The Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) is a science foundation of the states of Bremen and Lower Saxony and the city of Delmenhorst. As an independent "Institute for Advanced Study", it has invited around 50 recognized scientists, authors and artists as guests (fellows) to Delmenhorst every year since 1997.
The HWK allows you them concentrate on a research project free of academic commitments and promotes dialogue between the disciplines through opportunities of cooperation and personal encounters. The fellows also benefit from close cooperation with the universities in Bremen and Oldenburg and leading research institutions in Germany’s north-west region.
An individual support for the fellows, an intercultural and interdisciplinary working environment and extensive networking with regional scientific institutions make up the distinctive profile of the HWK.
The HWK pursues four discipline-independent funding priorities in the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences: BRAIN & MIND, EARTH, ENERGY, SOCIETY. The fifth focus, ARTS & LITERATURE, supports the interdisciplinary cooperation of the fellows and the discussion of theories of science as well as fundamental questions of the emergence and transmission of knowledge in society.
With up to 60 international academic events per year and a monthly series of public lectures, the HWK also serves as a place for experts and laypeople to engage in intellectual debate on scientific and social issues.