FAQs

• Who is this programme for? Am I eligible to apply? Do I have to speak German?
• How can I apply? What is the application deadline?
• What are the selection criteria? Are there any restrictions for organisations?
• How should I choose and elaborate the topics I am interested in?
• What are the face-to-face meetings like? Can I decide whom I am going to meet? Can I make suggestions?
• Are certain topics particularly popular?
• What are the costs of the fellowship?
• When do the joint sessions take place? How much time does it take to participate in the fellowship? What happens after the fellowship-year?
• Do I meet other policy fellows? Where do the fellows come from?
• How does the fellowship programme work during the Covid-19 pandemic? What if I have to cancel my meetings on short-notice?
• Do the meetings with the researchers result in follow-up activities? Is there any support for follow-up activities?
• What is the Alliance of the Rhine-Main Universities? Am I only going to meet researchers from the Rhine-Main Universities? How is the programme funded?

The Mercator Science Policy Fellowship programme is designed for senior policy professionals, who are heads of unit or deputy heads of unit in EU institutions or international organisations. Policy professionals who have a work experience of at least ten years are also eligible to apply.

If you are not certain whether you qualify for the programme, please get in touch with the programme office at Goethe University Frankfurt (science-policy@uni-frankfurt.de).

International fellows do not have to be proficient in German, since the face-to-face meetings with the researchers will be conducted in English.

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Please submit 

• a completed application form
• your curriculum vitae
• a letter of recommendation from your senior supervisor

by 04 April 2023 . All information on the application process including the call for applications is available here.

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Selection Criteria:
Quality of the application documents. The applicants should elaborate how the participation in the programme will benefit both their short- and long-term professional development as well as their sending organisations. We greatly encourage applicants to elaborate on possible follow-up activities which can be a result of the meetings with the researchers. 

Topics of interest:
We have to ensure that fellows will have the opportunity to conduct 16 face-to-face meetings with scientists over the course of the fellowship. The more similar the thematic interests of the fellows, the fewer fellows will be included in the programme, otherwise we cannot ensure that there are enough researchers available for each fellow. Conversely, if there is a greater variance in thematic interests, more fellows can be included in the programme.

Diversity regarding the organisational background of the fellows:
The fellowship cohort should include fellows from various DGs of EU institutions and international organisations, ministries, NGOs and media.

About 25-30 policy professionals can be accepted into the programme each year.

Organisations with

• up to 1,000 employees should not nominate more than one candidate,
• up to 2,000 employees should not nominate more than two candidates,
• with more than 2,000 employees should not nominate more than three candidates.

Therefore, please consult your human resources department so that your organisation can pre-select applications if necessary.

The Directorates-General of the European Union and the different organisations of the UN system ("UN family") are considered as separate organisations.

We are happy to provide advice on possible questions and give feedback regarding topics you are interested in. Please contact Mr Sandevski at science-policy@uni-frankfurt.de or +49 (0)69 798 12132 no later than 20 March 2023.

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Please provide a list of four to six different overarching topics or questions that are of particular interest for you. Please add five sub-topics or sub-questions to each overarching topic. This list of topics will be forwarded to academics in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area who are asked to participate in face-to-face meetings. 

You can ask every question you are interested in as long as scientists in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area conduct research on these topics/questions. The only exception being questions which solely focus on internal management processes like “How can I motivate my staff? How can I improve the IT-, HR-, financial reporting, or knowledge management systems in my organisation?". These questions will not be considered.

Futhermore, the main topics should address different issues. Try identifying topics/questions which can be addressed by researchers from different disciplinary angles. Do not ask questions which are too specific.

Example:
The topic "current research trends in geriatric medicine" is a rather specific one which can only be addressed by a few scientists in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main are. However, if you ask about "current trends in the research on aging", disciplines, such as economics, sociology, law, biology, engineering, psychology or media studies, can be addressed in addition to medicine. You can then choose from a large number of researchers to talk to.

Please phrase your thematic interests in such a way that for the different thematic priorities, different scientists and scholars can also be considered as possible discussion partners.

Example:
"Political parties", "elections in Germany" and "political reforms" are different topics. However, the majority of the researchers conducting research on these topics are the same people. In such a case, it is therefore advisable not to list three very closely related thematic interest, but to select one overarching theme (e.g. "Politics in Germany") as the thematic priority and then add appropriate sub-questions or sub-topics.

It is also advisable to find overarching themes rather than specific ones in order to allow for scholars from different academic backgrounds to be considered.

