Applications Invited for Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers 2020

About the Organization:

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as well as other national and international partners; they promote international academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from Germany and from abroad.

Humboldt Research Fellowships for Postdoctoral Researchers

In providing Humboldt Research Fellowships for postdoctoral researchers, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables highly-qualified scientists and scholars from abroad who are just embarking on their academic careers and who completed their doctorates less than four years ago1 to spend extended periods of research (6–24 months) in Germany. Scientists and scholars from all disciplines and countries may apply.

The research outline is carried out in cooperation with academic hosts at research institutions in Germany. Applicants choose their own topic of research and their host in Germany. Details of the research outline including information on the intended duration of the fellowship must be agreed with the intended host before applying. Short-term visits for study and training purposes or for attending conferences are not eligible for sponsorship.

Candidates are selected solely on the basis of the evaluation of their academic qualification. There are no quotas for individual disciplines or countries. A candidate’s academic qualification is assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

• academic record and academic performance to date (mobility, determination, breadth of research activities, academic productivity)
• quality of key publications specified in the application (originality, degree of innovation, applicant’s contribution in cases of multiple authorship)
• originality and innovation potential of the suggested research outline (significance for the advancement of the discipline, convincing choice of academic methods, prospects for academic development of the applicant, clear focus and feasibility of realization within the requested funding period and at the chosen host institution)
• the applicant’s future potential (academic potential, further academic development, career prospects)

Applications are assessed on the basis of independent peer reviews requested by the Humboldt Foundation. The final decision is taken by a committee composed of academics from all disciplines in the framework of the funding available.

Fellowship specifications

• The fellowship is worth 2,670 EUR per month. This includes a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance.

Application requirements

• Doctorate or comparable academic degree (Ph.D., C.Sc. or equivalent), completed less than four years prior to the date of application. Candidates who have nearly completed their doctoral degrees are eligible to apply provided that they submit the manuscript of their dissertation or publications containing the results of their dissertation, however, at the earliest, 6 months prior to the completion of their dissertation.
• Academic publications reviewed according to international standards and printed in journals and/or by publishing houses.
• Confirmation that research facilities are available and mentoring agreement and a detailed expert’s statement by an academic host at a research institution in Germany.
• Expert reviews from the doctoral supervisor and one other academic qualified to give well-founded comments on the applicant’s qualification, preferably including reviewers not working at the applicant’s own institute.
• Necessary language skills: humanities or social sciences and medicine: good knowledge of German if it is necessary to carry out the research successfully; otherwise a good knowledge of English; natural sciences and engineering: good knowledge of German or English.

Eligible applicants must have lived outside Germany for a minimum of 12 months in total in the 18-month period prior to submission of the application. Potential applicants of German nationality are eligible to apply provided that their habitual place of work and residence has been located abroad on the assumption of permanence for at least five years. Potential applicants who have completed their school education and one university degree or one university degree and their doctorate in Germany are subject to the regulations governing German citizens

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