Academy in Exile invites scholars at risk to apply for 24-month fellowships at TU Dortmund University in Dortmund and the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen. Eligible are scholars from any country who have a PhD in the humanities, social sciences, or law, and who are at risk because of their academic work and/or civic engagement in human rights, democracy, and the pursuit of academic freedom. Academy in Exile fellowships give scholars the opportunity to continue their careers in Germany and to work on a research project of their own choosing in a multidisciplinary environment. Fellows contribute to and shape the research agenda and intellectual profile of Academy in Exile.
Established in 2017, Academy in Exile preserves and cultivates critical scholarship that is threatened or de-legitimized in countries around the world. Academy in Exile has been based at TU Dortmund University since August 2023 and maintains a cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen. Since its inception, Academy in Exile has created 76 hosting arrangements through long-term fellowships, emergency stipends, artist-in-residence fellowships, and guest professorships.
The twelve new Academy in Exile fellows, funded by the Mellon Foundation as well as the VolkswagenStiftung, will be hosted either at TU Dortmund University in Dortmund or the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen. Applications will be evaluated according to academic merit, risk assessment, and suitability for the research programs at TU Dortmund and KWI, as well as the programs of Academy in Exile.
Fellowships may start as early as July 2024. The monthly stipend amounts to 2,500 EUR. In addition, Academy in Exile covers the cost of health insurance up to 500 EUR per month.
Ineligible is anyone who has dual citizenship or permanent residency in a safe country. This applies either to the applicant him- or herself or to his or her partner. Since the program is intended for scholars at risk, eligibility is restricted to applicants who are currently in their home country or who have been out of their country for no more than two years.
Please submit your application through the following application portal by 15 April 2024:
https://academyinexile.tu-dortmund.de/datenabfrage/application2024.
To complete your application, you need to submit the following in addition to filling out the form on the portal:
— a letter that explains your motivation for applying to AiE, including the current circumstances of your risk and/or exile status. Please include a short rationale if you would prefer to be hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen or TU Dortmund University in Dortmund. No proof or letter from a third party is required. However, if you are registered with Scholars at Risk Network, IIE-Scholar Rescue Fund or CARA, please indicate so in your letter;
— a three-page research proposal;
— a current curriculum vitae with a list of publications;
— your PhD degree certificate;
— a published journal article or chapter.
Applications will be dealt with in strict confidentiality. For questions, please send an email to coordination.aie.kuwi@tu-dortmund.de. Encrypted communication will be used at the applicant’s request.
For more information, visit: https://www.academy-in-exile.eu/
Since its founding more than 50 years ago, TU Dortmund University has developed a special profile encompassing 17 departments ranging from science and engineering to social sciences and culture studies. The university has about 32,476 students and 6,598 employees, including 325 professors. TU Dortmund University has a strong focus on research. The university’s disciplines, e.g. mechanical engineering with its emphasis on production and logistics, physics, biochemical- and chemical engineering, statistics and computer science, as well as education research, are well known for their outstanding research achievements both nationally and internationally. Students at TU Dortmund University can choose from classical subjects and innovative courses of study such as medical physics or degree programs in spatial planning, statistics and journalism. A particular focus is on teacher training. As one of only a few universities in Germany, TU Dortmund University offers professional teaching qualifications for all types of schools.
The KWI (Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut/Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities) is an interdisciplinary research centre following the tradition of international Institutes for Advanced Study. In its role as an inter-university institution connecting the Ruhr-University Bochum, TU University Dortmund and the University of Duisburg-Essen, the institute works together with researchers and scientists from its neighbouring universities as well as other partners from the federal state NRW and places in- and outside of Germany. Within the Ruhr area, the KWI is a place to share and discuss the questions and results of ambitious research with interested parties from the city and the greater region.

05 March 2024