Associate Fellowship

Associate fellows are are established researchers or artists affiliated with ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, or the Zurich University of the Arts. They act as academic partners to early-career or senior fellows and help them establish contacts within Zurich’s academic and cultural community during their stay at the Collegium.

About the fellowship

Usually, associate fellows are tenured or tenure-track faculty. If this is not the case, two associate fellows may jointly support an early-career fellow with a co-signed letter of support. In these cases, one of the co-signers must be a professor or department chair. In justified cases, individuals from the cultural sector, business, or civil society may be appointed as associate fellows by the director.

Attendance and participation

Associate fellows benefit from the Collegium’s innovative, international environment and the opportunities it offers for inter- and transdisciplinary exchange. They will attend events organized by the early-career or senior fellow they support and will help them to connect with the ETH Zurich, UZH, or ZHdK community as well as Zurich’s wider cultural and academic scene. Any participation in the activities of the Collegium beyond this is welcome.

Duration

The associate fellowship starts and ends with the early-career/senior fellowship, but the connection to the Collegium will hopefully continue.

Supporting an early-career fellow

Potential candidates for early-career fellowships must not have been employed under the associate fellow's direct supervision within the twelve months prior to the start of the fellowship.

Each associate fellow may support only one application in a specific field. A second application can be supported only if it is in a clearly distinct field.

Letter of support

At the application stage, potential associate fellows are required to provide an assessment of the applicant and their project; they confirm their willingness to provide a letter of support if the candidate is long-listed. The letter itself will be requested and uploaded only once the candidate reaches this stage.

The letter of support details why and how the associate fellow will support the early-career fellow’s project and how they can help to build links with Zurich’s academic and art communities

Responsibilities

Associate fellows may agree to integrate early-career fellows into their group part time and provide infrastructure for their project. The letter of support details why and how the associate fellow will support the early-career fellow’s project and how they can help to build links with Zurich’s academic and art communities.

Supporting a senior fellow

Letter of support

The potential associate fellow will be contacted by an applicant and asked to write a short letter of support for their application. Find a template and information on the letter here.

Responsibilities

If you are the sponsor of a sabbatical visitor or visiting professor, you remain the lead host during the senior fellowship period. It is your responsibility to initiate the necessary administrative procedures in accordance with your institution’s regulations in a timely manner, including securing a valid work permit for the guest.

Please note that the fellowship may be considered taxable income for your guest. The Collegium provides a gross honorarium of CHF 1,000 per month, which is paid by the host university according to the established model. Associate fellows at the University of Zurich (UZH) and Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) are responsible for ensuring that the honorarium is invoiced to the Collegium, which will then reimburse UZH and ZHdK accordingly. For senior fellows invited by an ETH host professor, the Collegium administration will arrange for the fellowship (funded by the Collegium) to be added to the ETH payroll.

If you are the associate fellow of a senior fellow at UZH, please refer to the UZH memorandum for an explanation of how to process the monthly allowance.

Supporting a sabbatical-at-home senior fellow

Associate fellows collaborate with the senior fellow on a topic of shared interest across disciplinary boundaries. They express their interest in collaboration and confirm that they want to become an associate fellow in a short, informal letter.

Questions & contact

If you have any questions about the fellowship program, please contact Deputy Director Mario Wimmer.