College for Social Sciences and Humanities: Außenansicht des Gebäudes in der Lindenallee

Die Fellows arbeiten im College in der Essener Innenstadt. © College for Social Sciences and Humanities

Social Sciences and Humanities First international senior fellowships announced

The newly launched programme aims to attract outstanding research personalities in the humanities and social sciences to the Ruhr region.

The International Senior Fellowship Programme, recently established by the College for Social Sciences and Humanities, addresses excellent international researchers in the social sciences and humanities. It offers them the opportunity to pursue a research project collaborating with fellow scientists of the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr) during their six-months fellowship in Essen.

Up to 20 Senior Fellowships per year are awarded to researchers who are active members of a foreign university or research institution and feature an internationally recognised, outstanding research profile. In spring and autumn 2024 respectively, ten fellows may start their residencies in Essen.

Call for applications

The call for applications is available on the internet. Applications are accepted until 27 August 2023, the selection will take place in September.

Distinguishing features of the new programme are its openness and collaborative approach: The visiting scholars have the liberty of pursuing independent research projects which they jointly work on with tandem partners from the UA Ruhr. Complementary to the junior fellowship programme of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen, the programme addresses highly experienced researchers from the social sciences and humanities.

Through the Senior Fellowship Programme, the College for Social Sciences and Humanities of the Research Alliance Ruhr seeks to promote excellence in research in the fields of social sciences and humanities within the UA Ruhr and foster international cooperation. “For the fellowships, we specifically recruit outstanding researcher personalities in the social sciences and humanities who spur innovative academic discourses. Through the tandem principle, we seek to facilitate research partnerships from which added value will emerge for the universities of the UA Ruhr“, Professor Julika Griem, the director of the College, points out.

College for Social Sciences and Humanities

The College for Social Sciences and Humanities was instituted in 2021 as part of the Research Alliance of the UA Ruhr. Apart from the Senior Fellowship Programme, interdisciplinary professorships and research groups are currently being established. Prospectively in summer 2023, the College will move into new premises in the city centre of Essen, where the future visiting fellows will also be working during their residency.

Research Alliance Ruhr

The Research Alliance Ruhr – facilitated by the Ruhr Conference, an initiative of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia – promotes the advancement of international cutting-edge research of the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), in which the TU Dortmund University, Ruhr University Bochum, and the University of Duisburg-Essen have joined forces. Beside the College for Social Sciences and Humanities, the Research Alliance includes the four Research Centres “One Health Ruhr“, “Chemical Sciences and Sustainability“, “Trustworthy Data Science and Security, and “Future Energy Materials and Systems“. The German federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia supports the establishing phase until 2025 with 123 million Euros.