Heilbronn AI Fellowship in Germany | €2,800 Monthly Fellowship for International Researchers - Opportunities for Youth

Full Job Description

Welcome to our scholarship database!

Here you will find information about our DAAD scholarship programmes for international students and researchers as well as offers from other selected funding organisations.

Heilbronn Ai Fellowships • Daad

Overview

Application requirements

Application Procedure

Contact and Consulting

Submitting an application

Full Job Description

Eine Druckversion dieser Ausschreibung (PDF) steht Ihnen in den weiteren Registerkarten (z.B. „Bewerbungsvoraussetzungen“) zur Verfügung.

A print version of this announcement (PDF) is available in the further tabs (e.g. “Application requirements”).

Objective

Research Fellowships for International Postdoctoral Researchers in Artificial Intelligence. The Heilbronn AI Fellowship attracts outstanding international postdoctoral researchers to Heilbronn's rapidly growing AI ecosystem. The programme supports cutting-edge AI research at institutions on the Bildungscampus Heilbronn and across the broader innovation network.

Fellows benefit from a unique environment that combines academic excellence, industry collaboration, advanced digital infrastructure, and entrepreneurial opportunities. Beyond research, the programme encourages technology transfer, real-world applications, and engagement with innovation and startup ecosystems.

By connecting global talent with leading research, industry, and innovation partners, the fellowship strengthens Heilbronn's position as a leading European hub for AI research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Eligibility

International PhD candidates or postdoctoral researchers who obtained a PhD/doctorate no more than five years ago. PhD candidates should be in the final year before their dissertation defense. Applicants should have a strong academic background in Artificial Intelligence or a related field, be affiliated with a university or non-university research institution, and plan to undertake a research project at an eligible host institution in Bildungscampus Heilbronn.

What Can Be Funded?

The programme provides funding for a research stay in Artificial Intelligence or related fields at eligible host institutions in Heilbronn. Fellows become part of a dynamic AI ecosystem that combines world-class research, industry collabora-tion, advanced digital infrastructure, and opportunities for innovation, technol-ogy transfer, and entrepreneurship. The programme enables researchers to advance scientific knowledge while contributing to the development of AI-driven solutions with real-world impact.

The research stay can be carried out at any of the following universities or re-search institutions located on the Bildungscampus Heilbronn:

• DHBW Center for Advanced Studies
• DHBW Heilbronn (Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University)
• Ferdinand-Steinbeis-Institute
• Fraunhofer HNFIZ
• Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences (HHN) – HHN
• Technical University of Munich (TUM) Campus Heilbronn.

Duration Of The Funding

Funding is provided for research stays from 1 to 12 months.

Funding for the fellowship programme is available until the end of the pro-gramme's funding period.

The Fellowship cannot be extended. Special circumstances may be considered on an individual basis.

Value

The fellowship includes the following financial benefits:

• a monthly fellowship instalment of 2,800 Euros

• payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover

• a lump sum towards international travel costs

• Additional costs arising from a disability or chronic illness may be eligible for support. Requests for such support will be assessed individually, further information.

• For fellows applying to a funding period exceeding six months, family benefits may be granted subject to eligibility. Eligibility and the level of support will be determined on an individual basis in accordance with the applicable fellowship conditions.

• All requests relating to special circumstances will be assessed individually on a case-by-case basis.

Selection

Selection is conducted through a single-stage evaluation based on the submitted application documents.

Applications are jointly prepared by the applicant and the host institution and are evaluated by independent experts in the relevant research fields. The experts are appointed by DAAD, while partner institutions may propose candidates. To ensure fairness and impartiality, experts with a conflict of interest or a supervisory relationship with an applicant are excluded from the evaluation process.

Applications are assessed on the basis of academic excellence, the quality of the proposed research project, and the applicant’s suitability for the programme and its objectives. Funding is awarded only following a positive evaluation by the appointed experts.

The selection criteria are: Academic qualification

• Academic performance (general grade point average, grade development, dissertation grade)

• Course of studies and doctorate

• Academic achievements after graduation, (e.g. publications, lectures, conference papers)

• Quality of research proposal and preparation (originality, topicality and relevance of the project, choice of host institution and first contacts, relevance for application and transfer.)

• Feasibility and consistency of research plan and schedule

• Suitability of the applicant’s profile and the research project to the objectives of the program (potential for personal and professional development, integration of the project into longer-term cooperation plans, regarding longer-term research stays of the applicant in Germany)

Further Information

• The application procedure occurs online through the DAAD portal.
• An application is only valid if all required documents have been submit-ted via the DAAD portal by the application time. If any required docu-ments are not available at the time of submission, applicants must clearly explain the reasons for their absence and indicate when the documents will be provided.
• Only one application per applicant can be considered at any given time. Simultaneous applications cannot be processed.

