Maria Reiche Postdoctoral Fellowships

No, the grants are not subject to social insurance contribution, because according to § 3 Nr. 44 Income Tax Act (EStG) they are exempt from taxation. Reception of the grant does not constitute a employment relationship and thus does not represent a payment according to § 14 Social Insurance Code (SGB) IV. As a result, the funding is not subject to social insurance contribution. It is the grant holder's sole responsibility to arrange for all her necessary personal and property insurances. Financial assistance in case of illness, or contributions to health insurance cannot be granted.

No, because the grants do not constitute an employment relationship, your health is not insured via the TU Dresden. As it is obligatory to be sufficiently health insured, it is your own responsibility to procure a health insurance and cover its costs. Neither does the grant include an accident or third party liability insurance. We therefore highly recommend you to arrange those insurances as well.

In principle, it is possible to pursue sideline activities and as well as to earn additional income during the funding period if they do not impair the purpose of the scholarship in terms of type and scope.

Before taking up or carrying out sideline activities, written approval must be obtained from the Rector of the TU Dresden  via the Graduate Academy. Sideline activities and additional earnings may not exceed a maximum of 10 hours per week.

An interim report of a maximum of five pages on the status of the work, the completed work packages as well as a precise time schedule must be submitted to the Graduate Academy of the TU Dresden at the latest three months before the end of the first funding year. These documents must be accompanied by an Letter of Recommendation of the supervising professor. The chairperson of the selection committee decides on the basis of the submitted documents about the further funding for the second funding year.

Awardees are obligated to inform the Graduate Academy of the TU Dresden immediately of the submission of the application for third-party funding.

Upon completion of the funding, a final report must be submitted to the Graduate Academy of the TU Dresden within eight weeks. The final report should be about four pages long and include information on the work performed within the Maria Reiche Postdoctoral Fellowship and information on the status of the submission of the application for third-party funding, a copy of the application for third-party funding and, in case of approval or rejection, a copy of the decision.

An interruption of the research project due to illness, pregnancy, special family burdens of the awardee or for another important reason for which the awardee is not responsible is generally possible. Suitable evidence of this must be provided. The interruption must be applied for by the awardee via the Graduate Academy to the chairperson of the selection committee.

The interruption can be applied for up to one year. Funding is suspended during the interruption and is extended by the duration of the remaining funding period when work on the funding purpose is resumed.

In the case of pregnancy, the scholarship will continue to be paid during the periods of protection under the Maternity Protection Act. The interruption due to maternity leave does not count towards the duration of the scholarship.