The Bayer Foundation plans to endow 100 Deutschlandstipendium scholarships over the next five years, providing a total of 900,000 euros in funding in support of excellent students throughout Germany.

The Bayer Group emphasizes bringing research and business together. Five scholarships will be awarded to students at Freie Universität in fields such as veterinary medicine and pharmacy.

“The discipline should be a good fit for Bayer,” says Thimo V. Schmitt-Lord, Executive Director of the Bayer Foundations. “After all, our goal is to give our scholarship recipients not just funding, but also access to our scholarly, scientific, and research networks so that they can forge ties.”

Schmitt-Lord explains that Freie Universität’s selection as one of the universities receiving funding from the organization is tied to the company’s strategic alignment. “We believe it is important to make long-term investments in excellent universities located near our sites,” he says. “Because Berlin is one of our most important locations, working with Freie Universität is an obvious step,” Schmitt-Lord adds.

Bayer has a long tradition of providing support for next-generation talent. Carl Duisberg, who served as director and a member of the board of management of Bayer from 1900 until 1926, initiated the first scholarship programs back in 1923. “Our aid programs have traditionally had a strong international focus, which makes the Deutschlandstipendium the perfect addition to our portfolio at this point, because they are geared toward Germany specifically,” Schmitt-Lord explains.