The Mare Balticum Fellowship Program promotes interdisciplinarity at the University of Rostock. Every year, at least 4 international researchers (fellows) are invited to spend up to three months at the University of Rostock to conduct research and network (see call for applications).
As a fellow, you will not only enrich the university's research profile with your specialist expertise, but also make an important contribution to the discussion of socially relevant cross-cutting issues such as diversity, interculturality and interdisciplinarity.
The Mare Balticum Fellowship Program at the University of Rostock offers researchers in the early stages of their careers a special opportunity to network with international guests, broaden interdisciplinary perspectives and gain impetus for their own academic development.
Prof. Dr. Nandita Saikia as MARe Balticum Fellow at the University of Rostock
Rostock, 19.05.2025 - The University of Rostock is pleased to welcome Prof. Dr. Nandita Saikia as a Mare Balticum Fellow of the Department of Aging of the Individual and Society of the Interdisciplinary Faculty. From May 19 to June 6, 2025, she will be a visiting scholar at the Department of Sociology and Demography and will contribute her expertise in the areas of demography and life expectancy, and research on the topic of social inclusion in terms of religious affiliation, spirituality and love of nature, biophilia, on health.
Prof. Saikia is Professor of Public Health and Mortality Studies at the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai, where she also heads the Centre for Online and Distance Education. She was previously Professor of Population Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and at the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG). Her academic career has taken her to some of the most prestigious research institutes in the world, including the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Germany and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria.
Her research interests include formal demography, mortality analysis, causes of mortality, health inequalities and the demography of indigenous populations. She has published numerous papers in high-ranking international journals such as Lancet Global Health, WHO Bulletin and Demographic Research and is an editor for scientific journals.
With her stay at the University of Rostock, Prof. Saikia will contribute her internationally recognized research perspective to the academic exchange and provide valuable impulses in demographic and health science research. As part of the Graduate Academy of the University of Rostock, Prof. Saikia will also give two lectures on the positive development of life expectancy in India and on studying and working as a social scientist in India.
Dr. Dong-Gill Kim – Expert in Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation– Awarded Mare Balticum Fellowship by University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is pleased to announce that Dr. Dong-Gill Kim, an Associate Professor from Hawassa University, Ethiopia, has been awarded a Mare Balticum Fellowship. Dr. Kim is a distinguished expert in climate change adaptation, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas mitigation in agroecosystems. He has made significant contributions to the scientific community, serving on the Scientific Steering Committees of the Global Land Programme and UNEP's Global Partnership on Nutrient Management, and as a Section Editor for PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.
During his fellowship from May 15 to July 20, 2025, Dr. Kim will be hosted by Prof. Dr. Bettina Eichler-Löbermann at the Agronomy and Crop Science division of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. His work will involve research, teaching, joint publication, and proposal development activities. These will be closely aligned with the DAAD-funded project “UnderPlaNet - Underutilized Plants in Agroecosystems: A Transnational Teaching and Research Network for Regional Development,” which emphasizes the role of underutilized plants in alleviating poverty and hunger, aligning with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Kim’s research will focus on identifying drought-resistant traits in underutilized plant species, understanding the ecological principles and traditional knowledge supporting their use, evaluating the scalability of these practices in drought-prone areas, and promoting the integration of these plants into climate-smart agriculture. He will also conduct a seminar series titled “Beyond Neglect: Unlocking the Drought Resilience Potential of Underutilized Plants and Systems” for junior scientists.
Veranstaltung: "Climate change, food security & agroecological food systems", Thursday June 26, 2025 at 1.30 pm, zoom: https://uni-rostock-de.zoom-x.de/j/64950478747
Assistenat to the Pro-Rector for Research, Talent Development and Equal Opportunities
Corina Reinheckel
Tel.: +49 381 498-1022
E-Mail: corina.reinheckeluni-rostockde
E-Mail: mabafuni-rostockde