WiRe┋Postdoc Fellowships for International Female Researchers

The WiRe-Women in Research fellowship programme of the University of Münster’s Welcome Centre is delighted to again offer several WiRe Fellowships for international female postdoctoral researchers from all over the world. WiRe was founded to address the unique challenges facing women in research with a special focus on female Postdocs. Throughout the duration of the fellowship, participants conduct their research in cooperation with a professor at the University of Münster (WWU) in Germany. Applications are open to women across all research fields represented at the University of Münster (WWU).

WiRe fellowships provide an opportunity for international postdoctoral female researchers to conduct research for a self-selected time frame of 4 to 8 months, made possible through the support of the WWU. Longer funding periods of up to a year are possible within the framework of a matching option. Selected fellows are awarded the opportunity to explore research and development possibilities while having access and insight into the funding, support structures, mentoring and workshops made available to top female academics in Münster.

The research project may be conducted on-site in Münster or remotely from your home base, if for instance family obligations make it difficult to move here.

An essential part of the WiRe – Women in Research programme is communication. Together with our fellows, we develop innovative formats for communicating and explaining research and provide insights into life as a researcher. In this way, we show that WiRe Fellows are inspiring role models for future generations of female researchers.

For research projects in 2023, the University of Münster’s Welcome Centre awards

We are looking for

• Excellent international female researchers doing postdoctoral research, specifically those who
• have secured an involvement with a professor at the WWU with the desire to pursue a collaborative research project
• are willing to promote their own work via our creative digital channels
• demonstrate enthusiasm for sharing knowledge and providing insight into fascinating research and life as a researcher
• can be ready to conduct and finish their research project in 2023.

We offer

• Funding for a period of at least 4 but up to 8 months.
  Periods of up to a year are possible with our matching option: The WiRe programme funds one additional month if the host department at the WWU finances at least two additional fellowship months. Please arrange this with your WWU host directly.
• Fellowship of 2800€ per month for on-site stays, fellowship of 2200€ per month for the remote option
• Family bonus: Child allowance of approx. 200€ for each child
• Additional funding allotted for conference participation, if applicable
• Excellent research and career development opportunities
• Access to all WWU communication channels, networks and research infrastructure
• Collective fellowship meetings, workshops and mentoring
• Comprehensive support in the promotion of your research and your personal development as a researcher via science communication and outreach.

Fellowship conditions

You are eligible to apply if you:

• have obtained or are about to earn your PhD
• have not worked at a German higher education institution in the past six months
• have completed the majority of your academic qualifications outside of Germany
• have a research project or an idea for a research project in cooperation with a WWU professor, which can be completed within 4 to 8 months with a presentable result
• have ideas for an outreach strategy regarding your research & experiences at WWU
• are willing to participate in our communication activities

If granted a fellowship, we expect you to

For your application, please be prepared to
1. fill in our application form by November 10th 2022, including
                       i. a detailed project description
                       ii. project schedule
2. upload a short application video (here are some tips how to create your video)
3. have your WWU cooperation partner prepare the WiRe Letter of Recommendation and send it to wire@wwu.de by November 10th, 2022

If you are interested in extending your fellowship period through the matching option, please discuss and plan with your WWU host timing and funding possibilities before submitting your WiRe application.

To start with your application, please click here.

You can find more information regarding the WiRe programme on the official University website: www.uni-muenster.de/forschung/en/wissenschaftler/wire/index.html or get a sense of who we are as an organization and what we expect from science communication at our blog: www.wire-wwu.de.

If you have questions concerning the application process or fellowship conditions, please write to us at wire@wwu.de

University of Münster – International Office – Welcome Centre
WiRe programme coordination: Dr. Astrid Burgbacher
Student Assistants: Katharina Grohmann, Alison Seiler
wire@wwu.de