Donald Trump is cutting jobs at NASA, eliminating jobs at universities, and withholding funding.

At numerous universities and research institutions in the USA, the policies of US President Donald Trump are leading to far-reaching cuts: positions are being eliminated, funding is being reduced, and staff are being laid off. This not only threatens the strongest and best science system in the world, but Trump's actions also endanger science and well-being worldwide, said Robert Schlögl, President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, recently.

In light of the massive attack on science, research institutions and universities in Germany are therefore seeking to collaborate more closely with US researchers. Most aren't interested in deliberately attracting talent to Germany, but they are certainly using other means.

The Max Planck Society (MPG), for example, plans to provide the so-called Transatlantic Program with additional private funding. This should open up options in Germany for scientists who cannot continue their research in the USA. The USA has been the most important driver of science and the MPG's most important partner country to date – one in four MPG publications is the result of collaborations with researchers in the USA.

In response to the latest call for research group leadership positions, the MPG received twice as many applications from the USA as in the previous year, as MPG President Patrick Cramer said in an interview with “Spiegel”.

When asked, the Leibniz Association's press spokesperson, Tim Urban, stated: "A targeted poaching of American colleagues carries the risk of further weakening American science and is therefore not something we pursue." It is now important to strengthen collaborations and thereby support our American colleagues.

At the same time, the possibility of reacting at short notice is not ruled out. Depending on how the situation develops, short-term interim funding, for example for temporary research stays in Germany, could be quite helpful. This applies particularly to researchers in the fields of climate, inequality, and the life sciences, who no longer find acceptable working conditions in the United States.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) suspects that the situation in the USA could lead to a global shift in the future. "Top talents from countries like India, China, or Brazil, who would previously have primarily gone to the USA, are now considering whether other countries, for example in Europe, might be a better option," said DAAD spokeswoman Cordula Luckassen.

A so-called "brain drain," the exodus of highly qualified scientists, has occurred repeatedly throughout history. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, for example, numerous Jewish and dissident scientists emigrated from Germany. Most recently, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine also led to hundreds of Russian scientists leaving their country.

Luckassen noted that the DAAD offices in the USA are currently experiencing growing interest in Germany as a research location among international doctoral students and postdocs. Many of them are working and researching in the USA on temporary visas and in temporary positions, often funded by federal funds.

The current developments in the USA are already making themselves felt at some German universities. A spokesperson for the University of Leipzig stated that they have noted that the interest of American partners in close cooperation is very strong and very explicit. According to the press office, Humboldt University in Berlin has received a few direct inquiries from US scientists in recent weeks. According to a spokesperson, the RWTH Aachen University is also experiencing increasing interest from the USA.

The universities see this as an opportunity. "If the situation in the USA presents opportunities to strengthen Goethe University's profile through suitable appointments, we will of course take advantage of them," the Frankfurt University press office stated. However, active recruitment is only possible to a limited extent within the framework of the appointment procedures.

At the beginning of April, leading German scientists called for the developments in the USA to be exploited and for researchers from the USA to be specifically recruited in a guest article in the “Spiegel” magazine.

They called for the development of a so-called "Meitner-Einstein Program," which would specifically promote the appointment of outstanding researchers from the USA to German universities and non-university research institutions. Under the umbrella of the German Research Foundation and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, a larger number of professorships, for example 100, could be quickly created, the authors write. The program is intended to target scientists whose work cannot be continued in the USA, or can only be continued to a limited extent.

Irrespective of this demand, the President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Robert Schlögl, had stated in a statement that he would support more top researchers from the USA with appropriate financial support and provide them with temporary accommodation and work opportunities.