KLU PhD Candidate Dounia Chlyeh Receives Übersee Club Scholarship

Dounia Chlyeh recalls: “Being one of the recipients of the Übersee Club scholarship this year was already an honor, but I don’t think any of us fully anticipated what the day would feel like. I knew beforehand that both the Bürgermeister and Chancellor Merz would be present at the ceremony in Hamburg’s Rathaus. But knowing it and living it are two different things. When they called my name, and I walked up to the stage, the applause hit differently than I expected.”

The Übersee Club awards training, further education, and research scholarships to young academics and researchers who go abroad for their professional or scientific development. As a rule, the club provides a total amount of 30,000 euros every two years; up to seven scholarships may be awarded. The funding usually helps to fully or partially finance a stay abroad of around three months. The scholarship recognizes research at a stage when results are still emerging.

“It felt like the room was betting on something not yet finished, and that is exactly what it was,” says Chlyeh. “The scholarship goes to young scientists before the work is complete, before the results are in. That kind of trust, extended early, carries a weight of its own.”

She adds: “What also struck me was that the exchange didn't stay purely ceremonial. Chancellor Merz went around and asked each recipient about their research and where they were headed for their research stay,” “Whatever one thinks of politics, that moment of curiosity in that setting was not something I had expected.

In the evening, the scholarship recipients met members of the Übersee Club at the Hotel Atlantic.

Around the table were members of the Übersee Club, from executives and diplomats to practitioners, and the conversations flowed freely among science, industry, and politics. It reminded me of something easy to forget in the daily rhythm of a PhD, that the research we do exists in a larger world, and that world is genuinely paying attention.”
With her research stay at Oxford ahead, Chlyeh also took away a renewed impulse for her academic work: “This scholarship supports my research stay at Oxford. But what I took home from that day goes far beyond the funding. It is a reminder of why the good research matters, and a sense of responsibility to keep bringing it into rooms like that one.”

KLU Scholarships

Scholarships and financial aid play an important role at KLU. The business school informs students about various ways to finance their studies and support their academic development – including merit- and need-based scholarships, sport scholarships, the Deutschlandstipendium, STIBET scholarships for international students, and external funding opportunities.