The NoW – Northwest Alliance Research Fund strengthens academic cooperation between the universities of Bremen and Oldenburg. Researchers from both universities can apply for funding for joint research activities.
Northwest Impulse
The Northwest Impulse funding line supports new collaborations between researchers from both universities.
Funding up to 40 tandems
Eligible to apply: professors and permanently employed researchers from both universities
Prerequisites: no joint publications or externally funded projects to date
Funding amount: up to 5,000 euros in material resources, e.g. for workshops, feasibility studies, and preparation of draft proposals
Northwest Advanced
Northwest Advanced is aimed at strengthening existing collaborations and joint research within the profile areas of the Northwest Alliance.
Eligible to apply: teams of professors from both universities
Funding amount: up to 20,000 euros in material resources, e.g. for conferences, pilot studies, and support services for third-party funding applications
Support for the joint high-profile areas and the two high-potential areas
Currently Funded Projects
Focal area: Global Social Policy
Professor Andreas Klee (University of Bremen) and Professor Tonio Oetfering (University of Oldenburg) are investigating how young people develop political orientations and conceptions of social cohesion under conditions of multiple crises. The project serves as preparation for a joint research cooperation in the field of political education.
Focal area: Materials and Processes
Professor David May (University of Bremen) and Professor Andreas Rauh (University of Oldenburg) are developing new approaches to modeling for the control and monitoring of complex manufacturing processes. Using melt spinning as an example, they are creating physics-based and data-driven models that complement and improve upon methods that have previously relied heavily on experience.
Focal area: Earth System Sciences
At the intersection of mathematics and theoretical physics, Professor Boris Vertman (University of Oldenburg) and Dr. Eva Hackmann (University of Bremen) are further expanding their interdisciplinary collaboration. Plans include establishing a joint research focus on modern spacetime geometries and preparing a coordinated application for third-party funding.
Focal area: Materials and Processes
The project led by Professor David May (University of Bremen) and Professor Michael Wark (University of Oldenburg) focuses on the development of a fully bio-based polybutylene succinate (PBS) for circular textile applications. The goal is to provide a material that can be processed into fibers via melt spinning and opens up sustainable alternatives in textile production.
Focal area: Competing Futures
The cultural appropriation practices of the steampunk scene in northwestern Germany are the focus of the project led by Professor Stefanie Samida (University of Oldenburg) and Dr. Thekla Keuck (University of Bremen). The project combines approaches from material culture studies, popular culture research, and public history.
Focal area: Earth System Sciences
In their project, Dr. Florence Schubotz (University of Bremen) and Professor Torsten Dittmar (University of Oldenburg) are investigating the role of sponges in the formation, conversion, and degradation of recalcitrant dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the ocean. The aim is a proof-of-concept to quantify the contribution DOM make to the ocean, climate, and biodiversity Earth system nexus.
The project led by Professor Rebecca Palm (University of Oldenburg) and Professor Ingrid Darmann-Finck (University of Bremen) aims to submit a joint research proposal to the DFG. The focus is on the academization of the nursing profession in Germany and the associated transformation of a field traditionally characterized by vocational training.
Professor Andreas Grünewald (University of Bremen) and Professor Jan Patrick Zeller (University of Oldenburg) are developing a joint research agenda in the field of foreign language didactics as well as language teaching and learning research. In the future, the project is also intended to involve international partners.
Currently Funded Projects
Focal area: Hearing and Brain Health
Professor Björn Lüssem (University of Bremen) and Professor Martin Bleichner (University of Oldenburg) are developing a novel, fluid-based electrode interface for near-ear EEG applications. The goal is to demonstrate the initial functionality of an anatomically adaptable system that enables comfortable, stable skin contact and overcomes the limitations of conventional EEG methods.
Focal area: Competing Futures
The project led by Professor Felicitas Macgilchrist (University of Oldenburg) and Professor Nadine Rose (University of Bremen) centers on the question of what visions of the future emerge in the context of AI-supported education (AIEd). The findings will contribute to the preparation of a joint DFG proposal for 2027.
