University & Academia

Successful studies are about more than just career preparation—they help shape responsible individuals who contribute to society. We support outstanding and dedicated students and doctoral candidates in focusing on their academic pursuits while fostering personal growth.

School & Education

Schools shape the generation of tomorrow. Children and young people develop interests, gain experience, and discover their talents. We support pupils, student teachers, and educators in Hamburg through a wide range of individual and institutional funding opportunities.

Arts & Culture

Arts education, interdisciplinary exchange, and the support of emerging artists are at the heart of our funding activities in the field of Arts & Culture. We support graduates of art and music universities who seek to establish independent artistic careers after completing their studies.

Dialogue & Perspective

We enable interdisciplinary learning, offer non-material support, and create opportunities and spaces for vibrant interaction among our scholarship recipients. As a foundation committed to the individual advancement of talented young people, we place great importance on interdisciplinary dialogue, personal development, and professional growth.

#Purpose

How do we fulfil our foundation’s mission—and with what goals in mind? What truly matters to us in our work, and who are the people we seek to support? What immediate impact do we want to have on our scholarship holders—and what long-term contributions do we aim to make beyond that? We have taken a step back to articulate, in a fundamental way, the vision and mission that guide and shape our work at the foundation.

The Claussen-Simon Foundation supports talented young people at various stages of their educational, academic, professional and personal development. In the funding areas of Science & University, School & Education and Arts & Culture, we offer a wide range of scholarship programs and project funding for pupils, students and teachers, doctoral students and postdocs as well as artists. The Dialogue & Perspectives area bundles the cross-programme non-material funding offers with seminars, lectures, discussion series and other dialogue and event formats. Sustainable funding lines and complementary measures that build on each other are the hallmarks of our work in all funding areas.

We feel closely connected to the vision of our founder and would like to contribute to enabling young people to develop their talent and enthusiasm in school, science and culture. The Claussen-Simon Foundation operates and supports projects throughout Germany. The main focus of our activities is the Hamburg area.

We build the We.

The transformative processes and upheavals of our time make it necessary to clarify the canon of values that guide our interactions. A clear stance is required, based on values that respect the perspectives of different social groups, enable discourse between people with differing views, preserve universities and higher education institutions as places of free thought and research, safeguard liberal-democratic processes, and foster trust in social cohesion.

We need courage and trust—in ourselves and in others—if we want to live together harmoniously. From the diversity of our foundation's community, our scholarship recipients gain the experience of a successful and enriching coexistence and carry this forward into society. This is what we build on.

Prof. Dr. Regina Back
Chief Executive Officer

#Weitblick-Blog

#WissensWerte: Das WissKomm-Kolleg – Raum für Reflexion, Motor für Veränderung

Ein Gespräch mit Dr. Nadine Weigand, Dr. Klara Stumpf und Sarah-Isabel Conrad

Wie wird aus einem geschützten Reflexionsraum ein Motor für Veränderung? Im Dreiergespräch diskutieren Dr. Nadine Weigand, Dr. Klara Stumpf und Sarah-Isabel Conrad, wie das WissKomm-Kolleg junge Wissenschaftskommunikator:innen stärkt und neue Impulse für den Dialog zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft setzt. Die Bewerbungsfrist für den 3. Jahrgang des WissKomm-Kollegs startet am 1. Dezember 2025.

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