Deadline: 13 August 2023.
RIFS Fellowship Programme 2024
Applications for the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) Fellowship Programme are now open until 13 August 2023. With the Fellowship, the Institute offers the opportunity to pursue innovative ideas in a transdisciplinary environment.
The RIFS Fellowship programme is inspired by the Potsdam Memorandum‘s call to gather all sources of ingenuity and inspiration from academia, politics, business and civil society in order to address the multifaceted challenges of sustainability. Since 2010, more than 300 Fellows from over 50 countries have worked at the Institute.
For 2024, RIFS is looking for individuals from academia, public administration, business, politics, civil society and culture who want to contribute to the Institute’s mission with their sustainability ideas. RIFS offers them an opportunity to develop their ideas and plans in an international community of highly qualified researchers within the Institute and in the research region of Potsdam-Berlin. They will join the global community of fellows, which spans diverse aspects of sustainability and all continents.
Applications must be thematically relevant to the Institute’s research programme and Fellows must work directly with at least one research group. Applications are first reviewed internally for their adaptability and quality. The project proposals are then reviewed by external experts. Based on the internal and external evaluations, the Institute’s management will make its decision by the end of 2023.
RIFS Fellowship Programme 2024
Your application must include the following documents, each as an individual PDF file not exceeding 5MB:
• Letter of motivation (max. 2 pages): Please explain your motivation for undertaking a fellowship at RIFS, your expectations regarding our research, and how we can support your work. Please also specify the research group(s) that your proposed project would engage with.
• CV and achievements (max. 3 pages): Your CV (max. two pages) should identify the key stations of your career. Please outline the key achievements of your professional life on a third page. Please refrain from providing personal information such as your age, marital status, number of children, nationality, photos or similar information.
• Project proposal (max. 5 pages): Please describe your planned project, including specific activities and outputs. Proposals should be structured as follows: (1) title, (2) abstract (max. 300 words), (3) description of work, including intended outputs/results, (4) time plan and estimated budget. Please do not include your name or any other personal information in this document, as your proposal will be submitted for external review (see further below).
An application will only be considered complete, if all of the above documents are submitted. You may also submit an optional annex, containing any additional information you wish to provide, such as a list of publications, portfolio of artistic output, or other work relevant to the proposal, etc. The annex should not include material directly relating to your project proposal or CV.
All documents must be submitted in English for the RIFS Fellowship Programme 2024
If an application does not conform to the structure set out above, it may be rejected without review. The deadline for applications is 23:59 Central European Standard Time on 6 August 2023. Applications have to be submitted to achim.maas@rifs-potsdam.de.