🇪🇺 Research Fellowship for Young Europeans 🔬 Shape Europe's Future with the Charlemagne Prize Fellowship 💡 (Up to €25,000)

If you are a young researcher, policy expert, or innovator with a bold idea for a better Europe, the Charlemagne Prize Fellowship gives you the funding, mentorship, and platform to make it real. This one-year, non-resident programme lets you run your own research project from wherever you are in Europe, connect with high-level European decision-makers, and present your work at a prestigious concluding summit, all backed by a stipend of up to €25,000.

About the Fellowship

The Charlemagne Prize Fellowship is an endowed, one-year, non-resident programme of the European Charlemagne Prize Academy, addressing European junior researchers, next-generation policy experts, innovators, and thought leaders who work toward a better European Union.

As a contribution to European integration and to the exchange of the young generation in Europe, the Academy aims to identify future challenges and problems of European society and, by awarding research fellowships annually, to develop approaches to solutions at an early stage. These are discussed in dialogue with representatives from science, politics, business, and the public to determine their feasibility and practicability.

A unique aspect of the Fellowship is the connection with former Charlemagne Prize Laureates and participation in the Charlemagne Prize award ceremony in Aachen in spring. The Academy is purely virtual, meaning Fellows conduct their projects independently under academic supervision in their respective countries of residence, or at the local offices of an institution of their choice, allowing them to pursue the Fellowship alongside their professional or academic positions.

The Annual Focus Topic 2026/2027: Debugging Europe

The theme for the research year is "Debugging Europe: Building Capability in an Unfamiliar World." The postwar settlement gave Europe decades of relative stability, growing prosperity, and deepening integration, a sense of continuity that was earned, but is now over. The overlapping shocks of recent years have exposed the limits of systems designed for a more predictable world: supply chains built for efficiency rather than robustness, institutions designed for consensus rather than speed, and societies structured around stability rather than adaptive capacity.

Borrowed from software, "debugging" means identifying hidden flaws, faulty assumptions, and outdated operating logic that prevent a system from performing as intended. In the European context, this spans governance and institutional design, innovation systems, economic and social structures, technological and energy infrastructures, and the broader frameworks through which Europe responds to change. The question for this research year is not how Europe recovers what it had, but what it builds next.

The Academy invites young researchers and professionals across all fields to submit diverse, imaginative proposals offering concrete, actionable solutions. The strongest applications will focus on a specific, clearly defined challenge rather than a general diagnosis, welcome innovative and interdisciplinary methodologies, and move from insight to implementation, producing tangible outcomes that extend beyond the research year itself.

What They Offer

💶 Financial support of up to €25,000 for your individual research project, helping you implement your ideas independently

🧑‍🏫 Administrative and scientific support, including a mentor who is an expert in your research field

🌐 An expanding network within the Charlemagne Prize Network, including partner organisations, Academy alumni, networking events, the Charlemagne Prize Summit, and the award ceremony in spring

🧠 Time and space to implement an individual project before entering the professional world or academia independently

🎤 The chance to present your work and engage with international decision-makers, building your confidence and skills

⭐ The opportunity to mark an exceptional path on your CV

Eligibility

🎓 University graduates, young professionals, and employees of scientific, political, economic, or cultural institutions or organisations

👥 Individuals or groups who would like to research a specified topic within 12 months

🔬 Previous research experience

📜 A postgraduate degree, preferably a Master's degree or equivalent

🎂 Younger than 35 years old

🗣️ Professional English language skills, minimum C1

🇪🇺 Citizen of an EU member state, or resident in Europe during project implementation (the project is conducted in an EU member state, or as an EU citizen in a non-EU country)

Application Requirements

In addition to the eligibility criteria, applicants must submit an innovative research proposal compatible with the annual focus, demonstrate the current and prospective relevance of the research question, and propose a host institution for the duration of the Fellowship.

Your research proposal (maximum 6,000 characters, around 2 pages) should include:

❓ The research question and a brief description of your research idea, based on the annual focus topic

💡 Your motivation to research this topic and its social and political relevance

📅 First ideas about your personal timeline and possible milestones

👥 A first description of which audience groups outside academia your research could be of special interest to

✨ A short explanation of what makes your research question unique and progressive in shaping Europe's future

Who They Are Looking For

🚀 Projects and research questions that go beyond mainstream issues, exploring visionary ideas, analysing emerging developments, and offering solutions to current and future challenges

🤝 University graduates, young professionals, and institutional employees

🧭 Reliable personalities with previous research experience, working individually or in groups

Timetable

🗓️ Application period: 22 June to 31 July 2026

💬 Interviews: September 2026

🎉 Kick-off event: 4 to 5 November 2026

🔬 First research quarter: December to February, with the first milestone presented in February

📊 Second research quarter: March to May, with the second milestone presented in May

🏛️ Participation in the Aachen Week: 3 to 6 May 2027

📈 Third research quarter: June to August, with research results completed September to October

🏆 Final presentation and publication at the concluding Summit in autumn 2027

Selection Process

After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation email. Applications are checked for completeness and eligibility before being analysed by a high-level and diverse selection committee. Shortlisted candidates are invited to short online interviews (approximately 10 to 15 minutes) in September, and the final decision is made by the Foundation Board in October. If selected, the grant agreement and mentoring contract are signed before the official stipend award ceremony in November.

By accepting the Fellowship, the Fellow agrees to fulfil individually appointed milestones, attend the kick-off event and the concluding Summit, cooperate with academic mentors and the Foundation, and allow the research outcomes to be published during and after the research process.

How to Apply

Upload the following documents in English: your CV (PDF, mandatory), your research proposal (PDF, mandatory), and optional supporting documents, references, and certificates combined in one PDF file.