The Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) is a foundation of the federal states of Bremen and Lower Saxony and the city of Delmenhorst. As an independent Institute for Advanced Study, the HWK promotes the disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration of internationally renowned scientists and young investigators by offering guest scholars (Fellows) the opportunity to concentrate on research projects for a certain space of time without the distractions of their regular academic responsibilities.

The Fellows collaborate with colleagues all over the world as well as with the local universities and research institutes. Because of the strong, on-going cooperation between the HWK and the neighboring research institutes and universities, the Fellows can make use of laboratory space for their research; this means that the HWK Fellowship can be used to realize both theoretical and experimental research projects.

The environment at the HWK is designed to foster interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary thinking. The art in progress and Fiction Meets Science programs expand that thinking to the humanities and arts, generating dialog between scientists, artists, and fiction writers.
Through its conference programs and public lecture series, the HWK also serves as a place of intellectual debate. These conferences and workshops are distinguished by their international orientation and the interdisciplinary composition of the participants.

Co-founded by an international and culturally diverse community of scientists, embedded in the excellent academic landscape of the Northwest, and internationally linked with academic institutions and universities, the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg has a special atmosphere that creates optimal working and living conditions for its guest scholars.
Four research areas make up the special profile of the HWK:

• Energy
• Earth
• Brain
• Society