About RICH

Mission and vision

RICH aims to make a significant contribution to the understanding of the changing place of Europe in the world, and to the changing world of which Europe forms a part. RICH explicitly addresses two essential questions that target the key societal issues of European contemporary humanities research:

• How and under which conditions do different kinds of loyalties, communities and categories of people emerge and disappear in a changing Europe?
• What do art and creativity mean for people and society in a changing Europe?

As researchers, we create, aggregate, promote and integrate humanities research in a wide range of disciplines in order to gain a deep understanding of the complexities of Europe’s past and present in the context of the changing world. For this, we work closely with other Radboud research institutes, Dutch universities and international academic institutions and associations. We also proactively disseminate our findings to a broad public. Our researchers work within the fields of historical, literary and cultural studies, forming flexible, cohesive and motivated multidisciplinary teams.

RICH Director and Advisory Board

Liedeke Plate is RICH Director of Research.

Since 2016, RICH has been advised by a scientific board. The scientific advisory board has an advisory and supervisory role and consists of (inter)national researchers who are excellent representatives of our field. It currently comprises:

• Martin Conway, Professor of Contemporary European History, Oxford
• Katharina Lorenz, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Giessen
• Lut Missinne, Professor of Dutch Literature, Münster
• Wayne Modest, Professor of Material Culture and Critical Heritage Studies, Amsterdam
• Nadia Lie, Professor of Spanish and Latin-American literature and film, KU Leuven

Visiting scholars

As a research institute committed to international cooperation and exchange, RICH welcomes scholars who wish to visit Radboud University in order to engage in research and scholarship, and in general scholarly and cultural interaction with Radboud University’s faculty and students. In addition to visiting scholars, visiting research professors, and visiting exchange professors who come to Nijmegen on international fellowships (e.g., Fulbright, Humboldt) or exchange programmes (e.g., Erasmus), we also welcome researchers who wish to spend (part of) their sabbatical leave at RICH. We also offer several schemes of our own: the Radboud Excellence Initiative offers talented researchers from outside the Netherlands the opportunity to visit RICH for a research stay and RICH annually invites a distinguished scholar as its RICH fellow.

How to apply for a visit?

RICH invites applications by PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows, as well as from those holding the rank of assistant professor, associate professor or full professor (or equivalents of these ranks). During their visit, scholars are considered members of the RICH research community and will have numerous opportunities to engage with staff as well as to participate in activities.

For your visit, the following terms apply:

• Visiting scholars are not University employees. Their legal status is that of guest staff (gastmedewerker).
• Research visits can start at any point in the academic year.
• As a guest staff member, you will receive access to library facilities, office space and office facilities. Note that as a general rule, RICH does not support visiting scholars financially.
• Visiting scholars are expected to contribute to local academic life, through contacts with RICH staff and the public presentation of their research, as appropriate.
• Visiting scholars are expected to acknowledge RICH support in publications prepared in whole or in part during their visit.
• A visiting scholar should obtain the sponsorship of a RICH researcher, who must be available to act as the visiting scholar‘s primary contact and local guide for professional and practical matters before and during the research stay. Applicants should approach the RICH researcher with whom they would like to work directly to obtain their statement of support.

Assistance in preparing your visit

• As accommodation can be hard to find in Nijmegen, visitors are advised start looking for accommodation early on. Information about accommodation can be found here: https://www.ru.nl/radboudinternational/english/staff/working-radboud-0/staff/accommodation/
• (Prospective) visiting scholars will receive support from the Faculty HR Office in applying for visa, residence permit, work permit or other legal documents.

How to apply

Once you have obained support from a RICH researcher, the latter will submit your application to the Research director. Applications for visiting scholar status should include:

• A cover letter containing the project title of the proposed research, the planned dates of the visit, and a statement of motivation explaining why RICH is the preferred host institution
• A one-page research plan
• A curriculum vitae
• List of two references
• A statement of support by the sponsoring RICH researcher
• Information about how you will finance your research stay at RICH

RICH can only host a limited number of visiting scholars, so applicants are advised to contact RICH well ahead of time.

For queries, please write to RICH [at] let.ru.nl (RICH[at]let[dot]ru[dot]nl)