Call for Applications
Research Stay at the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank in Autumn 2022
Topic: The Role of Digitalisation for Sustainable Development and its Impact on European Business, Economics and Societies.
Date: September 26th – October 2nd 2022
Location: University of Mannheim
Application deadline: April 30th 2022
About the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank
Are you looking for a platform where you can focus on your research and push your project forward together with fellow researchers? At the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank, you can exchange your ideas with new research groups, get together with long-standing colleagues, and learn from leading experts from industry, politics, and academia. This forum allows you to completely focus on a research project – away from everyday business.
ENGAGE.EU is an alliance of leading European universities in business, economics, and the social sciences, which aims to provide European citizens with the set of skills and competences they need to face the challenges of the future. The ENGAGE.EU Think Tank is the Advanced Study Centre of our European University. It is a forum for intensive interdisciplinary academic exchange where researchers address the critical societal challenges of our time, where boundaries of research and innovation are challenged, where outstanding collaborations become possible, and where original thinking is the norm. The research theme in autumn 2022 is
The Role of Digitalisation for Sustainable Development and its Impact on European Business, Economics and Societies.
Preferably, your research project proposal has the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in mind. For instance, a research project might explore how digitalisation can transform working and living conditions, how digital transformation can ensure sustainable economic growth, or how digitalisation can help avoiding inequality in society.
Opportunities for participating researchers
At the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank, we seek to attract researchers from various levels of experience and disciplines specializing in the proposed research theme.
If you are interested in joining this thrilling research adventure, we invite you to come to Mannheim from 26 September to 2 October 2022. It is mandatory for you to stay in Mannheim for this core period, but you are free to extend the visit as it fits your project.
Your research stay includes a workspace at the University of Mannheim, access to the university facilities, accommodation, travel expenses from your home institution to and from Mannheim, as well as an extensive academic and cultural programme during the core week. Not only will you learn from leading experts from politics, academia, industry and society in exclusive lightening talks, round tables, and workshops. You will also present your work in progress to your fellow researchers and discuss pressing questions around your projects. Details of the programme will be defined depending on the final group composition and research projects to ensure the programme corresponds to your needs and expectations.
Our offer for junior researchers
As a visiting junior researcher (up to five years after doctorate) your stay will allow you to concentrate on a research idea while cooperating with colleagues in an international and interdisciplinary team, supported by leading senior researchers. You will not only benefit from additional expert input regarding your project, but also expand your list of top publications and your professional network.
Our offer for senior researchers
As a visiting senior researcher (more than five years after doctorate) your stay will allow you to concentrate on a research idea while sharing your expertise with a team of researchers who explores similar research topics. You will gain deeper insights to current developments regarding digital transformation in politics, industry and society and benefit from research collaborations you may have never thought of before.
Application requirements
Your Profile
The ENGAGE.EU research stays are primarily tailored to excellent junior and senior researchers from universities of the ENGAGE.EU alliance, particularly from research schools of business, economics, social sciences, law and other related disciplines who
- explore digital transformation as a major societal change driver in Europe,
- are aiming to foster their expertise in their field of research,
- are interested in an interdisciplinary dialogue,
- want to engage in a pioneer project of a pan-European network.
Our Expectations
As part of the ENGAGE.EU research stay, researchers are expected to
- participate in a virtual preparation meeting with fellow participants in summer 2022,
- actively participate in ENGAGE.EU Think Tank activities, such as regular research
colloquia, lunch meetings and other group events, - present their research to the ENGAGE.EU audience on a regular basis,
- be willing to exchange ideas and interact with relevant stakeholders about the project,
- be open for collaboration on research publications,
- stay in Mannheim for the duration of the research visit,
- participate and present their work in two virtual group meetings after the research visit in November and December 2022.
Application
Applications for a stay at the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank are open for individual researchers as well as research groups (max. 2-3 people), and are to include
- an outline of the intended research project related to the topic noted above
(max. 4-5 pages), - a CV, including a list of publications (of each group member for group applications),
- information regarding the desired duration of the research stay (core week only or extended period).
ENGAGE.EU seeks to strengthen the role of women and underrepresented groups in research, and thus strongly encourages female scholars and scholars belonging to underrepresented groups to apply.
Please submit your complete application electronically (in one PDF file) by 30 April 2022 to the point of contact at your university (see contact details below). Applications received after this date may not be considered. Invitations to participate will be communicated no later than 31 May 2022.
Selection
Submitted applications are evaluated by each ENGAGE.EU partner according to the application requirements. The Think Tank’s selection committee, composed of academics specializing in multiple disciplines, considers the best-rated applications for research stays following the preselection of the ENGAGE.EU partners.
Applications are evaluated on various dimensions:
- innovation
- contribution to ENGAGE.EU’s mission
- coherence
- likelihood of leading to successful publications.
Final decisions also consider a range of criteria for cohort composition, including but not limited to disciplinary balance, institutional diversity, and demographic diversity.
Please note that invitations for a research stay are not transferable to later years.
Future research stays
This very first call for applications is deliberately designed to be very open to give the ENGAGE.EU alliance and participating researchers the opportunity to contribute ideas and help design the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank as an outstanding platform of European research collaborations. Future research stays will take place at various ENGAGE.EU locations and explore different research topics.
Participating researchers have the possibility to be part of the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank network in the long-term, which may include participation as a guest speaker at future research stays or sharing their expertise with future ENGAGE.EU Think Tank research groups.
Contacts and call for applications
Cristina Alaimo (calaimo@luiss.it)
Tor Andreassen (tor.andreassen@nhh.no)
Venelin Boshnakov (venelinb@unwe.bg)
Clémence Leduc (clemence.leduc@ut-capitole.fr)