Protected Time 4 Research
Special BGF programme for female postdoctoral reseachers at LMU
© LMU
This one-off funding programme with limited funds from the Bavarian Gender Equality Grant (BGF - Bayerische Gleichstellungsförderung - equal opportunities programme of the Free State of Bavaria) is aimed at post-doctoral women researchers who need protected time to take a decisive step in their careers.
On the one hand, the funding is intended to provide a substitute for female academics who are heavily involved in teaching, service (e.g. clinic) or academic self-administration, and on the other hand, it is intended to provide female academics without an existing employment relationship with a temporary position in order to concentrate fully on an important step in their academic career.
This can be the preparation or revision of an application for third-party funding (e.g. DFG Individual Research Grants, Emmy Noether Programme, ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant), the completion of a publication, the preparation for a specialisation examination (e.g. Specialist in Medicine, Specialist in Veterinary Medicine, Diplomate EBVS) or the completion of other scientific projects that will significantly advance one's career.
Funding is provided for a career step that is difficult to achieve in the normal university routine or in the applicant’s specific life situation and that contributes significantly to the applicant's remaining in academia.
Protected Time 4 Research — Further Information
Model A) Substitute position TV-L E 13 with a current LMU contract: Employment of a full-time or part-time substitute for a period of between 3 and 12 months (by hiring a new person or extending the existing contract of a person already employed by the LMU) so that the applicant can be released from her teaching and service duties. The department/faculty is responsible for providing a suitable replacement, not the applicant.
Model B) Funding of a separate temporary TV-L E 13 position if there is no LMU contract: The applicant can apply for a full-time or part-time position for a period of between 3 and 12 months for specific research and qualification tasks to promote her own career. The applicant is solely responsible for her own project and does not take on any teaching or service duties.
Model A) Young female postdoctoral researchers with at least 50% employment at the LMU. The funds will be used to employ an aliquot substitute for the applicant, who will be fully released from her teaching and service duties for a freely selectable period of 3 to 12 months.
Model B) Young female postdoctoral researchers who no longer have an employment contract at LMU at the time of funding (employment must, however, have existed in the recent past and may not date back more than 6 months when applying for the Protected Time 4 Research grant) and who are working full-time or part-time for any period between 3 and 12 months to prepare or revise an application for third-party funding or to complete a publication or similar.
Duty to co-operate: Applicants are obliged to inform the University Women's Representative without delay of any changes in the information provided in their application or in their personal circumstances. There is also a reporting obligation: upon receipt of funding, the Protected Time 4 Research researcher undertakes to submit a final report (max. 3 pages) to the University Women's Representative no later than two months after the end of the funding period, without being asked to do so.
Please note: for both models, an agreement with the department/faculty is required, see section 3.4!
Applications for both Model A and Model B must include the following documents:
1. a sufficiently elaborated explanation of the objective to be achieved during the Protected Time 4 Research and its significance for the overall career, in particular for the applicant’s future career prospects, as well as a work plan and timetable (max. 3 pages)
2. a list of publications
3. a tabular CV
4. a letter of support and an informal confirmation from the department/faculty that, in the event of approval under Model A, they will guarantee the leave of absence and organise the stand-in position or, under Model B, conclude the Protected Time 4 Research contract with the applicant.
5. Model B applications: proof of employment relationship at LMU dating back a maximum of 6 months at the time of application
For both models, the Protected Time 4 Research must start in the 2025 financial year.
Due to the one-time nature of the funding and the limited funds available, no extensions are possible; neither Model A) nor Model B) can finance additional periods of time, e. g. for any maternity leave or parental leave.
Applications in German or English may be submitted electronically to frauenbeauftragte@lmu.de by 15 May 2025. Feedback is expected by the end of June 2025, so the earliest start date for the protected research period is August 2025.
Candidates will be selected on the basis of an evaluation of the applications received by the University Women’s Representative and her deputies.
Applications that do not meet the requirements will not be considered. There is no entitlement to funding.
Contact: Dr. Margit Weber (frauenbeauftragte@lmu.de)