Kiel Training for Excellence

Objective

"KiTE-Kiel Training for Excellence 2.0 is an advanced career development programme for 16 excellent postdoctoral fellows seeking an international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral experience. The fellows are recruited in two open-topic calls following a merit-based, gender-balanced and transparent selection process. Selected according to the interdisciplinary potential of their project and their individual excellence, they will find competitive working conditions and an excellent infrastructure in Kiel. The fellows receive a three-year employment contract and the opportunity to advance their project in the truly interdisciplinary research environment in one of the four cross-faculty research areas at Kiel University: Nano-, Surface and Interface Science, Life Science, Marine Science and Social, Environmental and Cultural Change. Early independence, an accompanying training programme to promote hard and soft skills and two three-month secondments to gain new professional experience within and outside academia will enable them to unleash their potential and diversify their career prospects. By contributing €2.7million in co-financing, Kiel University recognises the transformative strength of KiTE 1.0 (2023-2027) in terms of recruiting, qualifying and supervising postdocs. Building on this, KiTE 2.0 is embracing and advancing the ERA priorities of “Strengthening Research Careers” and ""Reforming Research Assessment"". This alignment with European standards makes Kiel University an attractive workplace for international talent. The opportunity to develop their own research agenda, build new international and cross-sector networks and be supported by a team of mentors enables KiTE fellows to develop new competencies and thus create excellent career prospects inside and outside of academia. Embedded in their mentor's research group and becoming part of the existing networks, they will also enrich Kiel University's open, inter- and transdisciplinary research culture. "