Scholars at Risk | Germany Section | NRW Group
The NRW group is a network of universities hosting refugee and at-risk scholars in North Rhine-Westfalia.
Amongst other things, the network organizes regular meetings, usually twice a year, for its member organisations plus a series of workshops (see below) for scientists. It also operates a mailing list.
Universities interested in an exchange are welcome to contact
Sibel Schmidt: s.schmidt(at)verw.uni-koeln(dot)de
2025 Support Program for Scholars at Risk
In 2025, 8 of the Scholars at Risk member institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) are continuing to offer a collaborative support program for at-risk scholars. The Philipp Schwartz fellows of the participating institutions are the target group of this program, but other interested at-risk scholars may also apply for participation. The workshops and seminars discuss various research- and career-related issues and are intended to help at-risk scholars with starting their professional life in Germany.
Who can participate?
Philipp Schwartz fellows of the involved institutions and other interested at-risk scholars.
Information for Fellows Who Are Not at One of the Universities Listed Below
Scholars from universities and institutions outside of our network can only participate in these workshops when free spots are still available.
The program is meant for postdocs. Doctoral students can participate in exceptional cases, depending on the available spots. It is possible that some workshops are thematically equivalent for postdocs and doctoral students. However, when there is a difference between postdocs and doctoral students regarding the topic of a particular workshop, it is not possible to alter the topic and/or content of the workshop to accommodate doctoral students. Students (including master students) cannot participate in these workshops.
Because spots are limited, it is important that scholars cancel their registration in case they are allocated a spot but are unable to attend. It is possible that the available spots will be allocated only shortly before the workshop, so fellows should keep the scheduled date free even when their spot has not yet been confirmed.
Information for coordinators from other universities:
Please contact the responsible person in the NRW-Network to register your fellows for the workshops. We would need their name, status (postdoc or doctoral student, PSI or Hilde Domin or other program), academic field, country of origin, and email address. We do not accept individual applications from researchers.
How to participate?
Please reach out to the contact person at your institution if you would like to participate. If you are not already known by the contact person, you might be required to submit your CV and a letter of motivation. The respective institutions will then decide on your application. Interested participants may join the program at any time.
What’s on offer?
More workshops may be added to this page over the course of time. Participation in all events is desirable, but not mandatory. It is also possible to join only selected events. Invitations with detailed information will be sent to the participants in due time before the event takes place. We kindly ask for your understanding that it is not possible to participate without prior registration. Participation is free of charge.
Contact/Registration
Please reach out to the contact person at your university if you wish to register.
If you are a scholar from a university that is not listed here, please get in touch with the contact person for at-risk scholars at your university and ask them to contact us for you.
Please note that the program is meant for postdocs.
Contact
RWTH Aachen
Contact Person: Cathrin Urbanke
cathrin.urbanke(at)zhv.rwth-aachen(dot)de
www.rwth-aachen.de
University of Cologne
Contact Person: Sibel Schmidt
s.schmidt(at)verw.uni-koeln(dot)de
www.uni-koeln.de
University of Siegen
Contact Person: Dr. Nadine Hoffmann
nadine.hoffmann(at)uni-siegen(dot)de
www.uni-siegen.de
University of Bonn
International Office
Contact Person: Jessica Greis-Mills
greis@verwaltung.uni-bonn.de
www.uni-bonn.de
University of Düsseldorf
Contact Person: Dr. Sigrun Wegener-Feldbrügge
wegenerf(at)hhu(dot)de
www.uni-duesseldorf.de
University of Bochum
Contact Person: Iris Vernekohl
iris.vernekohl@rub.de
www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
University of Münster
Contact Person: Maria Homeyer
international.researchers(at)uni-muenster(dot)de
www.uni-muenster.de
Paderborn University
Contact Person: Anna-Marina Vogt
welcome(at)uni-paderborn(dot)de
www.uni-paderborn.de
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Bielefeld
Contact Person: Maximilian Köster
welcome(at)hsbi(dot)de
https://www.hsbi.de/en
University Duisburg-Essen
Contact Person: Eugenia Dahl
eugenia.dahl(at)uni-due(dot)de
https://www.uni-due.de/en/