Early-career researchers worldwide are availing themselves of an important but formerly obscure resource: three downloadable databases of hundreds of global funding opportunities and fellowships.

The databases — one for graduate students, one for postdoctoral researchers and one for junior faculty members — are produced and posted by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, Maryland. They were originally conceived as a career resource for JHU students and staff members, says Denis Wirtz, an engineer and the university’s vice-provost for research. “We had a choice to reserve the information or make it available to everyone,” he says. “I reminded myself that the university’s mission is knowledge for the world.”  Read more.