Postdoc fellowship opportunities at TUM

TUM now accepting applications for Research Opportunities Week

The fourth annual Research Opportunities Week will be held in October this year. It is part of TUM’s institutional strategy, which successfully qualified for funding under the 2012 German Excellence Initiative. From October 20 through 24, successful applicants can take a close look at TUM’s facilities, including the Excellence Initiative-funded graduate schools, clusters of excellence and integrative research centers. An important part of the one-week event will be the opportunity to meet and talk with TUM academics and the Board of Management. Participants will also be able to build contacts with other postdocs at organized events, including a sight-seeing tour of Munich.

Cooperation with the Humboldt Foundation
If candidate and potential research partner interests dovetail, up to 20 postdocs could be granted a one-year scholarship at TUM. The decision will be made by a scientific board, the members of which will include TUM Emeriti of Excellence. During the year, the scholarship holders will receive advice on how to apply for third-party funding to extend their stay at TUM for two or three additional years. Independent funding is important at this stage of the academic career path for postdocs who may be interested in applying for a professorship after completing their postdoctoral research.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is one of the research funding opportunities available to postdocs. Young scientists can apply for this grant within the first six months of their stay at TUM. If successful, they can continue their postdoctoral research at TUM for up to two more years. Having concluded a cooperation agreement with TUM, the Foundation also takes part in Research Opportunities Week and builds networking contacts with other scholarship holders. Representatives of the Foundation will be on hand to provide information on the program, and at the end of the week all participants will be invited to the annual gathering of “Humboldtians” and their academic hosts at the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation.

More postdocs for TUM
One of the main aims of Research Opportunities Week is to persuade a larger number of talented international postdocs to base their research at TUM. Even though postdocs are key contributors to research advancement, they tend to be underrepresented at Germany universities, especially in comparison with the top colleges in the US and UK. That is why TUM has put an active headhunting campaign in place. In addition, the Tenure Track system has been set up to develop the careers of future postdoc talents.

Research Opportunities Week will take place from October 20 through 24, 2014.

Successful candidates will have all of their costs covered for the week (travel, accommodation and meals).

The deadline for submitting online applications for Research Opportunities Week is May 30.

Contact:
Dr. Christiane Haupt / Anna Pahl
Technische Universität München
TUM Talent Factory
T: +49 89 289 25235
E: postdoc@tum.de

Further information
Research Opportunities Week in detail
TUM Talent Factory – contact for young researchers
Information for postdocs at TUM
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation website