Apply for the research leave scheme at Iméra
Period: February 3rd, 2028 – June 28th, 2028
A programme in an international and interdisciplinary setting: a residency specially designed for tenured lecturers and researchers at Sciences Po Aix.
This call for applications opens on September 21st, 2026
Iméra, the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) of Aix Marseille Université, is a sanctuary of intellectual freedom where a temporary community of leading international scientists and artists can find the time, space and resources needed to discover new meaning and substance for their research. This is a new initiative, conceived in collaboration with Sciences Po Aix, open to lecturers and researchers at Sciences Po Aix, enabling them to spend six months re-examining their relationship with their discipline and with other fields of knowledge whilst engaging with residents from a wide variety of geographical and disciplinary backgrounds.
This research leave entails a complete exemption from teaching duties for its entire duration (preferably during the second semester). The successful candidate may be provided with an office in one of the workspaces at Iméra, shared with the other residents.
A minimum of two days per week on-site at Iméra is required.
Research projects must fall within one of Iméra’s four scientific programmes: ‘Arts & Sciences: Interdisciplinary Knowledge’, ‘Interdisciplinary Dialogues’, ‘Mediterranean’ and ‘Necessary Utopias’, in which the fellow will play an active role, for example by taking part in workshops and seminars. At the same time, participation in the Community-Building Seminar provides a weekly opportunity to engage with all residents and members of Iméra’s scientific team in order to discuss questions and methods, and even to experiment with research and/or creative formats developed collaboratively. The two languages of communication are French and English. In a spirit of camaraderie, the seminar is always followed by a lunch with all the residents and the institute’s team.
The Arts & Sciences: Interdisciplined Knowledge’ programme
The ‘Arts & Sciences: Interdisciplined Knowledge’ programme is aimed at researchers working on or with art, as well as artists engaged in practice-based research stemming from their artistic practice. Broadly speaking, this programme recognises the contributions of art to interdisciplinary and societal issues with multiple dimensions, ranging from individual development to major social, political and identity-related challenges. Collectively led by all members of Iméra’s scientific team, this programme is cross-cutting in the sense that each project it hosts is also closely linked to a theme falling within one of Iméra’s three other programmes (see below). Consequently, any applicant interested in this programme is also encouraged to identify one of Iméra’s three other programmes in order to propose a project that combines the characteristics of both.
For any enquiries regarding this programme, please contact Constance Moréteau, scientific coordinator and head of development for the Arts and Sciences programme: constance.moreteau@univ-amu.fr
The Interdisciplinary Dialogues programme:
The programme is aimed at researchers who demonstrate a keen interest in the interactions and dialogue between different disciplines, whatever they may be (humanities, social sciences, natural and environmental sciences, the arts, etc.). Proposals must have an interdisciplinary dimension focusing either on a specific theme, methodological issues, or both. Projects addressing the practices and ethics of interdisciplinarity, as well as its legitimacy, are welcome. Priority will be given to projects by researchers who have already produced innovative and original results in their own field through dialogue with another discipline; however, new research challenges will also be viewed favourably. This programme is also open to scientific or artistic projects relating to the theories, practices and limitations of interdisciplinarity in academic research and higher education. Potential research projects may focus, in particular, on the transfer of concepts, models of interdisciplinarity, critical analyses of interdisciplinary analogies, and the intersections between the natural sciences and the humanities.
For any enquiries regarding this programme, please contact Maxime Nicolas, Director of the Interdisciplinary Dialogues programme: maxime.nicolas@univ-amu.fr
The Mediterranean programme:
For thousands of years, the Mediterranean world has been a dynamic crossroads for the movement of people, goods, artefacts and ideas. The historical developments of the Mediterranean continue to shape this sea and the contemporary world in many ways. The ‘Mediterranean’ programme focuses on Mediterranean cultures and societies from antiquity to the present day, and explores this maritime world through innovative research, historical interpretations and interdisciplinary analyses. It draws on comprehensive and comparative analyses to develop new ways of understanding Mediterranean societies and their relationships with the rest of the world. Building on these interdisciplinary reflections, the ‘Mediterranean’ programme welcomes new studies that are essential to understanding the development of societies and environments in the contemporary Mediterranean. The central research themes of the ‘Mediterranean’ programme are as follows: oceanic spaces, coastal communities, cultural exchanges, belief systems and maritime conflicts. The programme encourages new scientific research and the development of creative projects on all aspects of human societies and marine ecologies in the Mediterranean world.