Focal Area: Green Energy Transition
Professor Andreas Fischer (University of Bremen) and Professor Kerstin Avila (University of Oldenburg) are dedicated to investigating vortex-induced rotor blade deformations in wind turbines. As part of the collaboration, globally unique investigations are being conducted to address a key challenge in the operation of ever-larger onshore and offshore turbines.
Focal area: Human-Centered AI
Through a professionally facilitated workshop, Professor Rolf Drechsler (University of Bremen) and Professor Chih-Hong Cheng (University of Oldenburg) are fostering exchange between researchers from Bremen and Oldenburg in the field of data science. The goal is to initiate new interdisciplinary collaborations and translate these into concrete externally funded projects.
Focal area: Hearing and Brain Health
In the nEEGlace project, Professor Martin Bleichner (University of Oldenburg) and Professor Tanja Schultz (University of Bremen) are developing a freely accessible open hardware prototype for an ear EEG system worn on the neck. The wearable device reliably measures brain activity as well as relevant contextual information such as human activity and ambient noise. This makes transparent and robust EEG measurements possible in a convenient way, even outside of controlled laboratory environments. nEEGlace thus contributes to cognitive and auditory research and supports the development of reliable, human-centered artificial intelligence.
Focal area: Materials and Processes
The team led by Professor Michael Sentef (University of Bremen) and Professor Christian Schneider (University of Oldenburg) is researching how the macroscopic properties of new types of quantum materials can be altered by targeted exposure to light and embedding them in optical cavities. In addition, a three-day workshop planned for 2026 will strengthen academic collaboration between the locations of Bremen, Oldenburg, and Würzburg and support the exchange of expertise in the field of quantum materials research.
ZeSOB focuses on the development of advanced statistical methods for applications in areas such as finance and insurance, climate and ecological research, and health. Professor Werner Brannath, Professor Marcus C. Christiansen, and Professor Peter Ruckdeschel from Bremen and Oldenburg, under the direction of Professor Thorsten Dickhaus (University of Bremen), are thus expanding the range of services offered by ZeSOB, which has been in existence since 2015. Based on the established network, the project intensifies cross-location cooperation, supports the qualification of early-career researchers, and strengthens the methodological exchange within the Northwest Alliance.
Focal area: Hearing and Brain Health
Professor Yulia Golub (project lead, University of Oldenburg), Professor Louisa Kulke (University of Bremen), and Professor Andrea Hildebrandt (University of Oldenburg) are dedicated to neuronal synchronicity in parent-child interaction. In a pilot study, mother-child interactions in children with regulatory disorders are being investigated using video analysis, EEG hyperscanning, and cortisol measurements. The results should further enhance the profile of joint research into early brain health at the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg and open up new starting points for technological support services.
Focal area: Global Social Policy
Professor Sarah Berens (project lead, University of Bremen), Professor Markus Tepe (University of Bremen), and Professor Jan Sauermann (University of Oldenburg) are analyzing how the principle of entitlement influences attitudes towards inheritance taxation in advanced democracies. Based on survey experiments in the Niedersachsenpanel, the team is systematically investigating the causal effects of different principles of justice on individual support for inheritance taxation. The project thus contributes to the understanding of social distribution debates and the formation of political opinion.
Focal area: Competing Futures
The project led by Professor Alisha M. B. Heinemann (University of Bremen) and Professor Michaela Kaiser (University of Oldenburg) focuses on poetic and audiovisual forms of expression of marginalized communities in Germany, especially groups affected by racism and ableism. Their potential as educational media spaces of resistance, hope, and the imagination of alternative futures will be examined. At the same time, the project creates a conceptual basis for a further third-party funded project.
Focal area: Competing Futures
The project, led by Professor Ayca Polat (University of Oldenburg) and Professor Yasemin Karakaşoğlu (University of Bremen), critically examines the emergence, circulation, and marginalization of knowledge in the context of migration. An international symposium will connect existing research approaches from Bremen and Oldenburg and expand them on an interdisciplinary and international level. The focus is on questions of pedagogical professionalization, knowledge production, and social change.