Freigeist Volkswagen Foundation Fellowships 2017 for Young Junior Researchers to study in Germany.

Application Deadline: October 12th 2017
A ‘Freigeist’ Fellow: for the Volkswagen Foundation this means a young re-searcher with a strong personality, a creative mind, an ability to identify and use freedom, dedicated to overcoming obstacles. A ‘Freigeist’ Fellow opens up new horizons and combines critical analysis with imagination and innova-tive solutions.

The ‘Freigeist’ scheme is deliberately open to all disciplines and topics. The main focus is on outstanding junior researchers who wish to carry out re-search at the boundaries between established fields of research.

Eligibility Requirements:

Anyone can apply who identifies with the goals of a ‘Freigeist’ Fellowship and whose proposed research project fits in with the aims pursued by the Freigeist initiative. Candidates must, however, conform to the following conditions:
• Their doctorate must have been obtained not longer than five years previously
(with regard to the date of the defense relative to the deadline of the initiative).
• The Fellowship must from the outset be integrated within a university or an extra-mural research institution in Germany.
• Candidates must already have changed their academic environment and moved to a new location – at the latest when starting the Fellowship. A return to the working context of the doctorate will only be accepted under exceptional circumstances.
• A previously completed research sojourn abroad, at the latest integrated in the proposed research project.

Benefits:

The initial funding period is five years; depending on the field of research and career experience, projects in a total amount of up to 1,000,000 Euro can be applied for:
• The Fellow’s position (salary scale TV-L 14, comparable to similar junior research group leaders)
• Positions for scientific personnel (doctoral students, PostDocs)
• Non-personnel costs relevant to the project (e. g. consumables, travel expenses, equipment)

• It is expected that Fellows will participate in academic teaching (including examinations), involving generally a teaching load of between two and four
  weekly hours per semester. They are also expected to participate in academic self-administration.
• This holds also good for Fellows affiliated to extramural research institutions.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Freigeist Volkswagen Foundation Fellowships 2017