Fellowship Program
The Alfred Delp Studiennetzwerk supports its fellows in their personal development alongside their studies and training. The four promotion objectives are guiding in this regard.
Holistic personality development helps to reflect on the knowledge acquired during studies and the skills acquired in training, and to connect them with one's own life context. Through biography work, personality development as well as holistic judgment, language, and communication skills are sustainably promoted. Personal guidance and structured exchange are formative in this process. Only those who have learned to lead themselves can later lead others.
The yearning for meaning in life, foundational values, and a fulfilled existence is always present during the time of study. Ignatian spirituality allows the fellows of the study network to explore various religious traditions and to grow into an enlightened practice of faith. It accompanies them in finding personal values and making important decisions. It assists in making personal life choices and creatively contributing to an open, global, religiously plural, and secular society.
It is in serving others and the common good that one finds meaning in life. However, value-oriented action and an entrepreneurial spirit need to be cultivated. Thus, the network accompanies its fellows in assignments in various public areas. It promotes sensitivity to and readiness for socio-ecological transformation and supports them in taking on responsibility and leadership in projects.
The study network connects individuals across various educational and study paths, bringing them into dialogue. It promotes intercultural and interdisciplinary thinking and action. Shared experiences and gatherings foster friendships that last a lifetime. Encounters with public figures inspire and provide guidance. Like the Jesuit Order itself, the study network values international connections. It is about relationships that go far beyond the digital realm.
The support is structured as follows:
At the beginning of the sponsorship, each new cohort of selected fellows gathers for a weekend of so-called Orientation Days. There, they have the opportunity to get to know each other and network, to learn about the purpose and customs of the Study Network, and to receive an introduction to Ignatian spirituality.
Every year, all fellows gather for a weekend between the winter and summer semesters to exchange ideas and delve into a major societal, political, or religious theme. The selection of topics and program design is left to the fellows themselves.
Once per semester, the fellows engage in an online seminar focusing on a current societal, ecological, or religious theme from the perspectives of theological and philosophical traditions. Contributions may come from external speakers and Jesuits, as well as from fellows or alumni of the Study Network itself.
To find new orientation alongside their studies or training and to escape the stress of everyday life, the fellows are offered annual spiritual retreats. Newcomers participate in a four-day introduction to the spiritual exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, learning through personal meditation to confront the transcendent dimension of their lives and nurture a relationship with God. From the second year of sponsorship onwards, the fellows participate annually in a six-day retreat.
A central aspect of personal development within the framework of the Study Network is to be people for others. Therefore, the fellows choose a social task or otherwise take on a responsibility for others, and they are accompanied by a mentor. Additionally, a Jesuit serves as a contact person for individual content-related questions or for pastoral conversations.
At the conclusion of the sponsorship, everyone participates in a week-long study and pilgrimage trip to places of Ignatian history (e.g., Loyola, Xavier, Manresa, Rome) or to the Holy Land. Such a trip is offered every other year, so that two cohorts are traveling together at all times.
The intended duration of support is a minimum of two and a maximum of four years.
