The Forum Internationale Wissenschaft invites applications for Visiting Professorships "Internationalization of Higher Education in Times of Global Crises“ (full-time, for 6 months within the period from 1 October 2021 until 30 September 2023, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD).

The Forum Internationale Wissenschaft (FIW) at the University of Bonn, Germany, invites applications for

Visiting Professorships

“Internationalization of Higher Education in Times of Global Crises“

(full-time, for 6 months within the period from 1 October 2021 until 30 September 2023, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD).

We invite researchers and science policy professionals to explore and discuss the current state and possible futures of internationalization in higher education and research cooperation. Internationalization has opened up opportunities for academic exchange and cross-border mobility for students, researchers and academic staff. However, several global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, reinforced global inequality, and rising nationalism indicate the necessity to rethink what internationalization is about and how it will look like in the future. With the visiting professorships, we intend to engage in an international academic discussion on how the participation in higher education and its openness to international and intercultural exchange can continue despite global challenges that have multiplied lately. We are interested in diverse global and comparative perspectives that are not restricted to the Global North. Therefore we particularly invite applications from scholars based in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Topics for research projects and courses could include (but are not limited to):

• International comparison of how higher education institutions respond to global crises (e.g COVID-19, climate change, rising nationalism and populism)
• Transformation of international student/academic staff mobility (e.g., how can a reduction in mobility be compensated by better thought-out and organized mobility?)
• New forms of international cooperation and collaboration in research as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic
• Varieties of internationalization at different universities around the world (e.g., which universities in which nations are particularly affected by the new forms of immobilization and how do they deal with them?)
• Effects of political limitations to academic mobility (e.g., how are restrictions justified in terms of national security or climate protection and how does Academia react to them?)
• Decolonization and Diversification of the Curriculum in different national contexts
• Critical reflections on the internationalization of HE regarding the balance of brain gain and brain drain
• The role of digitization in HE across in different national contexts (e.g., when does digitization act as a mere stopgap, when as a pacemaker for new solutions?)

The successful candidates are expected to:

• be an experienced scholar (PhD, professor or equivalent positions) with an interest in higher education studies, science and technology studies, research policy, and/or migration and mobility research.
• Alternatively, senior scientists from all fields with practical experiences in science policy or higher education management are eligible for application.
• initiate a research project related to the broad topic of “internationalization of higher education in times of global crises”.
• teach 6 hours per week (three courses) in one of the following study areas: Sociology, Political Science, Geography, Higher Education Studies or Development Research (instruction language English or German)actively participate in workshops and round tables with our partner organizations. Candidates are highly encouraged to engage in building sustainable networks of cooperation between their home institutions, the University of Bonn and other international partners.

We offer

• a salary up to a maximum of the W2 salary of the State of NRW (currently 6307,71€), depending on the applicant’s qualifications
• travel expenses (lump sum payment depending on the applicant’s country of origin)
• attractive working conditions in a city with a high quality of life
• a wide range of support services offered by central service institutions of the university, incl. support to find housing/accommodation and, if desired, German language course the support of a student assistant for research and teaching activities
• a vibrant academic environment at the FIW and the University (including the department of geography and the department for political science and sociology), a group of internationally renowned research institutions (including the German Development Institute, the Innovation Campus Bonn, the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security). Furthermore, a number of German science policy organizations have their headquarters in Bonn: the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH), the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the German Rector’s Conference (HRK)

Candidates are invited to submit by 30 April 2021 an application package including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a short outline for a research project and a list of topics they would teach in a single PDF via e-mail to kaldewey@uni-bonn.de and zoll.wissenschaftsforschung@uni-bonn.de. Please indicate for which term(s) within the project period (October 2021 to September 2023) you would like to come to Bonn and how your stay can be synchronised with your research and teaching obligations at your home institution.

If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. David Kaldewey, Director of the FIW’s Science Studies Department (kaldewey@uni-bonn.de) or Dr. Lena Laube, Managing Director of the FIW (llaube@uni-bonn.de).