Closing Date: 14 July 2024
Apply for the Fully-Funded RIFS Fellowship Programme in Germany
Background
The Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS) conducts research with the
aim of investigating, identifying, and advancing development pathways for transformations towards
sustainability. Its research approach is transdisciplinary, transformative, and co-creative. The Institute
cooperates with partners in science, political and administrative institutions, the business community,
and civil society to develop solutions for sustainability challenges.
The Fellow Programme is among RIFS’ defining features: each year, around 20 people are invited from
across the world to join the Institute. Working closely with RIFS research groups, projects and other
fellows, they pursue innovative ideas and topics to advance sustainability transformations. Supported
by the Institute in their work and aspirations, fellows are invited to develop their ideas in a supportive
international community drawn from all sectors of society. RIFS helps fellows to extend their networks
at the national and international levels and provides organizational and financial support for their
activities.
Fellows will join an ever-growing network of over 300 former fellows from over 50 countries. RIFS welcome applications from all parts of society, including science, public administration, the private sector, civil society, media and the arts, and from all parts of the world. Applicants from the scientific community are expected to have a PhD or similar level of experience when their fellowship commences. Non-academic applicants should have at least three to five years of relevant work experience in their chosen field.
Fellowship Components
The RIFS Fellowship Programme is inspired by the Potsdam Memorandum’s appeal to gather all sources of inventiveness and inspiration from science, politics, business and civil society to address the sustainability challenges of our time. The fellows are an important resource for the institute. They support its research, improve our transdisciplinary methodology and help us to reach political, economic and social actors together.
The RIFS Fellowship programme is aimed at highly qualified individuals from science, business and civil society who deliver specialist knowledge, inspiration and creative input. In return, the RIFS offers the fellows the opportunity to develop their ideas in an international community of highly qualified researchers within the institute and in the Potsdam-Berlin research region. The fellows are actively supported in their efforts to establish new connections and develop new ideas and activities together with the RIFS researchers.
About 30 Fellows are on RIFS every year. The Fellowships are publicly advertised annually. In addition, the Board of Directors may invite individuals from around the world to cooperate with the RIFS for a limited period of time on certain issues and activities. The RIFS is looking for representatives from all academic disciplines and areas of society, including decision-makers, journalists and artists. Special tenders on special topics are also regularly made.
Benefits
At the end of the fellowship, the RIFS Fellows continue to operate across institutions and borders and use their knowledge and experience to initiate changes to a more sustainable society. For this reason, RIFS strives to maintain contact with the former Fellows after successfully completing their fellowship.
Since the founding of the institute, almost 300 fellows from over 40 countries have been researching at the RIFS and have carried out a variety of projects. With the annually increasing number of fellow alumni, this creates a worldwide network. The RIFS Fellow Alumni Network aims to bring together former and current fellows, RIFS employees and its partners. In addition, RIFS Fellowship Programme aim to promote and improve the support of young scientists by Fellow alumni.
The network offers the RIFS Fellow Alumni and Alumnae a number of advantages:
- Networking in an active international scientific community
- Up-to-date information about alumni activities and news from RIFS
- Personal invitations to exclusive RIFS events
- Promotion of research by fellows and increasing visibility
- Guest authors for the RIFS website / Blog
- Exchange of ideas and networking opportunities at Fellow meetings and Tuesday Talks
- Support in the implementation of innovative ideas and the realisation of projects
- Opportunity to become an Affiliate Scholar
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