The UNU-EHS Visiting Scientist Programme (VSP) welcomes a limited number of external PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, senior scientists as well as practitioners interested in conducting collaborative research or educational activities at the institute. UNU-EHS hosts the visiting scientists, but does not provide any financial support.  Research stays can last anywhere from two weeks to one year. Visiting scientists are obligated to provide their own funding and to contribute to the institutional knowledge of UNU-EHS through lecturing, writing or project development.

There is no formalized application process to become a visiting scientist. A research stay is only offered after interviewing directly with the head of an academic section, obtaining approval from the director of UNU-EHS, and determining availability of in-house resources available to accommodate the visiting scientist.

Visiting Scientists are also encouraged to participate in the Knowledge-Sharing Seminar, where they will have the opportunity to present a specific topic chosen from their respective field of expertise. The core element of the Knowledge Sharing Seminar is to provide an in-depth practical component, for instance on methodological aspects, on specific field survey tools, specific statistical analysis packages or any other specialized software or web-based application. The 1-3 days seminars can be designed e.g. as hands-on trainings in combination with guiding presentations or as a workshop with group exercises.

Interested parties should contact academic heads of section directly to inquire about research stays.