Among the speakers was Professor Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, President of the DFG from 1998 until the end of 2006, and now Secretary General of the European Research Council (ERC), who described Grunwald’s time in office, including the system evaluation of the DFG and the Max Planck Society and the resulting reorganisation of the internal structure at the DFG’s Head Office; issues of scientific misconduct; the introduction of the review board system, which ushered in new standards for its peer review system; the changes to the its statutes; and the internationalisation of the DFG’s activities.
During Grunwald’s term of office, the DFG’s budget doubled and the number of employees grew from 600 to 800. The new Secretary General is Dorothee Dzwonnek.