Call for Applications: Internet and Society Fellowship 2024

The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) will be opening its doors again to new fellows in 2024! The fellowship has an international and interdisciplinary focus and offers a unique opportunity for innovative thinkers who wish to engage in the exchange of research experiences and set up new initiatives.

The fellowship

Our fellows are part of an international team of researchers and participate in the institute’s various active projects. Located in the heart of Berlin, the HIIG provides a dynamic and intellectual environment for fellows to pursue their own research interests and to actively shape their stay. We invite fellows to collaborate with an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers and offer a number of opportunities to share and discuss their ideas. These include, but are not limited to:

• writing and publishing papers in one of our open access publications
• commenting on current development in your field in form of Digital Society Blog posts
• holding presentations in one of our lunch talks 
• engaging in joint projects and workshops with other fellows and HIIG researchers
• participating in webinars and skill sharing sessions
• enjoying a (virtual) coffee, having inspiring conversation; and meeting our research directors and senior researchers during our regular fellow coffee talks

We welcome applications from researchers with diverse backgrounds and professional experiences, who wish to contribute to the range of the institute’s transdisciplinary internet research.

Key areas

The overarching focus for our 2024 fellow class is “Sustainability and Responsibility”. This main theme should find its specification within our research programmes and groups. Please read the following information closely, and position yourself and/or your project within the following area:

• Knowledge & Society: Sustainable knowledge creation and dissemination through open infrastructures; sustainability and higher education institutions; communication with society; open educational resources
• Public Interest: Technology for the people; AI for public interest; AI for sustainability and sustainable AI
• Digital Society: (Military) AI, meaningful human control and responsibility; tech regulation (e.g. public discourses, platforms, surveillance) in different political systems; resilience of democratic systems in a changing global geopolitical landscape
• Data Governance: Legal, organisational and technical structures, processes and mechanisms for smart, sustainable and responsible city governance
• Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Sustainability: Engaging with grand challenges through digital organising

Things to consider

Time Frame: Fellowships may range from a minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 6 months within the time span from January 1 to December 31, 2024.

Financial Issues: The fellowship is unpaid. The HIIG covers the office desk fee and supports workshops as well as exchange formats of our fellows.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree, PhD in process/planned (Junior Fellow) OR
• Advanced PhD, post-doctoral researcher (Senior Fellow)
• Fluency in English
• Research experience and a research project of your own that you plan to pursue

Application documents

• Up-to-date curriculum vitae
• Motivation letter explaining your interest in the HIIG Fellowship, research background, and your expectations (1 page)
• Research outline (max. 2 pages) including 
  • your project, and how it responds to one of research programs,
  • the specific work you propose to conduct during the fellowship,
  • deliverables, products or outcomes you aim to produce
• Optional: one writing or work sample covering internet research (in English or German)

Please read our FAQ and review the information carefully before applying. If you have any questions, please send an email to application@hiig.de.

Please submit your application via this form by October 22, 2023, 11:59 p.m. (CET).

About HIIG

The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) was founded in 2011 to research the development of the internet from a societal perspective and better understand the digitalisation of all spheres of life. As the first institute in Germany with a focus on internet and society, HIIG has established an understanding that centres on the deep interconnectedness of digital innovations and societal processes. The development of technology reflects norms, values and networks of interests, and conversely, technologies, once established, influence social values.