Heilbronn AI Fellowships

Heilbronn AI Fellowships are a research fellowship programme for international postdoctoral researchers in Artificial Intelligence. DAAD describes the programme’s objective as attracting outstanding international postdoctoral researchers to Heilbronn’s AI ecosystem and supporting research in Artificial Intelligence or related fields at institutions on Bildungscampus Heilbronn and across the broader innovation network.

Applicants are international PhD candidates or postdoctoral researchers who obtained a PhD/doctorate no more than five years ago, and who plan a research project at an eligible host institution in Bildungscampus Heilbronn. The programme covers research stays at specified universities or research institutions located on Bildungscampus Heilbronn, including DHBW Center for Advanced Studies, DHBW Heilbronn, Ferdinand-Steinbeis-Institute, Fraunhofer HNFIZ, Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, Technical University of Munich (TUM) Campus Heilbronn, Max Planck Institute–Heilbronn, and Campus Founders.

DAAD states that selection is conducted through a single-stage evaluation based on submitted application documents. Applications are prepared by the applicant and the host institution, evaluated by independent experts appointed by DAAD, and experts with a conflict of interest or a supervisory relationship to an applicant are excluded from the evaluation process. Funding is awarded only after a positive evaluation based on academic qualification, performance and achievements, the quality and feasibility of the research proposal and research plan, and applicant suitability, with due consideration of equal-opportunities aspects provided in the application form.

Funding is provided for research stays from 1 to 12 months. The fellowship cannot be extended, though special circumstances may be considered individually. The fellowship includes a monthly fellowship instalment of 2,800 Euros, payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover, and a lump sum towards international travel costs. Additional support may be eligible for disability or chronic illness, and family benefits may be granted under eligibility for fellows applying to a funding period exceeding six months.

• Applicants must be international PhD candidates or postdoctoral researchers.
• Applicants must have obtained a PhD/doctorate no more than five years before the application deadline.
• PhD candidates must be in the final year before their dissertation defense at the time of application.
• Applicants must have been residing outside Germany throughout the 15 months prior to submitting their application.
• Applicants must have a strong academic background in Artificial Intelligence or a related field.
• Applicants must be affiliated with a university or non-university research institution.
• Applicants must plan to undertake a research project at an eligible host institution in Bildungscampus Heilbronn.
• Very good English language skills are essential.
• No official language certificate is required.
• Applicants must possess sufficient English or, where applicable, German language skills to successfully carry out the proposed research project in Germany.
• The letter of invitation from the host institution in Germany must address the language requirements for realizing the planned project and confirm that the applicant’s language skills meet those requirements.
• Only one application per applicant can be considered at any given time; simultaneous applications cannot be processed.

• Monthly fellowship instalment: 2,800 Euros.
• Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover.
• Lump sum towards international travel costs.
• Additional costs arising from a disability or chronic illness may be eligible for support, assessed individually.
• Family benefits may be granted for fellows applying to a funding period exceeding six months, subject to eligibility and assessed individually.

1. Apply online through the DAAD portal.
2. Complete the online application form and upload the required documents to the DAAD portal by the application time.
3. If any required documents are not available at the time of submission, clearly explain the reasons for their absence and indicate when the documents will be provided.
4. Submit only one application per applicant at any given time; simultaneous applications cannot be processed.
5. Wait for the single-stage evaluation of submitted application documents by independent experts appointed by DAAD.

• Online application form.
• Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages).
• List of publications (max. 10 pages), if applicable.
• Letter of motivation (1–2 pages), addressing what the applicant hopes to gain from the project in Germany (personally, professionally, for career development).
• Research proposal jointly developed by the applicant and the host in Germany (2–3 pages), describing the research project.
• Schedule of planned research work.
• One recent reference providing information about the applicant’s qualifications (following instructions given in the tab “Submitting an application” in the DAAD scholarship database).
• Other documents, if applicable.
• Invitation letter and confirmation from the academic host in Germany, referring to the research project, the applicant’s language skills, and guaranteeing a workplace at the host institute in Germany.
• Declaration from the scientific (document title ends at “Declaration from the scientific” in the provided text).