The “Gender Research in STEM” research grant is funded by the Rhineland-Palatinate State Gender Equality Program and awarded on behalf of the Central Equal Opportunity Officer at RPTU. These are earmarked funds for gender equality, intended, among other things, to support researchers at various career stages or qualification levels. The research grant is open to researchers at all career stages who, in their own projects, examine the relevance of gender issues in research fields within or related to engineering, life sciences, and natural sciences (STEM) [1]. It does not matter which academic discipline (STEM or the humanities) the researchers come from.
Various federal and state initiatives are now increasingly funding projects on gender-sensitive STEM research—whether to develop quality criteria for STEM projects, to integrate theory and practice with the goal of formulating recommendations for action for stakeholders in politics, business, and education, or to investigate gender differences in educational contexts and to attract and retain women in academic STEM professions. With this in mind, the RPTU supports both projects that examine the relevance of gender dimensions in the research field from an interdisciplinary perspective and approaches that address issues of gender and diversity in the research content and methods of relevant disciplines.
Funding includes a project grant of up to 5,000 euros. The Research Grant supports initiatives for exchange (e.g., inviting visiting scholars, networking trips), visits or the organization of events (e.g., workshops, methodology workshops, or other creative formats), as well as the use of material resources for the specific project (e.g., licenses, honoraria). Depending on the format, material costs, travel expenses, or even hours of support staff may be reimbursed. Since the program is tied to the duration of the State Gender Equality Program, the funds must be spent by the end of 2026 .
Eligible applicants are:
- Researchers at all career stages and in all departments at RPTU who, in their own projects, examine the relevance of gender issues in research fields within or related to engineering, life sciences, and natural sciences (STEM)
- Researchers who meet the criteria for utilizing the services of the At RPTU, the Center for Early Career Researchers (REaCh) may be given preferential consideration.
The application deadline for the Research Grant is May 1, 2026.
You will receive a decision on your application by June 1, 2026, at the latest.
An application must include the following documents (if possible, a single PDF file containing all attachments):
- Application form specifying the project’s affiliation with RPTU and budget plan
- Description of the research project (max. 2 pages)
- If applicable, timelines and work plans for the funding period
Upon completion of the funding period, a final report (max. 1 page) and a statement of how the budget was used must be submitted.
Please sendapplicationsvia email to the Office for Equality, Diversity, and Family (GVF) at RPTU (email: annegret.scheibe[at]rptu.de). Annegret Scheibe will answer any questions you may have via email or by phone (06341 280-31243).
[1] MINT (Mathematics, Computer Science, Natural Sciences, Technology); English: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).