MJRC Fellowship

The MJRC fellowship program is centered around a research project that fellows will develop in cooperation and with the support of the center. We can offer the affiliation of MJRC Fellow, intellectual and programmatic guidance during the research project as well as support in publication of papers and reports through our own publications series as well as those run by our academic partners. The center is affiliated and cooperates with the University of Santiago de Compostela. Several more academic affiliations will be announced in 2023.

Fellows have the possibility to engage with our expert community and participate in our events. They are also encouraged to design their own courses and classes for academic and non-academic audiences.

The program is targeted to professionals with a global profile in their field of expertise, as well as promising young researchers and journalists who want to grow and boost their experience. Depending on availability of funding, the center launches calls for applications for funded fellowships in specific areas within the field. We cooperate with potential partners (NGOs, foundations, companies, individuals) that are interested in funding our fellowship program.

We now welcome fellows who are pursuing or want to pursue work in the research areas that the center is prioritizing in its 2023-2025 strategy.

How to apply for a fellowship with our center

We accept applications for a fellowship with our center on a rolling basis. The application consists of a research proposal that would explain the topic of the research and the methods planned to be used in conducting the research, the synergy with our center’s strategy and an explanation of how the fellowship would help the expert in pursuing their research work. See below a template offering guidance for applicants.

Research proposal template for the MJRC Fellowship

We expect a basic research proposal that would cover in brief all the aspects below.

1) Working title for the research project: the topic of the research

Here it’s important to specify what the topic of the research is and describe in clear terms why it fits with the MJRC’s strategy.

2) Statement about what you want to work on and why it is relevant and realistic to achieve

In this part, the main research objectives should be articulated in the form of hypotheses, research questions, or problems to solve. We expect you to tell us why you think research will make a difference, what research gaps it will fill, and explain to use its added value. In this part, we expect you to tell for how long you want to focus on this research, which will tell us whether it is realistic or not.

3) Brief background knowledge and context of the area in which you wish to work, including key literature, people, and research findings 

In this part you should tell us how your work links to the work of others in the same field.

4) Brief list of methods/approach you might use 

In this part, we expect you to tell us how you will conduct your research: making use of existing theories and methods/approaches and/or developing new ones.

5) Strategy and timetable for your research project 

In this part, we expect the applicant to add detail about the main stages of the project, including some basic timeline.

All five sections should be covered, but section 2 in particular is key because it is the main purpose of the project, being the basis for completing the research. There is no specific guideline on the length of the research proposal, but in general 1,000 to 2,000 words would be sufficient.

Applicants should also send their CV along with the research proposal to [email protected].

An academic commission at MJRC, consisting of five experts with long experience in running research projects, will evaluate the application and make a recommendation to the center’s director on whether the application and the applicant’s credentials are suitable for a fellowship with the center. The members of the academic commission are changed every six months.

Simone Benazzo

Yijing Chen

Cerasel Cuteanu

Fatima el Issawi

Sulochana Peiris

Andrei Richter

Courtney Radsch

David Ruzicka

Anastasiia Vorozhtsova