Ronald van Kempen Human Geography and Spatial Planning Fund

The annual budget of the Ronald van Kempen Human Geography and Spatial Planning Fund amounts to €15,000, which is awarded to one or two academic staff members. The grant can be used to cover travel, accommodation, and (if applicable) research costs, as well as salary costs needed to replace the researcher for planned teaching duties.

Conditions

• The applicant is an employee of the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning (SGPL), Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University;
• The applicant is an early-career social geographer or planner (up to 12 years of experience after obtaining a master’s degree, e.g., PhD, postdoc, junior lecturer, university lecturer);
• The international experience contributes to the development of academic skills;
• The international experience contributes to teaching and research at Utrecht University and/or the SGPL department.

An application must include the following documents (to be uploaded as attachments):

• Curriculum Vitae
• Project description (max. 1,000 words), indicating how the proposed project contributes to the applicant’s academic career and its relation to their research/teaching activities at Utrecht University and/or the SGPL department
• Letter from your supervisor supporting the application
• Statement from a professor (or university lecturer) at a foreign institution confirming their willingness and ability to host you during your stay
• Financial plan

Please note that the project must have a start date within one year of the grant approval. After the project is completed, the applicant is asked to submit a brief report and present the results to the SGPL department. A financial report is also required.

You can submit an application for this fund once per year.

• Round 5: 14 September to 9 October 2026