The bilateral Japanese-German consortium HeKKSaGOn, to which Tohoku University is affiliated, promotes exchanges between Japanese and German universities through the exchange of faculty members and students and also through joint research between member universities conducted in Japan and Germany.
Within the framework of the HeKKSaGOn Alliance, scholars and researchers of the six partner universities have the opportunity to apply for seed funding to support joint projects and are invited to submit applications for funding for up to three years with well-defined objectives and activities. Project applications should take into account the HeKKSaGOn Presidents’ strategic decisions for the second cycle and its priority areas, and should state their contribution to the sustainability of the HeKKSaGOn Alliance.
In principle, each member university will support a project in which a researcher enrolled at their own university participates as the lead coordinator, and each member university will determine the amount of funding provided. The amount that Tohoku University plans to provide in funding for all projects will be 1.5 million yen for each year, and the amount provided to each project will be determined by how many projects are selected (up to a maximum of 2).
If you would like to apply, please discuss the content of your application with collaborators from other member universities and submit your application by the deadline.
Applications must be submitted by a group of scholars/researchers from at least three of the six HeKKSaGOn member universities. Each group must include the participation of researchers from at least one Japanese member university and at least one German member university. In addition, one researcher from the Japanese and one from the German side should act as lead coordinator and co-coordinator of the project.
Recruitment guidelines and Application Form
Priority areas
Research that falls under one or more of the following disciplines:
1.Transcultural Studies and the Transformation of Societies
2.Data Science, Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence
3.Life Science, Medicine and Changing Environments
Funding period
From July 1, 2024 to October 31, 2027
Number of projects to be adopted
Between 1 and 2
Application deadline
March 31, 2024 (9:00 am, JST)
How to apply
The group representative (Lead coordinator) should submit the Application Form and the Financial Plan Breakdown by email to Dr. Martin Jagonak (University of Göttingenthe) and the Global Engagement Division. Please refer to the attached application guidelines for the e-mail address.
The HeKKSaGOn Alliance
The German-Japanese university consortium HeKKSaGOn was founded in July 2010 as an association of three German and three Japanese universities. HeKKSaGOn stands for the Heidelberg – Kyoto – Karlsruhe – Tohoku/Sendai – Göttingen – Osaka – network. The university partners in HeKKSaGOn share the conviction that important global problems can be solved only through interdisciplinary and international cooperation and through the open exchange of knowledge. For further information please refer to: https://www.hekksagon.net/
Member Institutions
(Germany) Heidelberg University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), University of Göttingen
(Japan) Tohoku University, Kyoto University, Osaka University
For details on restrictions on how the funding may be used, please see the Application Guidelines or contact the Global Engagement Division.
Global Engagement Division, Tohoku University
TEL: 022-217-6182・5578
E-mail: kokusai-k@grp.tohoku.ac.jp