Tobias Scholz' Visiting Fellowship
In May, Tobias Scholz joined us for a Visiting Fellowship at The Hague Program on International Cyber Security at Leiden University's The Hague Campus. We sat down with him to hear about his fellowship experience.
Why were you interested in coming here?
To me, The Hague Programme on International Cyber Security has long been the number one institute in Europe for everything that concerns international relations and cyber. They organise conferences with globally leading experts as well as junior scholars, publish great policy analyses, and regularly host events on new books in the field. As a Ph.D. student with an empirical focus on India’s cyber diplomacy, I followed the Programme in all three areas throughout my Ph.D. journey. Being based at the India Institute at King’s College London, I am usually working with area experts. Choosing the fellowship in The Hague was also a step to surround myself with some of the EU’s most recognised cybersecurity and cyber norms experts. The close exchange with policy experts in The Hague was a great opportunity to complement my regional knowledge with cybersecurity expertise.
What did you work on during the fellowship?
During my time in The Hague, I was mostly advancing one of my empirical chapters that inspects the evolution of India’s cybersecurity cooperation. Discussing my progress with members of the team during a presentation session was certainly the highlight of my visiting fellowship. I received enormously constructive feedback on research design as well as on the empirical implementation. I also took the chance to learn more about the research of fellow cybersecurity and India scholars, both at the Programme as well as at other Leiden University institutes and departments.
What’s next for you?
I'm currently finalising draft chapters of my dissertation and plan to submit my Ph.D. thesis next year. Until March 2024, I will mainly be based at the National University of Singapore (NUS), as I’m currently enrolled in a joint Ph.D. programme at King’s College in London and NUS. I'm further looking forward to working more closely with the German Public Policy Institute (GPPi), where I have recently become a non-resident fellow.
Are you also interested to join our Visiting Fellowship Program? Applications for Fall 2023 have closed, but applications for a Spring 2024 stay are welcomed until 15 December 2023. Check out the Fellowships section for more information and the application process.
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