9 February 2023

New Europe College – Institute for Advanced Study in Bucharest (Romania) launches the competition for the 2023/2024 ‘Fondation Mattei Dogan’ Fellowship, a new opportunity offered by NEC to promising researchers. This Fellowship is addressed to early career scholars (up to five years after completing their doctorate) from Central and East European (CEE) and Black Sea states who are attached to an academic institution in these countries at the time of application. Candidates who propose original approaches to comparative social science research in the CEE and Black Sea countries are strongly encouraged to apply. Projects should be at the beginning of their implementation, not in their final phase.

What we offer: The Fellowship consists of: a monthly stipend of 850 Euros (tax free); accommodation in Bucharest, comprising living quarters and working space; reimbursement of travel costs from the home/residence country to Bucharest and back. The Fellow is also offered a one-month research trip to an institution of their choice. Fellows have free access to the NEC library and electronic resources.

What we expect: All NEC Fellows are expected to work on their projects and take part in the scientific events organized by NEC; presence at the weekly seminars discussing the work in progress of the Fellows is compulsory. At the end of their Fellowship, Fellows are expected to hand in a research paper, reflecting the results of their work over the duration of the Fellowship. The papers will be included in a NEC publication.

Eligibility: The ‘Fondation Mattei Dogan’ Fellowship at NEC is open to postdoctoral level scholars (up to five years after completing their doctorate). Candidates should come from CEE and Black Sea and work on comparative social science research in relation to this region.

Duration: a full academic year (10 months, starting with October 2023).

How to apply: Applications (in English, French or German) will be submitted in electronic format only, using the on-line form available at applications.nec.ro. See the guidelines below to make sure you have all the needed documents to fill in the form. Please also note that English is the preferred language of communication during most NEC events.

If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to: applications@nec.ro

Selection process: Applications will be evaluated by NEC’s academic staff, in consultation with external experts. Candidates will be notified on the results of the pre-selection at the end of March 2023, by e-mail. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview, scheduled on
April 19–20, 2023. Decisions to select the NEC Fellows will be taken by the members of NEC Academic Advisory Board. For selection criteria, please visit Guidelines below. Please note that NEC does not disclose to candidates the assessment reports on the applications.

The DEADLINE for submitting applications is MARCH 8, 2023.

Incomplete or late applications will not be taken into consideration.

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS

Submitting an Application

Please note that you need to upload several documents to the application platform:

• a recent photo
• a scan of your PhD diploma
• at least two original letters of reference (in English, French, or German) written explicitly to support your application for the NEC Fellowship. Referees will be invited to upload the letters themselves.

You also have the possibility to upload your CV.

Please answer all the questions mentioned in the application form and do not exceed the allotted space. The project itself should not exceed 12,000 characters (with spaces), including bibliographical references. The project should describe the state of research in your particular area of interest and indicate your objectives.

Selection Criteria

• High quality of the candidate’s academic trajectory and publications, participation in international research;
• Innovative fundamental research proposal with significant contribution to scholarship;
• Interdisciplinary and/or comparative approaches are an advantage.

GDPR

NEC processes and stores personal data in accordance with current GDPR regulations.

The Fondation Mattei Dogan Fellowships (since 2023)

This program, organised with academic and financial support from the ‘Fondation Mattei Dogan’ (France), is targeted to early career scholars (up to five years after completing their doctorate) from Central and East European (CEE) and Black Sea states (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Belarus, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) who are attached to an academic institution in these countries at the time of application. Candidates should propose original approaches to comparative social science research. Projects should be at the beginning of their implementation, not in their final phase.

Download the Call as PDF.