Postgraduate
The Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership expired at the end of 2023.
The Postdoc Academy was designed to develop the next generation of leaders in sustainability and transformation research. It provided intensive high-end training that broadens the research competencies of postdocs and promotes their qualifications towards transdisciplinary leadership. The program also offered seed funding to small groups of participants who plan to initiate research collaborations (e.g. for stakeholder meetings or proposal writing activities). In addition, a network of current and former postdocs was established to uphold invaluable connections from the program.
Each year, the Postdoc Academy recruited 20 early-career researchers to take part in a two year ‘course run’ with one overarching theme. The course run consisted of four seminars (three full days each) over a period of two years. Each seminar took place at one of the four academic institutions: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (IRI THESys), Leuphana University of Lüneburg, the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) and the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) in Rotterdam.The seminars built on the complementary expertise of the institutions and are linked by four thematic modules that create an overarching framework (see image below).
The Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership was funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
The Postdoc Academy was partnered with leading academic centers across Europe to promote cross-institutional collaboration and cutting-edge research.
The Leuphana University Lüneburg sees itself as a place for free thirst for knowledge, imagination, personal development and social commitment. For its studies, it has developed a multi-award-winning study model with three schools. Four faculties are the sponsors of transdisciplinary science initiatives, the Leuphana’s research priorities in the fields of education, culture, sustainability, and management and entrepreneurship.
Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) is an international research centre on resilience and sustainability science. The vision of SRC is a thriving and resilient Biosphere that enables well-being for all. They contribute to this by advancing the scientific understanding of the complex, dynamic interactions of people and nature in the Biosphere, by training the next generation of sustainability researchers and leaders and by engaging in collaborations with change agents.
DRIFT aims to accelerate transitions towards more just, sustainable and resilient societies. DRIFT develops and share transformative knowledge, provide academic and professional training and engage in public debate to support people, cities, sectors and organisations to actively engage in societal change. This way society benefits directly from their latest insights, and DRIFT continually advance its theories and operational approaches based on real challenges.