The German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU) is a foundation established by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1989. It is the largest environmental foundation in Europe. Each year, the DBU awards up to 60 fellowships for further qualification in the field of environmental protection and nature conservation for young talents. The fellowships are open to qualified Master graduates of all disciplines from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including Poland.
During the fellowship time in Germany, the fellowship-holders develop solutions to environmental issues. After returning to their home countries, the fellowship alumnis are supposed to directly transfer and implement their knowledge to their countries of origin. For this purpose, in some cases, the DBU can also award a limited number of alumni with additional Small Grants in their home country.
You can apply for a fellowship twice a year. The application deadline in spring is March 5th, 2022.
Here is a brief summary of the key facts about the DBU Fellowships (https://www.dbu.de/2600.html):
Our aims
- advanced qualification of Master graduates of all disciplines for environmentally relevant topics
- knowledge transfer to science, administration, business, practice elsewhere
- international networking between environmental experts of all disciplines
What we expect
- above-average Master degree obtained within the last five years
- all disciplines are eligible
- citizenship and residence in one of the participating CEE countries, e.g. Poland
- proposal of an environmentally relevant and applied topic; please check our FAQs for the outline
- doctoral candidates can apply if the doctoral project is put on hold – and will be completed only until the end of the fellowship
Our application procedure
- online application procedure available in German and English
- application deadline annually on 5 March and 5 September.
- registration/login on the respective country site (https://www.dbu.de/2611.html)
Our services
Funding
- up to 60 CEE fellows are funded per year; you can check our database for examples (https://www.dbu.de/2431.html)
- funding period: 6-12 months
- monthly grant: 1.250 €
- health, accident and liability insurance
- several weeks of intensive German course in Osnabrück before the beginning of the stay at the host institution
Mentoring
- support with finding an appropriate host institution in Germany: hosts can be e.g. universities, research institutes, companies, authorities, NGOs
- seminars for exchange between fellows
- invitation to important events of the DBU, such as the German Environmental Award (https://www.dbu.de/2547.html)
- networking between fellows and alumni via the online platform Stipnet
- yearly meetings of Alumni in their home countries
Fellowship database
For more than 25 years, the fellowship programmes of the DBU have supported interesting fellowships in all disciplines with a strong focus on environmental protection and nature conservation. Our database (https://www.dbu.de/2431.html) lists all funded fellowships. You can use the search function to search the database for topics, institutions, persons etc.
Fellowships for graduates from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) (PDF).
Fellowships for graduates from Central- and Eastern Europe (CEE) - [Broschüre] (PDF).