Freie Universitaet Berlin is a university with a most vibrant and diverse research spectrum. It is embedded in a dense research landscape of the Berlin Area, in which four universities and 60 extra-university research institutions provide unique possibilities for collaboration. In the German Excellence Initiatives of 2007 and 2012, Freie Universität was successful with its institutional strategy of the International Network University and thus attained the status of a German Excellence University.An inherent component of the institutional strategy is the promotion of researchers at all stages of their academic careers. The university’s commitment to support early stage researchers finds its expression in the establishment of the Dahlem Research School (DRS), as well as in the Career-Path-Model which forms the core of the renewal proposal of 2012.Freie Universitaet has implemented the Postdoc International Fellowship (POINT) scheme targeted at experienced researchers from all over the world. The new fellowship scheme will allow researchers to carry out cutting edge research projects in the outstanding environment of one of Focus Areas of Freie Universitaet. The programme will integrate a network of leading researchers in the respective field for cooperation projects.In addition, fellows will benefit from the training support, mentoring and career development schemes jointly offered by the Focus Areas and Dahlem Research School, which will also coordinate the programme. A highly elaborated selection ensures that only the best and brightest candidates will be admitted and that gender and inter-sectoral aspects will be attentively considered.The uniqueness of the research fields, the extraordinary conditions for research in a dense network of regional research partners and the support by training and mentoring will enable top level young researchers to raise the quality of their research and to contribute considerably towards their career progression.