When the term urban planning is mentioned, most of us think about traffic routes and housing. Yet urban planning encompasses a whole lot more: Maria Ustinova from Russia for example wants to improve nurseries and schools.

The Consolidator Grants awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) support promising researchers wishing to advance their academic careers. The closing date for applications is 7 February 2019.

Cyber security research deals with a matter of great topical interest: how can companies, organisations and private individuals protect themselves effectively against attacks on data and IT systems? You can also read in this edition why a Russian urban planner is interested in nursery schools, learn about current funding programmes and discover our number of the month.

Employees in Germany generally work five days a week and then have two days off. And yet many feel that they need a holiday. Why? The psychologist Professor Nikolai Egold explains why holidays are important and why people do not necessarily recharge their batteries in their time off.

That’s how long naked mole rats live. Which is unusual for animals of their size. Researchers are interested in discovering why they live so long, and what conclusions they can draw from this for humans.

Through its Erasmus+ programme, the European Union (EU) enables people to teach or study at a German university. For individual application deadlines, the international office of the applicant's home university should be contacted.