tu.hosts

Doctoral researchers can invite high-ranking scientists (usually professors) from universities or research institutions abroad to TU Dortmund University.

The costs for travel, accommodation, event and/or honorarium are covered by tu.hosts - up to an amount of 4,000 euros.

Please note that catering costs are not covered by tu.hosts funding.

tu.hosts offers financial support - the guest stay itself will be organized by the doctoral researchers who receive the funding.

Stays of up to one week are eligible for funding. The visiting researcher must give a public lecture at the university, offer a workshop, or make a comparable offer.

Eligible to apply for tu.hosts are enrolled doctoral researchers of TU Dortmund University.

If your application was not successful, you may apply again in the next round.

Each doctoral researcher can only receive tu.hosts funding once.

For the tu.hosts funding application we need the following documents:

• an informal letter of intent/commitment of the visiting researcher to give the planned lecture/workshop/offerings
• a concept paper (max. 1 page), which should include the following information:
  • scientific background of the visiting researcher
  • planned events within the framework of the guest stay
  • thematic connection of the planned lecture/workshop/offer to the applicant's dissertation project and/or research environment
  • expected costs of the planned guest stay
• enrollment certificate of the applicant
• CV of the applicant

Please upload all documents in one PDF file in the application form.

The tu.hosts grants are awarded once a year. The application deadline is 15 November of each year.

Funding must be accessed within 12 months from the date of award.

The applications are reviewed by the Senate's Standing Commission for Research and the Support Early Career Researchers (SK FuN).

The commission selects the best applications according to the following criteria:

• Reputation of the invited personality: high-ranking/established researchers from foreign universities or research institutions (there must be a letter of intent or proof of contact).
• Program concept: type (e.g., lecture, workshop, or conference), timing, and sequence of the planned event
• Connection of the planned event with the doctoral topic, the research group or the research environment of the applicant
• Adequacy of the expected costs

The decision on the approvals lies with the Rectorate of the TU Dortmund University.

Once funding has been approved, doctoral researchers have one year to spend their tu.hosts funds.

There is no fixed number of grants per call round. The number of successful applications depends on the quality of the applications and the total budget available.

Formalities:

• Make sure your application documents are complete.
• Adhere to the application deadline (until 23:59 on May 15 / 15 November).
• Adhere to specifications such as the maximum length of documents (max. 1 page for concept paper).

Content:

• Reputation of the invited person: Clarify (also for reviewers from other disciplines) why the researcher has a special reputation in your field or research topic. In the case of younger visiting researchers, you can also make their potential visible.
• Program concept: Show that you will make optimal use of the guest stay for yourself and your colleagues, e.g. through a good combination of event types (lecture, workshop, colloquium, etc.).
• The connection of the planned event with the doctoral topic, the working group or the research environment of the applicant: Explain in an understandable way (also for reviewers from other disciplines) how the visiting researcher relates to your own research.
• Adequacy of the expected costs: Provide a comprehensible calculation of the expected costs.

The formal foundation of the program is the tu.hosts award guideline:  Vergaberichtlinie (14. Oct. 2024)