RIFS Invites Applications for 2026 Fellowship Programme

The RIFS Fellowship programme is inspired by the Potsdam Memorandum's call to gather all sources of ingenuity and inspiration from academia, politics, business and civil society in order to address the multifaceted challenges of sustainability. Since 2010, more than 300 Fellows from over 50 countries have worked at the Institute. Information on current and former Fellows can be found here.

For 2026, RIFS is looking for individuals from academia, public administration, business, politics, civil society and culture who want to contribute to the Institute's mission with their sustainability ideas. RIFS offers fellows a platform and support to develop their ideas and plans in an international community of highly qualified researchers within the Institute and in the research region of Potsdam-Berlin. They will join the global community of fellows, which spans diverse aspects of sustainability and all continents.

The proposed research or other activities must be complementary to the  Institute’s research programme and Fellows are expected to cooperate with at least one of our research groups. Applications are first reviewed internally for their complementarity and quality. In a second step, the shortlisted proposals are reviewed by external experts. The successful applications will be selected by the Institute's management on the basis of these internal and external reviews by the end of 2025. The application deadline is 9 June 2024.

The call for applications and further information on requirements and general conditions can be found here.