School of Politics and International Relations academics Professor Keith Dowding and Dr Matthew Kerby are among the 100 winners of grant funding by the Australia-Germany Joint Research Cooperation Scheme.

Professor Dowding’s team was the sole winner from the College of Arts anbd Social Sciences, and was among five from the university who shared in $3.5m worth of grants funded by Universities Australia and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).  Each year, DAAD, its Regional Branch Offices, its Information Centres, and DAAD Professors around the globe provide information and financial support to over 120,000 highly-qualified students and faculty for international research and study per year.

There were a record 380 applications, the most the DAAD has received from any country, for projects that allow Australian researchers to spend time at partner universities in Germany, and for German academics to study in Australia.

Professor Dowding’s research project, Political careers in federal countries: methodological challenges received $23,600 worth of funding and will be a collaboration with academics at the Free University in Berlin.

The analyses are based upon parliamentary handbooks and websites, biographical material, and newspaper reports and allows comparisons of political careers in federal countries with different institutions and political cultures.

There will be two workshops and four public lectures in Canberra and Berlin by distinguished scholars. The project also involves early career researchers who will participate in the workshops, hold independent studies, and present their findings.

Professor Dowding and Dr Kerby are looking forward to spending time over in Germany to work with other scholars on their ventures.