The Alliance Center Electron Microscopy (ACEM) is a virtual, interdisciplinary center that brings together electron microscopy expertise from all four BUA institutions. It supports researchers who rely on electron microscopy for their projects and strengthens collaboration in the life sciences, natural sciences, and materials sciences.
For postdocs, two offers are particularly relevant: Early-career researchers can apply for seed funding of up to €10,000 to conduct electron microscopy measurements that support the development of future third-party funding applications. In addition, ACEM hosts an annual BUA Core Facility Day, where core facilities from across the BUA are presented. The event offers opportunities to discover available infrastructures, meet facility experts, and explore potential collaborations.
BerlinUP is a scholar-led, non-commercial open-access publishing initiative of the BUA. It provides services for publishing monographs, edited volumes, and other scholarly works in an open-access formats. In addition to publishing services, BerlinUP offers independent guidance on open-access strategies and copyright issues, helping postdocs increase the visibility and reach of their research.
The project Collaboratively Advancing Research Data Support (CARDS) strengthens research data management (RDM) across all BUA institutions. It develops shared tools, services, and training opportunities to support FAIR and responsible handling of research data.
For postdocs, Subproject 3: RDM competence building is especially relevant. It offers training formats, practical guidance, and resources for planning, documenting, and managing research data. General information is available on the CARDS website, specific training opportunities are published under Research Data Management.
The digital portal connects academic collections across the BUA institutions on a single digital platform. It increases visibility, improves accessibility, and enables researchers to use collection materials for interdisciplinary research, teaching, provenance studies, and public engagement activities.
OpenIRIS is a shared booking and management platform that allows researchers to reserve scientific instruments across BUA partner institutions, including large-scale or specialized equipment. For postdocs, it provides a practical overview of available devices and simplifies access to equipment that may not be available within their own department or laboratory.