The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is strengthening its ties with Latin American research funding organisations and universities. On a trip to Brazil and Colombia, DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker first travelled to São Paulo, where she met with Professor Dr. Marco Antonio Zago, President of the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). In Brasília, Becker held talks with Professor Dr. Ricardo Galvão, President of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), and also met Professor Antonio Gomes de Souza Filho, Vice President of the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES). The DFG has long-standing relationships with all of these organisations and these ties are now set to be deepened further.

In her discussions, the DFG President emphasised the importance of Brazil as a partner to the German research community: “In view of the increasing pressure on free international research, long-term and productive partnerships built on mutual trust and shared values are more important than ever.” Becker noted that collaboration between Brazil and Germany had grown significantly over the past 20 years: “Since 2019 alone, the DFG has funded more than 390 German–Brazilian projects, almost 150 of which were co-financed,” Becker said. Some of these began with modest start-up funding and have since evolved into long-term research networks. “Offering opportunities for mutual learning, these collaborations greatly benefit both the German and Brazilian research systems.”

The DFG’s partner organisation in São Paulo, FAPESP, expressed strong interest in Germany’s Excellence Strategy – the decisions on the funded Clusters of Excellence, made on 22 May in Bonn, were closely followed in Brazil. More than 100 scientific advisors from FAPESP and the rectors of local universities took part in a dedicated exchange event on the Excellence Strategy in São Paulo. They discussed whether a similar initiative could be introduced in Brazil and how collaboration between Brazilian researchers and German Clusters of Excellence could be further strengthened.

Following her visit to Brazil, Becker travelled to Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, where she signed two Memorandums of Understanding with top research universities. The Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL) and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ) are now set to join the DFG’s existing Colombian partner network, which already includes the Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES) and the Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA). At the signing, Becker reiterated that in addition to academic excellence, top-level research required another essential condition in order to truly thrive: freedom of research. “Our agreements with these additional Colombian universities are also designed to foster the kind of exchange and cooperation that science and the humanities urgently need right now. Because today, more than ever, we must stand up for our shared values such as freedom of research,” she said.

“In recent times, science and the humanities around the world have come under increasing political pressure and faced targeted attacks on freedom of research – even in partner countries where such interference was once considered unthinkable,” Becker continued. “This is why we as a research funding organisation are building alliances with those who share our values – freedom of research, democratic principles, social responsibility and a belief in the transformative power of knowledge.”