Emerging Groups

The UoC Emerging Groups are a funding line within the University of Cologne’s Excellent Research Support Program (ERSP) and a key component of the university’s research profile. They consist of innovative teams of 5 to 10 researchers. Their goal is to explore new research directions and thereby give new impulses to research at the University of Cologne.

ERSP funding specifically supports projects with the potential to develop into major externally funded research consortia, such as Collaborative Research Centers (SFBs). Emerging Groups are thus an important driver of innovation and renewal and have already initiated numerous new, externally funded collaborative projects.

4th call for proposals

The 4th call for proposals has started on 1 October 2025.
Application deadline: 31 January 2026
Contact: funding(at)verw.uni-koeln(dot)de
Application forms:

Current Emerging Groups

In the 3rd round of calls for proposals, three projects were approved within the framework of the UoC Emerging Groups funding line, each with a term of three years:

MANIAC: Mapping Autonomic Neural Interaction and Control

Speaker
Prof. Julian König (Medizinische Fakultät)

Abstract:
While a driving principle in the scientific understanding of a physiologist like Claude Bernard back in the 19th century, modern neuroscience frequently neglects that the brain does not operate in isolation but dynamically interacts with other organs of the body. Yet – 150 years later – we know surprisingly little about the exact neural mechanisms underlying organ function in health and disease. Gaining a better understanding of these complex processes, in particular (A) how organ activity is represented in the brain and in turn exerts influence on brain activity and (B) how brain activity controls organ function will inform innovative treatment targets for clinical intervention. However, existing approaches to disentangle brain-body interactions often rely on purely observational data. International experts in autonomic neuroscience at the University of Cologne (UoC) compose this Emerging Group, bringing together complementary expertise from different backgrounds and faculties at UoC. In a joint effort, we aim to advance the existing state of the art and develop a comprehensive, empirical driven model on the interaction of the central and autonomic nervous system. To achieve this aim in the long term, strategic objectives of the group supported by UoC seed-funding include establishing critical infrastructure and new methods on campus, as well as showcasing maximum joint productivity, thereby paving the way for a successful consecutive application for continued funding. The present full-proposal illustrates the planed work program of the MANIAC Emerging Group at the University of Cologne in the next three years.

HPDnet: The Future of Child and Adolescent Healthcare – Integrating Hospital Pediatric Departments into Health Networks in order to Improve Patient-Centered Care for Children with Kidney Disease

Speaker:
Prof. Ludwig Kuntz (Wirtschaft- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät)

Abstract:
The number of children with one or more chronic diseases grew significantly in the last decade, confronting the limited supply structures with increasing coordination complexity. The organization of patient care, once the domain of the individual practitioner, is becoming the domain of the delivery organizations, particularly for inpatient child care. Consequently, the current situation signals the need for a rethink of the child and adolescent care system and the role of hospital pediatric departments (HPDs) within the healthcare system, though there is a lack of systematic evidence on how to improve coordination and integration. One reason for this lack of evidence is an excessive focus in research on vertical integration (i.e., organizations acquiring or integrating with other organizations that offer different levels of care) rather than horizontal integration (i.e., organizations acquiring or integrating with other organizations that provide the same or similar services). To this end, we are following recent research calls (Burns et al. (2022) and Gittell and Ali (2022)), and placing our research focus on the networks through which care is delivered, with an emphasis on the relational dimensions of those networks. This research contributes to this current research initiative while at the same time adding to the existing medical literature on care coordination in pediatrics (e.g., Kuo et al., 2018; Pfefferle et al., 2006). Our overarching goal is to design a network intervention and assess its impact on outcomes (e.g., hospitalization, mortality, hospital days).

Empirical Research on Teacher Education at the University of Cologne (ER-TEC): Proving the Effectiveness of Teacher Education

Speaker:
Prof. Johannes König (Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät)

Abstract:
The overarching objective of this cooperation project is to develop and establish teacher education effectiveness as a new research focus and high-impact topic at the UoC. That means the emerging group will conduct and promote basic and applied empirical research that aims to examine central assumptions on how teacher education (across regions, institutions, and in all three teacher education phases) is effective–both regarding its current status quo as well as regarding the provision of innovative measures in teacher education. The cooperation structure and systematic approaches to be established by the emerging group serve the ultimate aim of creating and submitting a proposal for a Research Unit at the German Research Foundation (DFG) by 2025.

Emerging Group report

Homepage:
https://izef.uni-koeln.de/forschung/emerging-group-proving-the-effectiveness-of-teacher-education