There has been much rejoicing in Düsseldorf, Gatersleben, Jülich and Cologne today: the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science and Humanities Council (WR) announced that the joint CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence (“SMART Plants in Dynamic Environments”) has also been successful in the current funding round of the Excellence Strategy. In addition to Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), which is the lead university, and the University of Cologne, which is the co-lead, the Forschungszentrum Jülich, the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Cologne (MPIPZ) will also be involved in the project. Around 56 million euros in funding was requested for a seven-year period beginning on 1 January 2026.
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