International Climate Protection Fellowship : Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Apply by 1 February 2024

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany. The Foundation maintains a network of well over 30,000 Humboldtians from all disciplines in more than 140 countries worldwide – including 61 Nobel Prize winners.

prospective leaders and postdocs with climate expertise
non-European developing and transition countries
12–24-month project in Germany

Programme Information

International Climate Protection Fellowship

With the International Climate Protection Fellowships, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables prospective leaders working practically to implement a research-based proposal in the field of climate protection or climate-related resource conservation during a one-year stay in Germany.

Up to 15 International Climate Protection Fellowships are granted annually, funded under the International Climate Initiative (IKI) 1 . The fellowships target prospective leaders from non- European transition and developing countries (see list of countries), who possess extensive work experience outside academia. Candidates draw up their own research-based proposal which they then implement in collaboration with a host in Germany. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation runs the programme in cooperation with the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies in Environmental Management (CIPSEM) at TU Dresden, the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), the Renewables Academy AG (RENAC), the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Federation of German Industry (BDI).

Programme objectives:

The global challenge posed by climate change can only be met by cross-border international collaborations. By enabling future decision-makers and multipliers to share knowledge, methods, and techniques with specialist colleagues in Germany the programme promotes this objective, particularly by taking account of issues relating to practical applicability in the fellows’ own countries. In the spirit of the Agenda 2030 and the related Sustainable Development Goals, the programme seeks to contribute to the achievement of these goals by fostering prospective leaders with their undertakings and projects to combat climate change, to develop and implement adaptation strategies, to preserve ecosystems and biodiversity and to foster the sustainable use of the oceans and seas. Furthermore, it addresses sustainability topics relating to natural resources, resource-efficient consumption and urban development. The programme promotes the development of long-term contacts and collaboration with colleagues in Germany.

Target group:

Those applying for this programme must be working in the field of climate protection or climaterelated resource conservation; they should have proven leadership skills, which must be convincingly demonstrated in the application and supported by appropriate references. In addition to applicants with a background in the natural and engineering sciences, candidates who have been engaged in legal, economic, health-related and societal issues relating to climate change are encouraged to apply for this programme.

1 The International Climate Initiative (IKI) became the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in 2022. The IKI programme cooperates with its founding ministry, the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), as well as the Federal Foreign Office.

Stand: 8/2023

Fellowship specifications:

Additionally to the monthly fellowship amount – depending on career stage – €2,000, €2,300 or €2,500, the following benefits can be granted:

Mobility lump sum as a subsidy for expenses in connection with necessary conference and research trips, archive and library stays, etc. in Germany and abroad;
Subsidy towards the cost of medical and liability insurance;
Lump sum for travel expenses if the costs are not borne by a third party;
Language fellowship for a one- to two-month intensive German language course in

Germany immediately prior to the fellowship. When a fellowship has been granted, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation may provide financial support for improving fellows’ existing German language skills while they are still in their own countries. Fellows with little or no knowledge of German are strongly advised to take a two-month intensive language course in Germany;

Family allowances for visits by family members staying at least three months;
For single parents: flat-rate allowance for accompanying children (under the age of 18) for stays of at least three months;
Extension of the fellowship by up to three months if children under the age of 12 accompany the fellow to Germany;
Europe allowance for a maximum of one to two months spent researching at an institution in another European country during the fellowship, provided that this is necessary to carry out the research-based project in question;
Allowance for research costs amounting to €800 per month for research-based proposals in the natural and engineering sciences and €500 for proposals in the humanities and social sciences;
Extensive alumni funding after successfully completing the initial stay in Germany, especially support for networking with collaborative partners in Germany during the fellow’s entire career.

Common programme activities allow fellows to gain an overview of specialist topics and important players in the fields of climate protection and climate-related resource conservation in Germany. Participation is obligatory. The following mandatory timetable is designed to facilitate networking amongst the fellows:

January, February 2025: intensive German language course in Bonn (optional)

March 2025: three-week introductory seminar at several locations in Germany

April 2025 – February 2026: work on research-based projects

June 2025: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Annual Meeting, including reception held by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany in Berlin (optional) Autumn 2025: two-week study tour through Germany January/February 2026: final week and reception

For further information on the fellowship and the research stay abroad, please refer to the Guidelines and Guidelines and Information for International Climate Protection Fellows. The Humboldt Foundation assumes that candidates will abide the Rules of Good Scientific Practice and the legally binding principles of scientific ethics during the application and sponsorship periods.

Application requirements:

First university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent), completed less than 12 years previously, counting back from the end of the application period (1 February 2024);
Leadership skills demonstrated by initial experience in leadership positions and/or appropriate references;
Extensive work experience (at least 48 months at the application deadline) in the field of climate protection or climate-related resource conservation;
Choice of a research-based project in the field of climate protection or climate-related resource conversation;
A detailed statement by a host in Germany, including a mentoring agreement; details of the proposal must be discussed with the prospective host prior to application;
Two expert references by individuals qualified to comment on the candidate’s professional, personal and, if applicable, academic eligibility as well as his/her leadership potential;
Citizenship of a non-European transition or developing country (see list of countries) which is also the applicant’s habitual residence and place of work;
Very good knowledge of English and/or German, documented by appropriate language certificates.

Eligible applicants must have lived and worked in an eligible country (see list of countries) for at least 12 months during the last 18 months prior to the application deadline. All stays outside the eligible countries (including Germany) are taken into account, regardless of their duration and reason. Any person who, regardless of their country of residence, has supported themselves for more than six out of the last 18 months with financing from a German institution or who has worked on a doctoral project or studied at an institution in Germany in the last 18 months also is not eligible to apply.

Applicants who have already received sponsorship from the Humboldt Foundation in the form of a fellowship or award are not entitled to apply to this programme but should turn to the appropriate alumni sponsorship programmes. Those sponsored in the context of the International Climate Protection Fellowships are excluded from applying for other fellowships offered by the Alexander
von Humboldt Foundation.

Selection criteria:

Academic and professional career to date (mobility, determination, expertise, academic success);
Leadership skills (initial experience in leadership positions and/or appropriate references);
Quality, originality and relevance of the research-based proposal (convincing selection of methods, clear focus and feasibility, relevance to climate protection or climate-related resource conservation, viability of both the host institution chosen and the concomitant communication strategy);
Future potential (further development in academia and industry, career prospects).

Graduates who are interested in completing postgraduate studies, a doctoral dissertation or a training period in Germany should apply to the programmes offered by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or other funding organisations.

Application and selection procedure:

Applications can only be submitted online. The completed application form, including the necessary additional documents, must be submitted not later than 1 February 2024.

Visit the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s website for further information on the online application process and all necessary documents as well as access to the online application system. A confirmation of receipt will be issued immediately after the application has been submitted.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their documents are complete. Incomplete applications will be excluded from the selection procedure.

The expert reviews and the host’s confidential statement must be uploaded by their authors directly to the applicant’s online application form. The applicant will send the link needed to access the application form via e-mail to the designated persons. It is only possible to submit the application once all documents have been uploaded completely.

After reviewing the applications, an independent selection committee will decide, by the end of June 2024, which candidates will be invited to participate virtually in a selection meeting in Germany lasting several days. The committee is composed of academics and practitioners working in the relevant fields. The selection meeting will take place in September 2024 and applicants will be given the opportunity to outline their proposal to the selection committee and the other applicants as well as to attend individual interviews held by the selection committee.

The selection results will be announced at the end of the meeting. Further information on the selection procedure can be found in the FAQs on the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s website.

Click here to know more and APPLY