With the Early Career Conference Grant (ECCG), the German Society of Agronomy (GPW) specifically supports young scientists in actively participating in scientific conferences in Germany and abroad.

The aim of the funding is to empower young researchers to raise the profile of their work, obtain expert feedback and expand their scientific networks.

Funding will only be provided for active conference contributions (posters or presentations) that are clearly related to the field of crop science.

The following are eligible to apply:

  • Master's students with the firm intention of pursuing a doctorate
  • PhD students
  • Early career postdocs without permanent positions

Membership in the German Society of Agronomy (GPW) is a prerequisite.

  • Subsidies for travel, accommodation and conference costs
  • Maximum funding amount: up to €500 per application
  • One application per person may be submitted per year; a maximum of two grants per person may be awarded in total.

There are two rounds of tenders per year:

  • Round 1:
    • Application deadline: February 27, 2026
    • End of selection phase: March 31, 2026
  • Round 2:
    • Application deadline: August 31, 2026
    • End of selection phase: September 30, 2026
  • The proposed conference must clearly relate to the field of work of the GPW.
  • An active contribution must be made (submitted or accepted abstract for poster or presentation). Pure conference participation without an own contribution will not be funded.
  • Double funding from other programmes must be disclosed transparently.
  • The funding must be mentioned in the presentation and/or conference paper.

The application must be submitted in full and bundled in a single PDF file and must contain the following documents:

  1. Letter of motivation (max. 500 words) (max. 500 Wörter)
    – Darstellung der persönlichen Motivation und der Bedeutung der Tagung für die eigene wissenschaftliche Entwicklung.
  2. Brief description of the scientific contribution
    – Description of the work submitted for the conference, including objectives, methods and relevance.
  3. Budget and cost estimate, including
    – planned travel expenses (transport, accommodation, participation fees),
    – Details of other sources of funding,
    – desired funding amount.
  4. Statement by the supervising person
    – Brief scientific classification of the contribution and assessment of the significance of the conference for the applicant's qualifications and networking.
  5. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
    – including publications and previous conference participation (if applicable).

A brief report on your experiences must be submitted after the trip. The subsidy will be paid out only upon presentation of the relevant invoices and tickets.

Application deadline: 28 February 2026
Feedback: by 27 March 2026 at the latest

Please send your complete application documents as a single PDF file by email to:

📧 geschaeftsfuehrer.gpw@zalf.de