OTTO BENNEMANN GRANT

The purpose of the fellowships and research stipends offered by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute is to provide both young and established academics, and textbook authors, with extensive access to the textbook collections in the Institute's library as well as the opportunity to take a comparative approach to their work and to consult and work closely with academic colleagues in Germany and abroad. Through these programmes the Institute enables its fellowship and stipend holders to suspend other commitments for the duration of their funding and thus dedicate themselves wholly to their research interests. The GEI's staff provide organisational and academic support to research fellows and stipend holders, enabling them to take advantage of the forum of lively academic discussion and international, interdisciplinary communication offered by the Institute.

The GEI awards the Otto Bennemann Grant to promote innovative studies in international textbook research. Otto Bennemann (1903-2003), after whom the grant was named, supported the work of the Institute when he was Mayor of Braunschweig and continued to do so as Lower Saxony's Minister of the Interior. The grant is financed by the foundation he established.

The aim of the stipend:

• The grant supports studies in international textbook research that take an innovative methodological approach.
• As its purpose is to fund research work conducted in Braunschweig, the recipient must spend the period covered by the grant working at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute.
• Applications are expected to be of a high standard. In their application, candidates should clearly detail the methodological approach taken by their research and explain why it is innovative and its relationship to textbook-specific discourses.

Who can apply?

Applications are welcomed from experienced academics from Germany or any other country.

How to apply

Applications for the Otto Bennemann Grant should be submitted using the application form by 30 September for the following year. A committee consisting of the Institute's director and academic staff will meet after the closing date for applications to decide the grant recipient for the following year. Candidates will be informed about the decision before the end of the current year where possible.

Applications should include:

• The completed fellowship application form (cover letter).
• A curriculum vitae including a list of the applicant’s most significant publications.
• A detailed description of the project to include comprehensive information on the subject of the proposed study.
• Information regarding the current status of (preliminary) work and the schedule of work planned during the recipient’s tenure at the Institute.
• A list of literature in GEI research library to be consulted during the recipient’s stay.
• Information on the expected final result of the work (monograph, post-doctoral thesis, etc.).

Details of the fellowship

• Length of fellowship: 1–2 months.
• The Otto Benneman Grant is for 2,000 EUR.
• The fellowship includes accommodation in one of the Institute’s guest apartments.
• Applicants can also apply for a contribution towards travel costs. The decision to reimburse travel costs will be decided separately according to the availability of annual funds.
• Fellows are responsible for their own health insurance.
• Comprehensive introduction and access to the GEI’s library resources.
• Provision of an individual workspace within the library.
• Allocation of a mentor.
• Participation in the Institute’s research colloquia.

Further details

• The period covered by the fellowship must be spent working at the Institute. The Institute’s specialist research library may be used by all fellowship holders.
• Fellowship holders are expected to discuss their research experiences and exchange academic ideas with colleagues at the Institute.
• The Otto Benneman grant holder is required to give a public lecture at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media.
• Fellowship holders are required to submit a report (1-2 pages) detailing the work conducted after completion of their research.
• We also expect that fellows send the GEI library a free printed copy of any work resulting from research at the institute, or provide the library with free access to the relevant open-access publication.