Volkswagen Foundation Norbert Elias Fellowships for African Researchers 2023

Are you interested in interdisciplinary cooperation? Do you want to be part of a high-level international team of researchers? If so, we invite you to apply for a Norbert Elias Fellowship at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Bielefeld, Germany.

ZiF is the Institute for Advanced Study of Bielefeld University and has been fostering outstanding interdisciplinary research groups for more than 50 years.

The fellowship is part of the ZiF Research Group working on on “Internalizing Borders: The Social and Normative Consequences of the European Border Regime”, convened by PD Dr. Frank Wolff (Osnabrück), Dr. Dana Schmalz (Jena), Prof. Dr. Sabine Hess (Göttingen) and Prof. Dr. Volker M. Heins (Essen). International fellows from different disciplines will work together at ZiF from October 2023 to July 2024. The research group’s working language is English. Further information about the research group can be found here.

About Volkswagen Foundation

The Volkswagen Foundation is the largest German private nonprofit organization for the promotional of research and education in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It is not affiliated to the present company, the Volkswagen Group. It was established in 1961 as Stiftung Volkswagenwerk with a portion of the confiscated assets of the Volkswagenwerk GmbH.With a capital of 2.9 billion euros, as of 2016 it is the largest German scientific foundation. Since its founding, it has distributed 4.2 billion Euros in grants for over 30,000 proj... read more

Volkswagen Foundation Norbert Elias Fellowships

Aim and Benefits of Volkswagen Foundation Norbert Elias Fellowships

• The ZiF offers a monthly stipend of 2400 Euro plus free accommodation at the ZiF’s campus and travel expenses.
• The ZiF will also contribute to health insurance costs.
• Fellows are very welcome to bring their families with them. The ZiF campus comprises flats from single room to family size to provide suitable accommodation.
• Fellows will also receive an additional allowance of 200 Euro per month per accompanying child.
• We will be happy to assist with finding appropriate childcare and educational facilities.

Requirements for Volkswagen Foundation Norbert Elias Fellowships Qualification

• The fellowship is directed at senior and postdoctoral researchers from African universities whose research and publications are closely linked to the research group’s topic.
• We are looking for applicants from backgrounds in social sciences, history and law who have worked in Border and Migration Studies or related research fields.
• Experience of interdisciplinary research or working experience in two or more of the above fields will be an advantage.
• Applicants should be interested in interdisciplinary collaboration and willing to engage in the activities of the research group.
• Since one of our goals is to extend our interdisciplinary networks across the African continent, we are looking especially for researchers who plan to continue their careers at African institutions.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Volkswagen Foundation Norbert Elias Fellowships

Selection Criteria: 

Selection criteria are academic excellence, relevance of the research for the research group’s topic, and a strong interest in interdisciplinary collaboration. The decision will be taken by the ZiF and the research group conveners. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a Skype interview.

Documents Required for Application

• CV 
• A letter of motivation (maximum three pages, CV excluded) describing your research and how you intend to contribute to the research group.
• One or two relevant publications.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

 To apply, please submit a CV and a letter of motivation (maximum three pages, CV excluded) describing your research and how you intend to contribute to the research group. Please attach one or two relevant publications.

Please send you application in one PDF file to: [email protected]

For more details,visit Volkswagen Foundation website