Commitment, rules & regulations

Alongside time and space for their own research, the intellectual and informal exchange between fellows forms the core of a NIAS fellowship. A thriving research community fosters individual growth, and individuals who thrive in turn strengthen the community that makes productive research possible. The communal lunches and the weekly seminar, at which fellows present their work in progress, are central to this.

The first two weeks of the fellowship form an introductory period in which newly arrived fellows get to know one another. They are given information about life in the Netherlands and Amsterdam and about the academic world here, and receive help with practical arrangements. Each fellow gives a short presentation of the research they will be working on during their stay at NIAS, and the new cohort is given a warm welcome at the NIAS Opening of the Academic Year. For this reason, we ask fellows to be present full-time during these first two weeks.

After the introductory period, NIAS asks fellows to be at the institute at least four days a week, including the weekly fellows’ seminar on Thursday afternoon. We strongly recommend that fellows make arrangements with their home institution before the fellowship begins, so that they can immerse themselves in their residency as fully as possible.

The detailed conditions of each fellowship can be found on the relevant fellowship page. An overview of all our fellowships is available on the Fellowships page.

Everyone at NIAS is committed to academic freedom, to the mission of NIAS, and to the integrity of the institute, its colleagues and partners, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which NIAS is part. We also uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the rule of law in the Netherlands.

Together we create and maintain a civil, inquisitive and engaged environment, a community in which everyone feels encouraged to share their perspectives, including those that are tentative, challenging, uncomfortable or outside the dominant norm. The NIAS Code of Conduct exists to safeguard this environment. It forms part of the NIAS Fellowship Agreement, and we expect all fellows to commit to it.

Fellows coming from outside the Netherlands are responsible for arranging their own health and liability insurance, with adequate cover for the entire period of their stay. Non-residents who are not employed in the Netherlands cannot make claims on the Dutch social security system.