Call for Application: Internet and Society Fellowship 2025

The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) will be opening its doors again to new fellows in 2025! This fellowship programme provides a unique platform for innovative minds to collaborate, share research findings, and launch new initiatives with its global and interdisciplinary approach. The deadline for applications is 30 September 2024.

Our new fellows join an international team of researchers and contribute to a range of ongoing projects at the institute. Situated in the vibrant centre of Berlin, the HIIG offers a dynamic and intellectually rich environment where fellows can explore their own research interests and take an active role in shaping their experience. We encourage fellows to collaborate with our diverse, interdisciplinary team and provide numerous opportunities for them to share and discuss their ideas. These opportunities include, but are not limited to:

• writing and publishing papers in one of our open access publications
• commenting on current developments in your field in the 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 conversations, as well as 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

Applicants for the Fellow Class of 2025 who are working in the following thematic areas and demonstrate this in their research proposals are particularly encouraged to apply:

Human in the Loop

Automated decisions and AI systems, such as those used in bank lending and content moderation, are becoming increasingly important, but often perpetuate biases and lack human contextual understanding. This has led to calls for greater human involvement to improve these systems and ensure that decisions are fair and aligned with ethical standards. In this context, the HIIG research team, led by Matthias C. Kettemann and Theresa Züger, is investigating how meaningful human involvement can enhance automated decision-making processes.

Democracy and Research 

The increasing hostility towards science not only threatens the integrity of research, but also the foundations of our democracy. The effects range from threats and attacks to public defamation of researchers and scientific institutions. This rejection of scientific findings poses a serious threat to the democratic order as it undermines trust in science-based decision-making processes. It is therefore crucial to strengthen capacities and competencies in dealing with hate speech and hostility towards science in order to safeguard the role of science in a democratic society. Nataliia Sokolovska and her research team are at the forefront of addressing this crucial challenge at HIIG.

Digital Services Act

The Digital Services Act (DSA) marks a new era of platform regulation and raises critical questions about the impact of online platforms. Key issues include balancing the regulation of harmful content with freedom of expression and assessing risk-based governance approaches. Addressing these challenges requires new models of collaboration between stakeholders, including academia, civil society, platforms, and regulators, to ensure the effective implementation of the DSA. At HIIG, Ann-Kathrin Watolla and Matthias C. Kettemann together with their research team are responsible for this topic and are pursuing it with a network-based approach.

Generative AI in the World of Work

The rise of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, has made the potential of AI accessible to a broad audience, with applications ranging from information analysis to content creation. While these tools offer the promise of greater efficiency and more time for creative tasks, they also raise concerns about the potential devaluation or replacement of certain human skills and the need for new competencies. At HIIG, Georg von Richthofen and his team of researchers are exploring the impact of generative AI on workers, organisations, and professions, as well as the conditions necessary for its successful integration into work processes.

Things to Consider

Time frame: Fellowships may range from a minimum of one month to a maximum of four months, within the period of 1 May to 31 August 2025, with the month of June being mandatory.

Financial frame: 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 

A) your project, and how it integrates with one of the above research projects,
B) the specific work you propose to conduct during the fellowship,
C) 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 30 September 2024, 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.