The Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) at the University of Luxembourg awards fellowships for a period of two or three months for doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, senior researchers or oral history practitioners as a part of the joint project “LivArch – Documenting Russia’s war against Ukraine: The challenges of living archives for historical knowledge production”. Our total fellowship budget covers 6 months. The proposed period is between 1 October 2025 and 31 December 2025.
Aims
The fellowship supports scholars and practitioners who wish to participate to the research agenda of the LivArch and U-CORE projects (introductions below). There is a particular interest in projects that align with the ongoing research on oral testimonies at the C²DH. At the C²DH, you will have the opportunity to collaborate closely with scholars collecting and analysing oral testimonies. The working language is English.
LIVARCH – Documenting Russia’s War Against Ukraine: The Challenges of Living Archives for Historical Knowledge Production
LivArch is a joint project within the “Leibniz Collaborative Excellence” funding program. The project explores the unique challenges posed by the ongoing war in Ukraine, where historical records are largely created through real-time, digitally born sources – often from grassroots efforts on social media, mobile devices, and satellite data. Focusing on emergency digital preservation and ethical considerations, LivArch analyzes this new landscape of community-driven archiving, drawing lessons from Ukraine’s experience. Through international collaboration, the project seeks to develop methodologies for handling sensitive digital archives and assess the impact of these shifts on the future of historical research and writing. More information: LivArch.
U-CORE – Researching the Collecting, Preserving, Analysing and Disclosing of Ukrainian Testimonies of the War
U-CORE is a continuation of documentation activities initiated in spring 2022 as part of the “February 24, 2022, 5 a.m.: War Testimonies” initiative by researchers from Ukraine, Poland, Luxembourg, Great Britain and Germany, whose aim was to record the Ukrainian experience of a full-scale invasion. A three-year grant financed by the National Science Center in Poland and the Luxembourg National Research Fund allows us to, among others, create a unified digital environment that will become a destination for the entire collection and possibly, in the future, attract source materials from other projects. More information: U-CORE.
Fellow profile
The fellowship is open to scholars and oral history practitioners engaging in digital humanities, with a preference for those working in the fields of history, memory studies, heritage studies, anthropology, archaeology, or museology. We are seeking researchers and practitioners interested in participating in our endeavour to create a central digital environment for oral testimonies under the auspices of the U-CORE and LivArch projects. We expect Visiting Fellows on the one hand to collaborate with us in preparing the U-CORE central digital environment for long term preservation and disclosure, and on the other hand to explore how the oral collection(s) of their own institutions could be aligned with the digital workflow created within the U-CORE project.
Offer and requirements
The monthly stipend is € 1,800. Additionally, you can receive a reimbursement of accommodation costs € 1,200 monthly, and of travel costs from Ukraine to Luxembourg and back.
During the fellowship you are required to reside at the C²DH. You will actively participate in the C²DH’s research community and its research activities. We expect you to present your work at least once during your fellowship.
Applications
The applicants should prepare a single PDF document containing the following items:
- Letter of motivation including desired begin of the fellowship.
- Curriculum vitae; a list of publications or professional activities, if available.
- A brief description of your proposed contribution, highlighting the connection to the LivArch and U-CORE projects as well as a proposed duration for the fellowship (2 or 3 months) (max. 5 pages).
- Copies of university certificates.
Applications for a postdoc fellowship should also send a copy of their dissertation.
Please send questions regarding the fellowship to Prof. Dr. Machteld Venken: machteld.venken@uni.lu.
Please send your application as a single PDF file to brigitte.dolenc@uni.lu and machteld.venken@uni.lu until 15 August, 2025.
The C²DH promotes professional equality between women and men and is committed to reconciling work and family life. We have a strong appreciation for diversity and welcome qualified applications from people with different backgrounds.
Information notice on the personal data processing in the course of your fellowship application
The University of Luxembourg (place de l’Université, L-4365 Esch-sur-Alzette) collects and process your first and last name, email address, motivation letter, CV, and copies of university certificates in the course of your application for the fellowship provided by the Herder-Institut für historische Ostmitteleuropaforschung (“Herder Institute”). Your personal data is collected to gather and assess your application and submit a list of selected applicants to members of the Board of the ‘Documenting Russia’s war against Ukraine. The challenges of living archives for historical knowledge production’ (LivArch) project coordinated by the Herder Institute for their final approval and the allocation of the fellowship grant.
The University of Luxembourg and the Herder Institute act each as independent controller of your personal data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The processing of your personal data is necessary in order to take steps prior to entering into a contract with the University for your fellowship and for the performance of the contract to be concluded (art. 6.1.b. GDPR). Your data will be stored securely and will be shared only with the Members of the Board of the LivArch project. It will remain within the EU and will be accessible only by a very limited number of scholars and employees of the University of Luxembourg and the Herder Institute involved in the LivArch project. Your data will be stored for a maximum of 10 years after the submission deadline will have passed. You have the right to access, modify, or delete your personal data and to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. You can exercise these rights by contacting Prof. dr. Machteld Venken: machteld.venken@uni.lu.
If you have questions regarding the processing of your personal data by the University of Luxembourg, you can contact the Data Protection Officer of the University by email at dpo@uni.lu or by postal mail at 2 place de l’University, L-4365 Esch-sur-Alzette.
Please note that this information notice concerns only the processing of your personal data by the University of Luxembourg. The Herder Institute is responsible for providing you a privacy notice for the processing of your personal data within the LivArch project.
Photo by AlexanderVovck, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.