For any enquiries regarding this programme, please contact Brian Sandberg, Director of the Mediterranean Programme: bsandberg@niu.edu
The ‘Necessary Utopias’ programme:
The programme welcomes academics and artists from all disciplines. ‘Necessary utopias’ are challenges – both global and local – that contemporary society regards as crucial and which it is desirable to address, given their undeniable urgency, but which cannot be overcome without thinking and acting differently. The programme takes a specific approach to these issues, so that they may inspire not only fear, indifference, denial and resignation, but also hope. It identifies, within an institute for advanced studies situated in a city such as Marseille, one of the places where these necessary utopias may be most likely to be discerned or invented. The areas of invention and application envisaged by the programme include, but are not limited to: war and peace, the crisis of political participation, social hope and collective intelligence, work, urban issues and ecological crises, health, migration, economic and social inequalities, as well as education.
For any enquiries regarding this programme, please contact Enrico Donaggio, Scientific Director of Iméra and the ‘Necessary Utopias’ programme: enrico.donaggio@univ-amu.fr
Following an initial assessment of the project’s eligibility and feasibility by Sciences Po Aix, eligible projects are assessed by two experts from the academic world, external to Aix Marseille Université, selected for their level of scientific expertise and their relevance to the project, in accordance with the assessment criteria set out below.
The candidate’s academic record, marked out of 5 (weighting: 1)
- The candidate’s scientific expertise in the subject presented;
- International experience.
The relevance of the project’s inclusion in the Iméra scheme, marked out of 5 (weighting factor 1)
- Inclusion in one of the institute’s scientific programmes, and consideration of one or more of its research areas;
- Level of openness to the collegial aspect of the institute (potential for dialogue with its research team and other residents).
Quality and ambition of the project, marked out of 5 (weighting factor 1)
- Appropriateness of the scientific approach and rigour;
- Originality of the method and/or subject;
- Risk-taking and experimentation.
The interdisciplinary approach, marked out of 5 (weighting: 1)
- Proven experience of interdisciplinary work on the part of the candidate;
- The feasibility of this within this project.
Total: marked out of 20
- This call is open solely to tenured academic staff at Sciences Po Aix – senior lecturers and professors – regardless of their discipline.
- Of these, only those who can demonstrate at least a passive knowledge of English – which is one of the two languages used in communication with the other residents, particularly during the Community-Building Seminar – are eligible.
The placement lasts 5 months and is preferably carried out in the second semester: from 3 February 2028 to 28 June 2028
The online application consists of the following documents:
| 21 September 2026 (10.00 am) | Launch of the call for applications. Complete applications should be sent to Constance Moréteau, scientific coordinator at Iméra: constance.moreteau@univ-amu.fr |
| 26 October 2026 (4.00 pm) | Closing date for applications |
| 6 November 2026 | Forwarding of eligible applications to Sciences Po Aix for administrative approval |
| 20 November 2026 | Receipt of feedback from Sciences Po Aix by Iméra |
| From 20 November 2026 to 4 April 2027 | Double assessment of applications by external experts at the Aix-Marseille site |
| 23 April 2027 | Submission of the ranking of applications by Iméra to Sciences Po Aix |
| 10 May 2027 | Outcome of the call |
Information
- For any general enquiries regarding the research leave scheme at Iméra, please contact:
- Constance Moréteau, scientific coordinator at Iméra: constance.moreteau@univ-amu.fr
- Sciences Po Aix Research Directorate: direction-recherche@sciencespo-aix.fr
- For any enquiries regarding any of Iméra’s thematic scientific programmes, please contact the programme manager (see the box above).
