’ resilience to future crisis situations. Five hubs are funded by the Federal Foreign Office, one in cooperation with the Bayer Foundation. MORE INFORMATION www.humboldt- foundation.de/k116-02 EVALUATION Humboldt Research Hubs in Africa make the grade All current topics at www.humboldt- foundation.de/en/ newsroom Photo: Humboldt Foundation/David Ausserhofer The Humboldt Foundation has adopted its new Strategy 2024–2028, defining its future mission: we will continue along the path of extending our individual, cross-border, cross-disciplinary sponsorship for outstanding researchers and adapt to the changed general conditions in the world. The new strategy envisages four impact goals: to reinforce Germany as a centre of knowledge; to reinforce academic freedom and protect researchers at risk; to promote cooperation with the so-called Global South in addressing global challenges by utilising local expertise and to extend its social and political consultancy. “The Foundation sees its core task in the promotion of research with an unconditional commitment to quality on the part of its researchers. Our value lies in this and in our dependability through time,” said the Foundation’s President, Robert Schlögl, commenting on the strategy. “The new strategy will enhance this value, which we see as a cultural achievement that we generate without being bound to a specific purpose, by adding the dimension of open science diplomacy.” MORE INFORMATION www.humboldt-foundation.de/k116-01 NEW FOUNDATION STRATEGY Academic resilience in a changing world Reinforcing Germany as a centre of knowledge Individual sponsorship Strengthening academic freedom Philipp Schwartz Initiative Addressing global challenges with local expertise Collaborations with the Global South Extending social and political consultancy Humboldt Kosmos