Deadline: 1 October 2015
The Volswagen Foundation is currently inviting pre proposals for its funding initiative “Knowledge for Tomorrow – Cooperative Research Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa”. The program aims at providing sustainable support for research and research capacity development in Sub-Saharan Africa, including North Africa (since 2012).
This funding scheme represents a fundamental career development strategy for African researchers, as it provides promising postdoctoral researchers based in Africa with opportunities to enhance both their skills and academic qualifications; ultimately, it enables them to establish professional perspectives in academia. This is to be achieved in cooperation between African and German scholars, as any postdoctoral project funded under this scheme needs to be carried out in collaboration with a German academic partner institute.
Through this African-German cooperation, the initiative aims to support the development and extension of academic networks within, and beyond the African continent.
Funding can only be approved for research projects carried out in cooperation with a partner academic institution in Germany, and for Junior and Senior Fellowships with a 36-month duration.
Thematic Areas
The call is open to applications from the humanities, including disciplines such as history, cultural anthropology, archaeology, cultural studies, philosophy, literature, linguistics, musicology, art history, media studies, visual studies, and religious studies.
Program Objectives
The fellowship program aims at supporting young postdoctoral researchers who are based in (or wish to return to) Sub-Saharan or North Africa by
- providing an opportunity to enhance both skills and academic qualifications,
- strengthening partnerships between African and German scholars, and
- developing and extending academic networks within Africa and beyond.
Budget
The total budget covers up to 110,000 EUR for junior fellowships and up to 145,000 EUR for senior fellowships.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for a junior postdoctoral fellowship, applicants must have less than three years of postdoctoral experience (the Ph.D. must be completed by July 2016, at the latest).
- Postdoctoral researchers with more than three, but less than six years of postdoctoral experience are eligible to apply for a senior postdoctoral fellowship.
- Both senior and junior researchers are then offered a three-year fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research while based on the African continent.
How to Apply
Applications must be filed electronically via the application portal.
For more information, please visit this link.
