AI in Application and Review

The use of artificial intelligence is currently growing rapidly and, of course, is already having a significant impact on academic work—particularly on the writing and review of grant proposals.

In early 2026, the DFG conducted an in-depth review of the use of AI systems in the context of grant awarding. In addition to revising the guidelines on the use of AI in grant applications, the DFG has since issued guidelines on the use of AI in the peer review process. 

At the Faculty of Medicine at RWTH Aachen University, following the publication of the guidelines, the Research Commission recommended that these rules also be applied within the framework of the internal funding programs (START, Clinician, and Medical Scientist Program). This proposal was approved by the Deanery and the Faculty Council.

Therefore, please be sure to adhere to the DFG’s rules when participating in these programs. 

As a researcher at RWTH, you have access to RWTHgpt, which hosts open-source systems where all data is processed within Germany and which are configured with the highest security settings—meaning they are not trained on the data entered. These systems are marked with a German flag in the list (see the drop-down menu in the upper left corner). If you wish to use AI as part of the peer review process, RWTHgpt is currently the only permissible system for these reasons, as it is the only platform that guarantees data protection and the protection of intellectual property. You can easily log in here using RWTH’s single sign-on