DOC-team Program Information
DOC-team [Doctoral Fellowship Programme for Teams from the Humanities, Cultural Studies and Social Sciences]
Program Information
With the financial support of the Ministry for Science and Research (bmwf), the Austrian Academy of Sciences offers fellowships for transdisciplinary teams of three to five doctoral candidates cooperating on a research project across discipline boundaries.
DOC-team is an excellence programme for the promotion of junior scientists.
Objectives
Following current theoretical concepts of transdisciplinarity / interdisciplinarity, the objective of this doctoral fellowship programme is described as follows:
- Crossing of boundaries between disciplines and fields of research.
- Presentation of an integrative concept offering strategies of problem resolution which cannot be provided by any single discipline.
- Support of new principles of academic work and organisation in the humanities, cultural studies and social sciences.
The institutional integration of doctoral candidates in university departments or other research institutions is to be supported in every respect.
Conditions
Promotion of team-oriented research demands a differently structured fellowship programme; that is, only teams of doctoral candidates may apply for fellowships, not individuals.
Accordingly, these teams file applications which are problem-oriented instead of object-oriented.
The Austrian Academy of Sciences promotes teams of doctoral candidates (3 to 4 persons from at least two different disciplines each) who, supervised by at least two tutors, together approach a problem which can be solved only by crossing disciplinary boundaries. The tutors should be from different disciplines; one of them should be from a well-known research institution abroad. Cooperating tutors from non-university research institutions or other research institutions in the social sciences or cultural studies are desired.
Members of a team must come from at least two different research areas of the Humanities, Cultural Studies or Social Sciences. Doctoral candidates from the fields of medicine, the natural or technical sciences may also be members of a team.
Institutional Integration
Fellowships may be paid by means of a salary by a research institution in Austria; this institution is expected to bear part of the expenses. A declaration of intent to integrate the project into the research programme of the institution is desired.
Each of the team members must spend at least half a year at the research institution of the cooperating tutor abroad.
All participating institutions must offer comprehensive supervision to the doctoral candidates as well as provide infrastructure and working conditions suitable for the realization of the project (written agreement).
Requirements
Doctoral students who meet the requirements for starting a doctoral programme at a university are invited to apply.
Applicants who are not Austrian citizens must be enrolled in a doctoral or PhD programme at an Austrian university and must carry out their dissertation project at an Austrian research institution.
Applicants must not be older than 30 years when applying (deadline date). Exceptions from the age limit will be made for the following reasons:
Child care, disability, alternative educational paths (Zweiter Bildungsweg), experience in research (publications), or additional qualifications which are necessary for the applicant's academic career (field research, studying rare languages, etc).
Any revocation of the age-limit must be applied for in advance at the Office for Awards and Fellowships of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Payment / Duration
At present, DOC-team fellowships amount to 30,000 euros annually before tax.
An additional amount of up to 4,000 euros may be paid for travel expenses.
A maximum of 1,900 euros annually may be paid for child care.
Fellowships are granted for up to three years. Only those members of the team who are doctoral candidates are funded.
A joint publication of the results of a team's research project may be subsidized with an amount up to 2,000 euros, within 18 months after the end of the fellowship.
Terms of Application / Evaluation
Applications must be submitted to the Austrian Academy of Sciences by October 31; fellowships will be granted by the end of February of next year.
The evaluation process differs substantially from those of other fellowship programmes:
The selection committee, under the chairmanship of the President and the Vice President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, consists of six experts already distinguished in transdisciplinary research, at least two of them come from international research institutions.
International reviewers, who are known for crossing disciplinary boundaries in their work, may be consulted.
Hearings with the teams are also part of the evaluation process, the supervisors of the team members are invited to the hearing as well. In addition to the scientific value, the coordination of the team members in the context of the project will be appraised.
Conferences will be organized giving the teams selected in the same year the opportunity to inform the members of the committee about the progress of their projects.
Applicants are free to submit applications to other institutions (including those offering fellowships). However, the Office for Awards and Fellowships of the Austrian Academy of Sciences must be informed about these applications as well as about the outcome.
Promotion of Women
This programme is intended as part of the gender mainstreaming strategy and aims at increasing the proportion of female applicants and recipients.
Legal Status
The Austrian Academy of Sciences does not influence content and organization of research programmes. It does not acquire any rights to research results. Research plans drawn up by recipients are the criterion for support or continued support.
[As of May 2010]