What Requirements Must Be Met?

Please check if the following criteria are fulfilled:

• Applicants should generally have obtained their 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.

Language Skills

Very good English language skills are essential, but no official language certifi-cate is required. However, applicants must possess sufficient English or, where applicable, German language skills to successfully carry out the proposed re-search project in Germany. The letter of invitation from the host institution in Germany must also address the language requirements for the realization of the planned project and confirm that the applicant's language skills meet these requirements.

Application Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and may be submitted at any time.

To allow sufficient time for the review and selection process, applications should generally be submitted at least four months before the intended start of the fellowship.

Application Documents

Certificates, proof of credits, certifications and translations may be scanned in non-certified form and uploaded to the DAAD portal. The DAAD reserves the right to request certified copies of the documents.

Certificates, proof of credits, certifications and translations may be scanned in non-certified form and uploaded to the DAAD portal. The DAAD reserves the right to request certified copies of the documents.

Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal:

• 1. Online application form
• 2. Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages)
• 3. List of publications (max. 10 pages), if applicable
• 4. Letter of motivation (1-2 pages) considering the following question: What applicant hope to gain from the project in Germany (personally, professionally, for career development)?
• 5. A research proposal, jointly developed by the applicant and the host in Germany (2-3 pages). The proposal should describe the research project
• 6. Schedule of planned research work
• 7. One recent reference which provides information about applicant´s qualifications. Please regard the instructions given on the tab “Submitting an application” in the DAAD scholarship database
• 8. If applicable, other documents
• 9. Invitation letter and confirmation from the academic host in Germany. The invitation letter must refer to the research project, language skills of the applicant to conduct research, and guarantee that the host institute in Germany will provide a workplace
• 10. Declaration from the scientific supervisor in Germany on safety-relevant and ethical aspects of the research project. Please upload the document in addition to the confirmation from the academic host in the portal under ‘acceptance of host institution

The application procedure occurs online through the DAAD portal.

Information And Advisory Centres

Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst

German Academic Exchange Service

Referat S15 – Research and Studies

Kennedyallee 50

53175 Bonn

Laura Mendez Prencke

E-Mail: Heilbronn-AI@daad.de

Phone: +49-228 882 5248

More Detailed Information

The programme offers fellowships for cutting-edge AI research at institutions on the Bildungscampus Heilbronn. More detailed information can be found on the website of the Bildungscampus Heilbronn and the participating institutions mentioned in point 3, “What can be funded?”.

General Information On The Application Via Daad Portal

Applications for this scholarship programme are possible between 1 June and the stated application deadline.

Click on ‘Application portal’ at the bottom of the page to go to the DAAD portal. There you will be provided with an online application form to enter your application data.

This is what you have to do:

1. Register in the DAAD portal (Read notes about registering in the portal >>)

2. Request recommendation form

You can generate the recommendation form in the DAAD Portal as a writable PDF under 'Request recommendation form'. It can only be generated during the application period. Please send it to your university teacher and ask him or her to complete the form in full. When you have received it back, upload it in the portal under 'Letter of Recommendation'.

3. Applying online in the DAAD portal (Read notes on applying in the portal >>)

• Prepare application documents
• If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
• Scan paper documents and save in PDF format. You can only upload PDF files to the portal.
• Fill out the application form and upload the application documents to the portal in PDF format. Translations, if applicable, should be uploaded together with the document issued in the original language.
• Submit the application online.

Please Select Your Status And Your Country To Enable You To Submit An Application

Your status and/or country is not in the list?

If your status and/or country is not included in the list, you cannot apply for this scholarship programme. To ensure that only scholarship programmes for which you are eligible to apply are shown, please select your status and your country in the results list (left-hand column).

• Print

• as PDF

International PhD candidates or postdoctoral researchers who obtained a PhD/doctorate no more than five years ago. PhD candidates should be in the final year before their dissertation defense. Applicants should have a strong academic background in Artificial Intelligence or a related field, be affiliated with a university or non-university research institution, and plan to undertake a research project at an eligible host institution in Bildungscampus Heilbronn.

Please check if the following criteria are fulfilled:

• Applicants should generally have obtained their 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.

Discovered through Opportunities for Youth and verified against the linked official provider page. Complete public programme details were normalized into safe structured text; the official page remains authoritative.