­Essay Prize: Single Parenting in German Academia

The "Single Parents in Academia" network is a newly founded nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting and providing mutual support to single parents in academia in Germany. For the first time, it is awarding prizes of €1,000, €600, and €400 for the three best essays on life as a single parent in academia.

The German academic system is characterized by precarious and insecure employment conditions and is particularly challenging for single parents and parents who care for their children across separate households. Fixed-term contracts, financial uncertainty, limited flexibility for research and work-related travel, the constant search for reliable childcare or additional childcare costs, changing institutions for the next career step, etc., can make it difficult to create and maintain stability for oneself and one’s children. This call (in German only) invites single parents and separated parents with shared child care responsibilities to write an essay describing how they navigate family responsibilities and an academic career, given their precarious working conditions, institutional structures, mobility requirements, and expectations regarding academic career progression. We also welcome submissions that highlight forms of resistance, support, and solidarity, as well as alternative ways of organizing academic work and family life.

Submission and Eligibility: All single parents in academia, from students to professors, are eligible to submit. Please send your 7–10-page essay in German or English by October 18, along with a brief biographical note and your contact information in a single document, to and .

Further information about the network is also available on the network’s LinkedIn page.