Doctoral College on Digital Humanism 2023
This call is issued within the WWTF Programme Information and Communication Technology.
This call finances the establishment of a joint "Doctoral College on Digital Humanism" (DCDH) at Viennese universities with the optional inclusion of non-university research institutions. “Doctoral College” is thereby a generative term in distinction from the technical term Doctoral School / Doktoratsschule. The latter employs its own curriculum. The DCDH does not aim to establish a new doctoral study programme (with a curriculum). The DCDH is intended to be complementary and cross-cutting based on existing doctoral studies. Thus, the doctoral students who are members of the DCDH are enrolled in existing doctoral study programs at the participating universities.
The funding of the DCDH supports doctoral students in the area of Digital Humanism. The doctoral students will receive funding for their positions for a duration of 4 years. Funding also covers the organization and administration of the DCDH. Over a maximum of three consecutive recruitment rounds, a cohort of approx. 25-30 doctoral students will be established, who will focus their doctoral studies on the topic of digital humanism. At least 50% of the doctoral students funded by the means of this call should pursue a degree in ICT disciplines. The doctoral positions will be financed by (i) funds from this call, (ii) financial contributions from the participating institutions.
Further doctoral students will participate through the WWTF project call Digital Humanism 2023, which will also employ doctoral students in larger numbers starting in 2024. These doctoral students should – as a rule – automatically become members of the DCDH and their supervisors will be part of the Faculty of the DCDH, as the quality assurance mechanisms in the selection of the WWTF funded Digital Humanism projects are regarded as equivalent to those within the DCDH.
Beyond that, further associated doctoral students can be part of the DCDH. The management of the DCDH should suggest appropriate mechanisms if and how such students can be admitted. Here, doctoral students may partake whose doctoral study is already in a more advanced stage.
Doctoral Students financed via the DCDH must pursue a research topic that is independent from those of the projects of the WWTF Digital Humanism Project call – i.e., the DCDH is not intended as additional funding for the WWTF Digital Humanism Project Call.
Substantial resources and efforts will go into common activities of the doctoral school. Students acquire a PhD in their discipline with additional knowledge from other areas in the sense of a complementarity between ICT and SSH (social sciences and humanities including artistic research). Students encounter each other in recurring formats. The same applies to the group of supervisors (the Faculty), who make a joint effort to further develop teaching content and formats and form a strong voice Digital Humanism in terms of visibility and communication of the topic.
Applicants may specify the topic of “Digital Humanism” to the needs and requirements of their purposes, however, the DCDH should cover a broader spectrum of topics to demonstrate openness and allow for an interdisciplinary exchange among students and faculty members across many scientific fields. Applicants are free to choose a different title for the doctoral college in so far as the term “Digital Humanism” is included.
WWTF invites larger consortia to the submission of a proposal to facilitate cooperation between universities and research institutions in Vienna and to allow for critical masses in the area of Digital Humanism. These consortia must have a strong foothold in ICT and SSH fields. WWTF has a strong preference for one consortium which includes all main actors of Digital Humanism in Vienna.