A fellowship designed to increase the value of the global
geothermal - heat flow database for improved project development.

What are the fellowships? The heatflow.fellowships are travel grants awarded to Ph.D. students, postdoctoral and senior researchers from all over the world. The fellowships, announced twice a year, are intended to improve the collaboration among heat-flow-related scientists and to foster our community and its collaborative networks. During the fellowships, scientists will spend their time actively assessing and extending the IHFC Global Heat Flow Database currently consisting of more than 1580 publications. One focus is set on regions with underrepresented heat-flow coverage like Latin America and Africa, as these regions are sparsely unexplored in terms of their thermal regime, and existing data are often not available to the public. The grant contributes to the expanses for travel, lodging, and living expenses for up to three months at international institutes working on heat-flow-related research, or collaborating industry partners. This is an excellent opportunity to get synergies between academia and industry with regard to getting high-quality heat-flow values used for different applications.

What we offer

  • The travel grants:
    • are awarded for research stays at different hosting institutions for usually three to six months.
    • contribute to the expenses for travel to and from your destination, lodging (student housing, shared flat, etc), and partly living expenses (200 €).
  • The costs of your travel will be reimbursed during your fellowship. The level of reimbursed costs is capped depending on the country of the selected hosting institute. Please, contact the respective host scientists for an appropriate budget plan. Travel tickets and accommodation rental contracts will be signed and paid by the fellowship organizers directly.
  • The travel grants do not cover costs for local travel during the stay, visa, or insurance, since we expect your home institution to continue to pay your salary.
  • For doctoral students and postdoc applicants from countries with comparable low incomes, additional funds for living costs may be granted. Please refer to FAQs for more information.

Who can apply

  • Applicants for the heatflow.fellowships must be experienced in heat-flow related projects. We also fund Ph.D. students during their doctoral thesis as well as postdocs. Please, read the F.A.Q.

How we decide
Candidates to the heatflow.fellowships are selected by two criteria:

  1. Applicant's achievements to date
  2. Impact of their proposal to the assessment of the IHFC global heat flow database

Once the application is received, it is carefully examined by our staff. They check whether it fulfills the formal requirements and evaluate it according to the criteria listed above. The entire selection process takes about six weeks. We will inform the applicant immediately about our decision.

Who are the hosting institutions

 

Institute Location Host scientists Hosting period Comment
GFZ PotsdamPotsdam, Germany Sven Fuchs, Ben Norden, Florian Neumannat any time
Sorbonne UniversityParis, FranceJeffrey Poort, Frederique RolandoneSep-Nov 2024, 2025?
Nanjing UniversityNanjing, ChinaShaowen LiuMar-Jun 2025, Sep-Dec 2025Chinese speaking only!
University of MelbourneMelbourne, AustraliaGraeme Beardsmoreat any time
University of GenoaGenoa, ItalyMassimo VerdoyaJan 2025...
CICESEEnsenada, MexicoRaquel Negrete Aranda2025?A minimal knowledge of basic Spanish will help

Fellows

Current and past fellows

                       

How to apply
The application for a travel grant consists of two parts:

  • Let us know who you are:
    1. provide a motivation letter, list at least two preferred host institutions with a hosting period
    2. Your CV (not more than one page),
    3. a list of your publications/contributions (not more than one page),
    4. a reference letter (required for PhD's only)
  • Let us know what you want to achieve: provide a one-page proposal on the expected work, including your travel budget.

Your application must be written in English. The submission deadlines are the 01st of September and 01st of March.

Apply now!

FAQ

Read the more detailed online FAQ.

Which nationalities are supported?
We support researchers from across the world. However, since the grants are provided under EU law, there are currently limitations to colleagues from a number of countries. Please, check the EU sanction list. If you are unsure whether you are eligible to apply, please contact us.

Can a travel grant be used across the world?
Yes. You can select one of the listed hosting locations and heat-flow research institutions.

How often does the heatflow.fellowship grant the same researcher?
You may be awarded more than one travel grant. However, within any 24-month period, only one travel grant will be awarded to the same researcher.

Is there an application deadline?
Applications for travel grants may be submitted twice a year. The submission deadline is the 1st of September and the 1st of March.

What is the procedure if the departure is postponed?
Please, send an email to fellowship@heatflow.world informing us why the trip has to be postponed, and giving the new departure date.

Can I apply for additional funds if I am working in a country with low income?
Yes, you can apply for an additional 200 euros per month for living costs. Please use the letter to specify this and add these funds to the total amount you are applying for.

When and how is the money transferred?
Upon approval of the travel grant, we will contact you with detailed information. Usually, the grants are awarded in the form of a reimbursement earliest to the beginning of the fellowship.