Sofja Kovalevskaja Award - Found a Research Group at German Host Institution

The Sofja Kovalevskaja Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation supports young researchers from abroad to establish their own working group at a research institution in Germany. Award-winners receive up to 1.65 million euros over a period of five years.

1. Doctorate or comparable academic degree (Ph.D., C.Sc. or equivalent), completed with distinction less than six years prior to the application submission deadline.
2. Career level: the award would enable the successful applicant to take on a leadership position (e.g. head of a junior research group) in Germany for the first time. Moreover, the applicant must not have held or accepted an offer of permanent employment in Germany. The relevant date is the date of the selection.
3. Cutting-edge academic achievements documented by a comprehensive list of independent academic publications reviewed according to international standards and printed in journals and/or by publishing houses.
4. Support of the German host institution, evidenced by a detailed expert's report from the academic host as well as the host's agreement and the confirmation from the administration at the host institution.
5. Two supporting expert reviews from academics (at the applicant's own institute or other institutes, where possible including some outside the applicant’s country of origin).
6. Language skills: scholars in the humanities or social sciences and physicians must have a good knowledge of German if it is necessary to carry out the project successfully; otherwise a good knowledge of English; scientists and engineers must have a good knowledge of German or English.
7. No previous Sofja Kovalevskaja Award.
8. Eligible applicants must have lived outside Germany for a minimum of 12 months in total in the 18-month period prior to the submission deadline.

Submission Deadline: 31st July 2016

More details can be found at: https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/kovalevskaja-award.html

Sofja Kovalevskaja was a Russian Mathematician who was the first female professor in Northern Europe. She attended the University of Heidelberg and successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the University of Göttingen.