CAT (Constructive Advanced Thinking) Programme 2398 views

The University of Konstanz is inviting applications for CAT (Constructive Advanced Thinking) Programme 2021. The aim of the CAT initiative is to foster networks of excellent early-career researchers dedicated to devise new ideas to understand and to tackle current or emerging societal challenges. Although the programme has a strong focus on the societal relevance of the projects, it is entirely blue-sky, bottom-up and non-thematic. This call has been incubated in the Network of European Institutes for Advanced Study (NETIAS) and also involves institutes beyond the network.

Participating Institutes (2021 call):

• Aarhus Institute for Advanced Studies, Aarhus
• CEU Institute for Advanced Study, Budapest
• Israel Institute for Advanced Studies, Jerusalem
• Madrid Institute for Advanced Study, Madrid
• Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions, Montpellier
• Paris Institute for Advanced Study, Paris
• Scienza Nuova, Torino
• Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala
• Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung, Bielefeld
• Zukunftskolleg, Konstanz

Responsibilities:

• At mid-term, the continuation of the team’s work will be subject to approval after evaluation of a short progress report.
• At the end of their project, in addition to the organization of one or more final meeting(s) presenting the results, the CAT teams will be expected to produce a final report in the form of a text, video, website or other media, that will be made public.
• In keeping with the policies of the participating institutes, the researchers retain the intellectual property rights to their work.

Requirements:

• The project must address emergent societal issues.
• The Principal Investigator must have a stable research position in a European higher education and/or research institution for the entire duration of the project. S/he should have obtained a PhD between January 2012 and December 2020.
• Doctoral researchers may also participate. However, no team member should have obtained her/his PhD before January 2012.
• There is no specific requirement for representatives of stakeholder organizations.
• Each team should include participants from at least two different countries (current workplace, including non-European countries; any nationality).
• The team of 3 to 5 persons (stakeholders included) must be fully constituted, with CVs of all members.

Duration: up to three years, teams will benefit from a series of short stays (i.e. between one and two weeks, two to three times a year, for a maximum of six stays) in participating institutes.

Applications:

Submit application documents (in English) via our online application portal. Applications should include:

• A 300-word abstract;
• A 3000-word max text (including references) OR a video of 15 min max (please include the web link in the abstract), describing the team’s research question and how it plans to address it;
• A brief work plan for meetings and activities with an indicative calendar and duration.
• A short description of the team
• A PDF file with CVs for each participant and an indication of where they will travel from to the meetings;
• Letters of support: at least two from academic researchers; additional letters from extra-academic stakeholders outside academia are encouraged.