The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) together with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), have announced a new call for proposals for international and high-impact bilateral research in the arts and humanities sector. It supports cutting-edge, cross-border research deepening the understanding of human culture, history, and society.

Researchers from Germany and the UK are invited to submit joint proposals focusing on the creation of new knowledge that critically addresses global issues through innovative and interdisciplinary methods.

The Fellow Conference 2024 unfolded as a landmark hybrid event on the 4th and 5th November at Osnabrück University, under the framework of the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme. This initiative, designed to facilitate mobility for early-career researchers in both regions, is generously supported by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MKW) and coordinated by the European Centre for Advanced Studies (ECAS). This year’s conference brought together a distinguished cohort of academics and fellows, providing a vibrant platform for intellectual exchange and innovative discourse.

“Alongside Israel, Scotland is one of the two most important cooperation partners for science in Lower Saxony and the European Centre for Advanced Studies (ECAS) has a fundamentally important role to play in coordinating this partnership,” said Lower Saxony’s Science Minister Falko Mohrs at the Lower Saxony – Scotland Joint Forum at Leuphana. Shortly beforehand, a high-ranking delegation from Lower Saxony had visited Scotland to discuss the expansion of cooperation with various universities and Universities Scotland, the association of Scottish colleges and universities.

We are delighted to announce that the European Centre for Advanced Studies has recently secured substantial funding from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture to support a new round of joint project grants under the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme.
This funding not only reinforces the commitment of both regions to the continued promotion of academic excellence and international knowledge production, but more importantly offers another generation of early career researchers the opportunity to engage in collaborative projects of their choice. 

ECAS is delighted to extend a warm welcome to twelve exceptional early-career beneficiaries who have been selected to participate in the esteemed Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme. These accomplished individuals represent the final round of grant recipients for the research period until the end of 2023. The programme received applications from regarded postdoctoral researchers and doctoral students hailing from renowned higher education institutions in both regions.

We are pleased to announce the publication of our very first White Paper. It is the result of the third edition of the Lower Saxony – Scotland Joint Forum, which took place in a hybrid format at the University of Glasgow in November 2022. 

The Joint Forum focussed on the highly topical subject of Renewable Energies and Sustainability. Thereby, it embraced the vision of Lower Saxonian Prime Minister, Stephan Weil, to develop a Strategic Energy Partnership between both regions, which received further encouragement by the respective Lower Saxonian and Scottish ministries dealing with climate change, the environment as well as energy policy.

The next application period for postdoctoral applicants for the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme ends on 31 March 2023. Please find all information about the programme and the application process here.

We are looking forward to receiving your submission!

We are excited to announce that the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme has been extended to doctoral students! The new application period is now open and the project proposals can be submitted until 15 April 2023.

The deadline for applications for the third Open Call for the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme has been extended to March 31, 2023. The decision of the selection committee and the announcement of the new fellowships will be published in April 2023. 
Thus, the start date of all upcoming fellowships has been moved to 1 May 2023, while 31 December 2023 remains unchanged as the intended end date. As the maximum duration of the fellowship has thus been reduced to eight months, the individual short-term stays are now limited to four months per fellow and will be funded with up to 1,400 EUR per person per month spent abroad.