Heilbronn, 03 November 2025 – The IPAI Foundation, part of the IPAI innovation platform, is launching a unique, non-profit funding programme for international AI scientists. The fully-funded fellowship programme, “Science Residency”, enables up to five excellent, international post-docs to not only conduct research within the IPAI innovation platform’s environment but also to bring the results into application under real-world conditions in an innovation-driven setting. The application phase starts now.
The advantage over classic AI funding programmes:
The IPAI Science Residency is designed as a catalyst to transfer outstanding “AI for Good” concepts from theoretical research into real-world application. The programme offers an all-inclusive package: Residents receive a full employment contract with the IPAI Foundation, a six-figure research budget, and access to the IPAI real-world laboratory spaces. Furthermore, they benefit from an excellent, application-oriented partner network and an extended ecosystem that already utilises AI in daily operations.
The IPAI Foundation pursues the non-profit mission of strengthening trust in AI, empowering people, and promoting a nuanced dialogue about AI in society. To achieve this, it focusses on two key areas: it contributes to the field of AI Science and Transformation and promotes active dialogue and knowledge acquisition. The Science Residency is a crucial component of the first key area by promoting the research and application of human-centred AI. The programme is supported by a strong partner network.
Leading companies SAP and Schwarz Digits, as well as the Dieter Schwarz Foundation as initiator, enable the fellows to conduct independent research with a clear application focus. This is complemented by a broad partner network of excellent educational institutions, AI companies, and organisations that support the Residents with their expertise.
“We want excellent AI research to generate real social benefit. The Science Residency is our way of supporting relevant AI concepts through to their implementation. Thanks to the support of our partners, our Residents receive not only a permanent employment contract with the IPAI Foundation and a generous research budget, but also access to an ecosystem that accelerates the transfer into practice,” explains Benjamin Schiller, CFO of the IPAI Foundation.
The programme is open for international post-docs or researchers with at least three years of AI research experience. The application phase runs from 03 November 2025 to 04 January 2026. The programme start in Heilbronn is 01 April 2026. The programme language is English. The programme is designed as a hybrid format but requires mandatory attendance phases in Heilbronn for networking. The selection of the Fellows is conducted in a two-stage process based on independently developed criteria and is decided by an external expert jury.
Registration and further information here: https://ipai-foundation.ai/en/science-residency/
About The IPAI Foundation
The IPAI Foundation, as a non-profit organisation, complements the IPAI AI innovation platform and addresses the question of how we can generate social and technological progress around the topic of human-centred Artificial Intelligence (AI). In doing so, it makes an important contribution to the shared vision of creating the Global Home of Human AI in Heilbronn.
To achieve its goal of strengthening trust in the technology, empowering people to use AI, and shaping a nuanced dialogue about AI in society that inspires enthusiasm for AI and the future, the IPAI Foundation focusses on two key areas: It contributes to the field of AI Science and Transformation and promotes active dialogue and knowledge acquisition.
