News & Activities

1st Public Call for a Fellowship at the Research Centre for the Humanities (RCH)

24 May 2022

The Research Centre for the Humanities (www.rchumanities.gr), in light of its core statutory purpose of fostering research in the humanities, is pleased to announce the establishment of a Fellowship at the Centre. The lack of new jobs being advertised in the country’s universities and research centres, the paucity of funding opportunities in the humanities and social sciences, and the limited academic housing and workspaces for postdoctoral researchers who wish to continue their research are among the reasons that the RCH has chosen to set up this new fellowship.

While taking this initiative, the RCH wishes to make a public statement to highlight the increasingly difficult situation facing a new generation of researchers with excellent academic qualifications and research activity in the humanities. Accordingly, it invites postdoctoral researchers to join the ranks of the RCH as Fellows, and with the support of the Centre, to prepare and submit a research proposal for funding from international, European, national or private research programmes.

Researchers will be selected through the established procedures set by the RCH (detailed applications, assessors’ reports and interviews), and will be remunerated for a period of three (3) or six (6) months, in order to prepare their proposals and make the necessary applications to the funding bodies. The timeframe will be set by the RCH, and will depend on the programme to which the applicant will submit.

Those entitled to apply for fellowship are post-doctoral researchers who a) have not held a doctoral degree for over ten (10) years, and b) do not work under a full-time employment contract. While holding the Fellowship at the RCH, and while preparing the research proposal for submission for funding from international, European, national or private research programmes, the Fellow may operate on an individual basis and/or form a research team comprised of researchers in Greece or abroad, depending on the requirements of the programme to which they will apply, and with the additional aim of creating a communication network with other researchers.

A. Provision of Services by RCH

The RCH will provide the Fellow with assistance in drafting the research proposal and in submitting the application for funding. Such assistance will be provided by experts with know-how in submitting applications to international, European, national or private research programmes. Assistance consists of:

  • Academic advisory support, a) by a committee composed of members of the academic community across various disciplines with long-term research activity and significant work, both during the preparation of the research proposal to be submitted, and during its implementation in the event it is approved, and b) by means of other academic activities, such as the organization of discussion groups on the subject under enquiry.
  • Technical support by a person with experience in completing such applications.
  • Training seminars on international, European, national or private research funding programmes.
  • Desk space for work and meetings.
  • Affiliation to the RCH as an RCH Fellow and respective e-mail address.
  • A stipend of €2,100 (net) for the period of three months and €4,200 (net) for the period of six months, upon signing the relevant work contract, subject to the usual legal provisions regarding, for example, tax and insurance deductions.

 

B. Obligations of Fellows

Individuals who are eventually selected as Fellows will be required to:

  • Complete the preparation of the research proposal that was submitted to the RCH and for which they were designated Fellows, and submit said proposal for funding by international, European, national or private research programmes.
  • Form networks of researchers in Greece and abroad who specialize in the subject of the proposed research, and to foster the interconnection of RCH with other respective academic institutions and research centres in Greece and abroad.
  • Organize an academic event (e.g., conference, seminar, lecture) on the theme of the proposed research.
  • Submit to the RCH a brief report on their activities and experience during their period of work as a Fellow at the Centre.
  • In the event their research proposal is approved by an international, European, national or private research programme and is awarded funding, to return to the RCH 8% of the amount of the approved funding. This revenue will not be used by the RCH to cover its running costs, but will be used solely to fund more researchers. In this way, the Research Centre for the Humanities seeks to launch an experiment in generating mutually beneficial research processes.

Submission of Applications

Applications should only be submitted electronically via e-mail, with the title “1st Public Call for Fellowship” in the subject line, to fellows@rchumanities.gr attaching the following documents:

1.  Detailed Description of the proposed research, in English (max. 2000 words), and a summary in Greek (max. 500 words), completing the Detailed Description Template we provide for this purpose (download here). Please note, we shall not accept Detailed Descriptions in any other format.

The description must include the following:

  • Title of research proposal
  • Detailed description of the research proposal and the roadmap on the basis of which the candidate intends to complete the final proposal
  • Academic and social goals
  • A specific timeline for the roll-out of the research
  • Funding bodies to which the candidate intends to submit the research proposal for funding and date of announcement of the results by the funding bodies (if known).

2. CV in English (with a brief paragraph in Greek), which should be submitted only by filling in the CV Template we provide for this purpose (download here).

Evaluation of Applications

Evaluation of the applications will be carried out by established scholars from Greece and abroad, while final selection will be made by the Board and the founding members of the Research Centre. Candidates who are shortlisted will be called for interview.

Timeline

Application period starts 15 May 2022
Application period closes 15 June 2022

(midnight, Greek time)

Announcement of Results to successful candidates 31 October 2022
Announcement of Results on the RCH website January 2023

Information

For more information, please contact Dr. Despoina Valatsou at dvalatsou@rchumanities.gr or by phone at +30 2103640424 daily (except Wednesdays), 10.00-12.00.