NGRE 24/25

New Generation Research Exchange

 Call for Applications 

Summary 

The Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, University of Oxford, the Faculty of Philosophy, Universities of Warsaw, and the Humane Philosophy Society, in collaboration the Faculty of Philosophy, Zagreb University invite applications for the New Generation Research Exchange programme. The Exchange programme will give young scholars in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) working on Big Questions at the intersection of science, theology and philosophy the opportunity to participate in three fully funded workshops taking place at the Universities of Warsaw, Zagreb and Oxford. Participants will have the further opportunity to apply to continue the research they undertake for the Fellowship during a term of funded supervised research at the University of Oxford. Participants’ research projects will be assessed by an external committee after the final workshop takes place to determine possible supervisors for research visits to Oxford. The Fellowship will conclude with an alumni workshop in the summer of 2025 to take place in Trogir, Croatia. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfaPrP2W2Hs&ab_channel=IanRamseyCentre

Eligibility

Applicants will normally be MA or early PhD students at Central and Eastern European research institutions, including universities, research academies and seminaries, or young scholars from CEE on equivalent degree programmes outside the region. The programme is intended to support research projects of successful candidates during the final year of their MA course, or developing their MA research topics for publication, or with a PhD application in mind, as well as those beginning to work on a PhD. Proposed projects should broadly fall under the project themes, which are outlined below.  It is expected that most applications will be submitted by natural scientists, theologians and philosophers, but there are no disciplinary restrictions and applicants with academic backgrounds in other areas are also welcome. Applications are welcome from researchers working in any religious tradition, and from researchers working in no religious tradition.

For the purposes of the project, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is defined as: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, the former East Germany, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

Activities

Successful candidates will participate in a series of three masterclasses during the course of the programme. The meetings will take place over three days each at the Universities of Zagreb, Warsaw, and Oxford. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their work as a group and with IRC-appointed tutors, as well as participate in seminars led by prominent visiting speakers. The Fellowship will cover all the costs of participating in each masterclass including travel and accommodation. The fellowship will conclude with an alumni workshop in the summer of 2025 which will cover all participant costs except travel. The total value of the Fellowship is 3000 USD. 

Selected participants will have a further opportunity to receive the Marek Matraszek Oxford Fellowship to complete their work during a term at Oxford University, where they will be able to work closely with a secondary supervisor to advance their research. The funding for research visits at Oxford University will cover accommodation, living costs, college fees, and supervision and have a total value of 5000 USD. 

Supported Research Themes

The programme will support research which engages with Big Questions at the intersection of science theology and philosophy. Applicants will be expected to engage with recent developments in their disciplines, and demonstrate a high standard of academic rigor. The Project encourages applications that fall within three broad themes: science and religion in the CEE context; reason and faith; and persons, mind and cosmos. Suitable topics include:

▪        The significance of theological traditions for scientific practice today;

▪        The relations of brains, minds and human persons;

▪        Whether physical cosmology can explain the origin of the cosmos;

▪        The role of religion in the historical development of science;

▪        The place of values in the natural world;

▪        How the history of CEE has influenced views on science and religion;

▪        Free will and scientific determinism and/or divine foreknowledge;

▪        Empirical psychology and the second person perspective;

▪        Phenomenological approaches to religion;

▪        Understanding notions of God, good and evil in a scientific age. 

For further example areas, applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the Ian Ramsey Centre’s website where example areas of interest for the New Horizons for Science and Religion in Central and Eastern Europe project as a whole are listed.

For more information on the NGRE fellowship programme as well as on NGRE alumni visit: https://cee.ianramseycentre.ox.ac.uk/applications

Application process

Applications for Exchange Fellowships must be submitted no later than 2 August 2024 for the cycle of the programme starting October 2024. Applications must include the following documents.  

▪A proposal describing the research the candidate is carrying out, how far the research is advanced, and an outline of the work the candidate expects to complete during the course of their final year. 

▪A full curriculum vitae, and a statement saying how the candidate expects to benefit from participating in the programme

▪Two academic references including a reference from the candidate’s supervisor if the research project is part of an MA degree. 

▪A confirmation from the candidate’s institution stating that they are allowed to participate in the programme during the academic year 2024–5. 

All application materials should be submitted via email to [email protected] stating in the subject line: “NGRE application”. The results of the competition will be announced in September 2024.

By submitting an application for the New Generation Research Exchange candidates accept and acknowledge the terms of processing their personal data for the purpose of the application process. For further information concerning the processing of personal data by the University of Warsaw see the personal data information sheet. If you have any questions please contact Dr Mikołaj Sławkowski-Rode: [email protected]