Seven Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Fields of Transformation Research Leuphana University of Lueneburg in Germany

Leuphana University of Lüneburg invites applications for up to seven postdoctoral fellowships in the field of transformation research within the Leuphana Transformation Lab. The Lab is an international, interdisciplinary research environment focused on major transformation processes in contemporary societies. It brings together research across five key subject areas, including climate futures in digital cultures, democratic resilience, organizing in times of crisis, towards a regenerative society, and companies as drivers of sustainability transformations, alongside the psychology of transformation.

These fellowships are designed for outstanding postdoctoral researchers who want to spend up to 24 months in residence at Leuphana starting on 1 April 2027. Fellows will become part of the flagship program Embracing Transformation and are expected to develop a high-quality grant proposal during their stay, with support provided throughout the grant-writing process. Successful grants are intended to be hosted by Leuphana.

The call is especially suitable for researchers working on transformation from historical, normative, theoretical, empirical, or methodologically innovative perspectives. The Lab welcomes projects on topics such as AI, demographic change, infrastructural development, anticipatory governance, adaptation regimes, sensing technology, and related areas. Applicants are encouraged to think broadly and creatively about how transformation can be understood, experienced, narrated, and practiced, and to align their proposal with one of the Lab’s three conceptual streams: Epistemologies of Transformation, Disruption and Transformation, or Scales and Temporalities of Transformation.

Applicants must already hold a PhD at the time of application and provide proof of a successfully defended doctoral dissertation. Applications must be submitted in English, or with certified English translations where needed. Required documents include a cover letter, academic CV with publications, proof of degrees, proof of the PhD, and a short proposal that explains the applicant’s understanding of transformation and includes a reflection on how the project fits one of the conceptual streams.

The fellowship rates depend on career level, and work spaces are provided in Leuphana’s Central Building. One fellowship is reserved for an applicant currently based at a university in Scotland as part of the Lower Saxony–Scotland academic partnership coordinated by the European Centre for Advanced Studies (ECAS). The application deadline is 30 September 2026, and selection begins in October 2026.

Leuphana University of Lüneburg is located in Germany and offers a strong interdisciplinary setting with more than 20 professors and over 50 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers connected to the Transformation Lab. The opportunity is highly relevant for researchers seeking an academic postdoctoral environment combined with structured support for future grant applications in transformation-related fields.