Deadline: 15-Sep-25
The Digital Democracy Centre is inviting applications for its TrygFonden Fellowship Program.
For this call, they are seeking the next cohort of fellows for their exciting and dynamic fellowship program starting in 2026. The fellowship program aims to foster collaboration between researchers, journalists, and policymakers in exploring the impact of digital technology and AI on media, politics, and democracy.
Through the fellowship program, selected fellows will have the opportunity to generate new knowledge, contribute to the public debate, develop new networks, collaborate with a mentor at DDC, the larger DDC environment, and its partners, and produce tangible outreach outputs such as policy briefs, educational packages, and talks.
Purpose
- The purpose of the Fellowship Program is to utilize and leverage the knowledge of DDC in a new way. The objective is to generate new knowledge and foster interaction between TrygFonden, DDC, new and existing partners of DDC, and the selected fellows.
- They aim for the Fellowship program to lead to new knowledge and tangible outputs, such as new networks, new collaborations, educational packages, contributions to the public debate in Denmark and beyond, policy briefs, talks, and other outreach activities.
- Accepted fellows are eligible for various benefits. Besides their relationship with their self-selected DDC mentor, these benefits may include financial support, access to DDCs research resources, flexible working spaces, speaker series, and networks, and a platform to showcase their work and be part of the larger DDC alumni network.
- The specific benefits and support provided may differ based on the agreement between the individual fellow, DDC, and any partnering organizations.
Expectations
- During their fellowship, fellows are expected to actively engage in activities related to DDC, collaborate with other fellows or researchers within DDC, participate in seminars or workshops, and contribute to the overall objectives of the fellowship program and DDC.
- This can include stays of varying lengths at the DDC. Stays should generally be planned to adhere to the Danish working calendar and should be coordinated with the respective mentor. Fellows are also required to present their findings, e.g., participate in public outreach activities.
- Maximum two months after their fellowship, fellows are expected to hand in a short report about their fellowship experiences. Fellows will also be automatically included in the larger DDC alumni network.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Digital Democracy Centre x TrygFonden fellowship program welcomes a diverse range of fellows. The target group of the fellowship program is researchers, journalism graduates, and policymakers who may currently hold various positions in national and international research and educational institutions as well as in media organizations, ministries, NGOs, etc.
- As such, the Digital Democracy Centre x TrygFonden fellowship offers three types of fellowships:
- Academic fellows (who research digital technologies and democracy)
- Journalist fellows (who cover digital technology and democracy)
- Policy fellows (who contribute to the regulatory debate on digital technology and democracy)
Application Requirements
- Candidates interested in a fellowship in 2026 are required to submit an application that includes a CV and an individual project plan, which should include a proposal for a specific project to be carried out in collaboration with a practice partner.
- This could, for example, be a concrete invention that is linked to an ongoing research project either at DDC or at other research institutions, it could involve practical collaborations with NGOs and/or consumer organizations, media organizations, or with public institutions such as schools, ministries, etc. It could also involve creating political recommendations or informing practical initiatives in public administration.
- The application must be written in English.
- The application should contain the following:
- Preliminary project title
- Brief project description and purpose (max 1000 characters)
- Detailed description and timeline (max 2400 characters)
- Including the confirmed mentor
- Including expectations for the fellowship duration (min. two months can include shorter stays at the DDC and remote periods) and a start date within the Danish working times.
- Work plan (distribution between remote work/in-office work at Odense, Denmark, etc.)
- Description of specific activities and collaboration with external practice partners (max 1000 characters)
- Expected product, impact, and output (max 500 characters)
- Attached CV (max 5 pages)
- An overview of the posts for which financial support is sought (e.g., flights, housing, research costs, compensation for salary, stipend, etc.)
For more information, visit DDC.