Call for applications: POPBACK Policy Fellowship opportunity

Professionals from Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Turkey who are active in public policy fields in government, NGOs, media and law among other sectors are invited to apply for a Policy Fellowship opportunity offered by the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge as part of the POPBACK project.

POPBACK (Populist Backlash, Democratic Backsliding, and the Crisis of the Rule of Law in the European Union) is a transnational, interdisciplinary research project led by Dr Gerhard Schnyder, Director of the Institute for International Management at Loughborough University London.

An academic consortium, POPBACK is carrying out research to inform strategies to increase democratic resilience by studying the mechanisms that "exclusionary populist" movements use to increase their power by undermining the rule of law and eroding the divide between the public and private domains in the areas of law, the economy, and the media. The project also seeks to identify the "coping strategies" societal actors use when faced with exclusionary populism. For more information please visit the project webpage.

About the Policy Fellowship

The Policy Fellowship is a flexible professional development programme which includes a week spent in the UK at the University of Cambridge, and in London meeting researchers and policy officials to exchange knowledge and access research and expertise. The consortium anticipate that the residency week for Policy Fellows will take place during November 2021.

Policy Fellows are invited to pose up to 6 policy questions relevant to their work, which relate to the research of POPBACK and that could form the basis of discussion with academic researchers and other experts. The consortium will provide access to leading researchers across a range of disciplines.

Policy Fellows are associated with CSaP and the POPBACK project for two years, alongside their jobs, and have the chance to make the most of connections that they make, to pursue policy objectives with academic input.

How to apply

If you are interested in the opportunity, the application can be found here, and inquiries can be addressed to Nicola Buckley, CSaP Associate Director, at policyfellows@csap.cam.ac.uk. The deadline for applications is 19 March 2021 - 12am GMT. Applications will be assessed by an election panel.

Further information

This project will cover the expenses for the successful candidates to visit Cambridge and London, UK and become a Policy Fellow of the Centre for Science and Policy.

The successful candidates are responsible for making their own visa applications to visit the UK for a one-week professional visit.

The POPBACK research project and this Policy Fellowship opportunity is funded by NORFACE, a partnership of national research funding agencies in Europe dedicated to leading and developing opportunities for scientists in the area of social and behavioural sciences.

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

Specialising exclusively in postgraduate-level study, Loughborough University London is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers cutting-edge master’s and PhD degrees, as well as business collaboration, research and enterprise opportunities.

The seven specialist institutes at Loughborough University London include: Design Innovation, Digital Technologies, Diplomacy and International Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Management, Media and Creative Industries, and Sport Business. Close industry partnerships with a wealth of leading businesses and creative organisations means teaching and learning is informed by real-life challenges and driven by true industry pressures.