14–16 Oct 2026
German Cancer Research Center / Communication Center
Europe/Berlin timezone

2. Upload your collaborative project

  • Opening day
  • Submission deadline

Welcome to the Joint Project Proposal submission section.

At this stage, newly formed teams are invited to submit a joint project proposal for the Fontana Seed Fund Collaboration Challenge. The submitted proposals will be evaluated to select the teams that will participate in the on-site Bootcamp in Heidelberg. During the Bootcamp, teams will further develop their project ideas before submitting a full proposal for the seed funding competition.

The following documents must be submitted at this stage:

  • Joint Project proposal (template available here)
  • Letter of support from the group leader/department head for each team member (template available here)
  • for clinician scientists: a confirmation by the clinic that you can attend the on-site event in October.

Team Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to submit a joint project proposal, teams must meet all of the following requirements:

  • The team consists of 2–3 early-career researchers
  • The team includes researchers from institutions in at least two different countries
  • The team includes at least one researcher affiliated with one of the Fontana Challenge’s partner institutions
  • The team brings together complementary expertise (e.g. basic, translational, clinical research)
  • The proposed project demonstrates a clear scientific added value arising from the collaboration
  • Each team member has a running contract with their current affiliation until November 2027
  • Each team member has the support of their group leader, department head, or other responsible senior scientist, as confirmed by a signed letter of support submitted with the application.
The call for abstracts is open
You can submit an abstract for reviewing.