For the academic year 2025–2026, LECTIO and DigiSoc (through its Working Group Media and Culture) are pleased to announce the second edition of their joint non-stipendiary Visiting Fellowship. This fellowship is open to scholars working on the reception of the past in the digital society: how texts, ideas, and images from the past are represented or reconfigured through new technologies. The successful applicant will be invited to spend a short research period (four to six weeks) at KU Leuven.

Meet Our Current Fellow

In the first edition of this joint fellowship, Julien Régibeau (University of Liège) is the current 2024–2025 Visiting Fellow. Julien’s work explores the intersection of politics and religion in 16th- and 17th-century Europe, with a focus on papal diplomacy. His project at KU Leuven investigates how historical imagery is used in Flemish video games to evoke and reconfigure the past.

► Read the full interview: « Rethinking the Past in the Digital Age: The Impact of Digital Technologies on Historical Interpretation – An Interview with Julien Régibeau« 

Our offer:

• A research stay at KU Leuven of 4 to 6 weeks at the interdisciplinary KU Leuven Institutes LECTIO and DigiSoc.
• Reimbursement of travel expenses (train/economy class flight) up to €500.
• Accommodation for the entire period of stay.
• Access to university facilities (libraries, internet access, university restaurants).
• Office space (depending on availability).
• In addition to their LECTIO affiliation, Visiting Fellows will also have a visiting affiliation with the Faculty or Research Group of their academic host at KU Leuven.

Our expectations:

• You must have a PhD.
• You will reside in Leuven for a consecutive period of 4 to 6 weeks between September 2025 and June 2026.
• You will engage actively with the LECTIO and DigiSoc research communities and discuss your research with members of both institutes.
• You will give at least one open seminar/lecture on your current research.
• You will acknowledge the LECTIO & DigiSoc Fellowship in any publications (partly) resulting from the fellowship.

Application procedure:

• Applicants must hold a PhD. Early Career Researchers (postdocs, junior professors) are especially encouraged to apply.
• Applications should be submitted via the LECTIO website. Please provide us with the following materials:
  • CV (max. 2–3 pages)
  • Short description (1–2 pages) of the work you would like to conduct at KU Leuven and how it relates to current LECTIO and DigiSoc research
  • Name of at least one current LECTIO Steering Committee or DigiSoc member who is willing to act as your academic host (a confirmation email from the host is sufficient; no letter of support is needed). Support from members of different research groups is strongly encouraged and will be considered an asset.
• Extended deadline: May 20, 2025, 23:59 CET
• Decisions will be announced by the end of June 2025.
• Please note that academic hosts must not provide a letter of support. It suffices for them to send an email to  lectio@kuleuven.be confirming the support of the application.

Source : LECTIO