DSI Excellence Program 2026: Call for applications now open
Applications are now open for the DSI Excellence Program 2026, an interdisciplinary doctoral program for PhD students. Starting in September 2026, the program prepares participants to critically engage with digital transformation across disciplines.
In 2026, the Digital Society Initiative (DSI) will once again offer UZH doctoral students the Excellence Program, a complementary doctoral program with a focus on interdisciplinarity and digitalization. The supplementary curriculum is aimed at students from all disciplines in doctoral programs and specifically prepares them for an environment in which interdisciplinary collaboration plays a central role in addressing digitalization issues. Start of the Program is in September 2026.
The goal of the Excellence Program is to enable participants to think about and shape digitalization at an academic level and across disciplinary boundaries. To this end, the program promotes critical reflection on digital developments, a change of perspective, interdisciplinary flexibility, and problem-oriented conceptual work. Special attention is paid to target group-oriented research communication and publication. These skills are developed in a collegial and creative atmosphere within the DSI network, further developed in an exclusive peer network, and made visible nationally and internationally by the DSI.
Graduates acquire comprehensive skills in the field of digitalization at the levels of knowledge, abilities, and skills within the framework of 12 ECTS. On top of that, students receive their own ad personam fund, which they can use to cover minor research expenses.
Details at a glance:
Application deadline: March 15, 2026
Program start: September 2026
More information about the DSI Excellence Program