Fit for a Successful Career: New Funding Program for Postdocs in the Field of Sustainability and Transformation in Europe

• Robert Bosch Stiftung launches "Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership" with four leading academic centers in Europe
• The first program cycle focuses on "Food Systems and Food Sovereignty".
• The call for proposals for the second round of the program will be opened in December 2018.
   

Stuttgart, 10.10.2018 - With the "Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership", a new funding program for young scientists from Europe was launched today in Berlin. The program, initiated by the Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, enables postdocs working on the subject of sustainability and transformation at European research institutions to broaden their transdisciplinary research and leadership skills. The aim of the new funding program is to qualify the next generation of leading sustainability and transformation scientists and to support them in their careers. The project partners are the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) in Rotterdam.

The first program cycle of the funding program is focused on "Food Systems and Food Sovereignty". Today's kick-off at the IRI THESys of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin will bring together the first twenty participants, including postdocs from the USA, China, and Mexico who are currently conducting research in Norway, Poland, and Germany. Over the next two years, they will participate in four intensive high-end trainings. Each seminar will take place at one of the four academic centers and focus on their respective expertise. The program also offers seed funding to small groups of participants, who plan to initiate research collaborations. In addition, an active network of current and former participants of the program will be established.

The goal of the Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership is to qualify excellent, dynamic scientists who can lead interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams and academic institutions successfully. In addition, the academic partners want to contribute to greater recognition of inter- and transdisciplinary research in academia. Applicants should aim for a scientific leadership position and see themselves as academic “intrapreneurs” who actively shape and further develop their own organization through a sense of ownership, self-responsibility and transdisciplinary thinking. The next application phase is scheduled for December 2018.