Example:
You are interested in the question of which thermal insulation materials have been developed in recent years that can be used in the construction of buildings. In this case additional questions can be derived from the initial question. For example, the topic "Energy consumption in Germany" can be chosen as the main topic. Sub-questions or subtopics may be:
"Thematic interest: Energy consumption in Europe"
What technical options can be used to save energy in buildings? How can energy consumption be reduced in Europe? How do European countries differ regarding energy consumption? How can governments promote the construction of energy-saving houses? What does research say about the effectiveness of promoting technology and innovation in European countries? How can research results be transferred to business? How can energy-saving behaviour be promoted among different user groups (e.g. young people)? How do international climate protection agreements affect energy consumption in Europe? Under what social conditions do technological innovations emerge (e.g. in the field of energy)? Etc."

We are happy to provide advice on possible questions. Please contact Mr Sandevski at science-policy@uni-frankfurt.de or +49 (0)69 798 12132 no later than 20 March 2023 if you like to receive feedback on topics you are interested in.

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The face-to-face meetings vary depending on the fellows' interests. Some fellows want to address specific questions, others are more interested in receiving an overview on topics they are not familiar with.

If you have specific institutes, research projects or scholars in mind which you would like to meet, you are very welcome to add them to your application! 

Many fellows ask about research trends in some areas (e.g. current research trends in life sciences) or are interested in concepts (e.g. “What do identity or public value mean nowadays? What constitutes a successful innovation?") or future trends (e.g. “How will demographic change affect European societies? Which technological developments will change European economies over the next 20 years? How will social media change forms of communication?"). 

Once accepted into the programme each fellow receives a list of some 40 scientists in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area. Each fellow is more than welcome to inform us on his/her preferences regarding the scientists he or she would like to meet.

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The following topics featured very prominently in the applications:

• Politics in Germany and Europe (political parties and political institutions, reforms and implementation of political decisions, elections, populism, migration, foreign and security policy).
• Media and communication (role of the media in politics, fake news and hate speech, importance of social media, public relations).
• Digital transformations and artificial intelligence (future of work, innovation, data protection, robots, importance of algorithms, digital transformation of business, society and politics).
• Science policy and education (science and higher education policies, issues of science and higher education governance (e.g. research funding, internationalisation, open science, technology transfer), education policy, transformation of schools, open science).
• Covid-19 pandemic.

The above-mentioned topics can be included in applications. However, we strongly recommend fellows to not only confine their interests to these five topics but to include other topics as well.

The majority of fellows are inclined towards experts from economics, business and the social sciences, who are often very oversubscribed. We strongly encourage applications by professionals who are interested in STEM subjects. 

Our office will be happy to help you if you would like to check in advance whether there is sufficient scientific expertise in the Rhine-Main region to suit your interests.

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We do not charge any fees. Fellows have to cover the costs for travel to the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area as well as accommodation and some of the meals. Fellows benefit from a discount if they choose to stay at the hotels we have made arrangements for the programme. However, the fellows are free to arrange their own accommodation.

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Fellows are expected to participate in the joint session in autumn and spring. Each session comprises 2-3 days.

The first visit of the 2023/24 cohort is scheduled for 06 - 08 November 2023. If the scheduled meetings cannot be conducted face-to-face in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area due to the pandemic, the already scheduled meetings will take place as virtual meetings. The xact dates for the joint session in 2024 will be announced at a later stage.

In addition to the joint visits we also regularly organise workshops and other events in Berlin, Brussels and the Frankfurt/Rhein-Main area. All (alumni-)fellows are invited to these events.

After visiting the research institutions in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main the fellows will become Alumni. Once a year our Alumni are invited to an Alumni event in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area, which enables them to conduct further face-to-face meetings. 

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Yes! The fellowship programme has numerous components like evening events, joint meals, campus tours or visits of research facilities, which allow for networking with other policy fellows. 

So far, fellows from national and regional ministries from Germany have accounted for about 57 per cent, those from EU institutions and international organisations for about 18 per cent, and those from media and non-profit-organisations for another 25 per cent of all fellows.

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Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been operating in a virtual mode, i.e. we have organised video conferences and virtual networking formats, which have worked very well. Of course, we are looking forward to soon hosting our fellows in person in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area!

If fellows have to cancel their meetings on short-notice, we will organise alternative dates for virtual or face-to-face meetings no longer than three weeks after the originally scheduled events. 

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Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been operating in a virtual mode, i.e. we have organised video conferences and virtual networking formats, which have worked very well. Of course, we are looking forward to soon hosting our fellows in person in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area!

If fellows have to cancel their meetings on short-notice, we will organise alternative dates for virtual or face-to-face meetings no longer than three weeks after the originally scheduled events. 

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In the past, fellows have already invited researchers to their ministries for lectures or workshops. In many cases, fellows have remained in contact with researchers. Fellows have already contributed short articles to our publications and participated in panel discussions and workshops.

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