Each field of research – or two together – run their own Summer Academy. This gives young scholars an opportunity to discuss relevant issues within an international group of up to 24 doctoral and postdoctoral colleagues in an international and multidisciplinary framework. Summer Academies also contribute to the internationalization of the scholarly program and the enlargements of the implied scholarly networks and serve as an instrument for the recruitment of emerging young scholars for the postdoctoral program.

Applications are advertised internationally, and candidates are selected based on the relevance of their research to the specific agenda. The program deviates from the normal lecture-hall set-up, since the main contributors are the young researchers themselves. Leading scholars attend the conference in an advisory capacity, adding their own methodical questions. The Summer Academy is held either in Berlin, at a European partner institute, or at a research institute in a Middle Eastern country.

Living together: Plurality and Cosmopolitanism in the Ottoman Empire and Beyond
Istanbul, September 21 - 28, 2008

Literary and Historical Approaches to the the Qur'an and the Bible
Istanbul, September 2 - 12, 2007

Travelling Traditions. Comparative Perspectives on Near Eastern Literatures
Beirut, Oktober 2 - 13, 2006