Current Calls

Call for Applications SMUS Action 3: (Post)Doctoral Programme

Promoting sustainability in cities and communities, particularly in the Global South, remains a paramount and pressing task. To avoid pursuing solutions that end up becoming part of, and thus intensify, the problems causing instability, the notion of wicked problems need be revisited and reframed. Besides evading clear definition, wicked problems are characterized for being multi-causal; for bringing about unforeseeable consequences; for being unstable; for their social intricacy; and for being non-susceptible to reductionism, thus demanding multidimensional and transdisciplinary approaches. With the aim of placing the emphasis on the contextual groundedness of wicked problems, and stressing how paradoxical the attainment of urban sustainability is, the notion of wicked urban problems (WUP) is put forward to frame and emphasize the singular quality that wicked problems have in urban areas. The exploration of wicked urban problems can be guided by combining transdisciplinary practice and spatial research.

Against this backdrop, in SMUS Action 3 – Step THREE, a first round of Postdoctoral Scholarships are offered for researchers interested in spatial and transdisciplinary research on WUP in collaborative, international contexts. While the scholarships will be awarded in 2025, scholarship recipients will only begin activities between 1 March and 31 October 2026. More specifically, the scholarships are aimed at enabling a minimum of three early-stage postdoctoral researchers (Track A) and a minimum of three advanced researchers/junior professors/lecturers (Track B) from partner universities to complete a research stay at a SMUS partner university of their choice. To encourage knowledge transfer and the transition towards scientific-academic autonomy, both south-to-south and south-to-north collaborations are strongly encouraged. Moreover, the scholarship will only be awarded to applicants who plan to submit their research proposal to a research grant institution.

This Call has been prepared by Dr. Ignacio Castillo Ulloa. If you require any further information or clarification, please write to: i.castilloulloa@tu-berlin.de

Deadline: 12.12.2025

For more detail information, please click below

SMUS-Action 3 Call Post-Doc Scholarships

SMUS-Action 3 Application Checklist

Call for Applications: SMUS research-based art commission: ec(h)otoning

The SMUS research-based art (RBA) commission: ec(h)otoning is part of a multi-phase RBA programme run by the Mexican artist platform TRES as part of the Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability.

The Call is open to all international artists from the Global South who are working within the field of research-based art.

We are seeking RB artists who are committed to long-term research projects in dialogue with local knowledge systems. We encourage proposals that are process-driven, participatory, community-engaged, and/or site-specific and that emphasise transitional zones of ec(h)otoning, attuned to ecological and socio-cultural flux.

We welcome applications from RB artist-practitioners working in any medium or combination of media, including, but not limited to: visual arts, installation, photography, film, audio, performance, sculpture, social practice. We encourage you to choose the format that best conveys the depth of the ecotones you wish to explore.

What we offer for the selected proposal: (per artist or collective):

– A 12-month research stipend (of between EUR 400 and 700, depending on region/country).
– Round-trip airfare to Bangkok and accommodation for a two-week residency.
– Accommodation and an on-site travel allowance for a one to three-month residency period at one of three SMUS Asian Core Partner Universities.
– A production and documentation budget of EUR 8,400

Submission deadline: 15 December 2025 [11:59 PM CST]
Announcement of results: 26 December 2025
Project duration: 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027

This open call follows a non-discriminatory selection process. We welcome diversity in all its forms. We strongly encourage female artists in particular to apply.

For more information on this Call, please download the following documents:

• echotoning_opencall_statement

• echotoning_opencall_commission

• echotoning_opencall_requirements

If you have any questions on this Call, please feel free to contact the TRES team at: echotoning.smus@gmail.com.