If you’re an artist, activist, journalist, entrepreneur, or researcher frustrated by the hidden costs of our current systems, Utrecht University has just opened a rare door. It is just a compelling idea that challenges how we produce, consume, and live, and a willingness to share it with a community committed to real change.
The Critical Pathways Fellowships 2026, running under the theme “Making Visible the Invisible,” offers up to €10,000 in full support for a 4-to-6-week residency in Utrecht this October or November. No PhD required. No academic affiliation needed.
This isn’t a traditional academic fellowship. It’s designed for changemakers who want to expose the unseen power structures behind ecological breakdown and inequality, while testing practical alternatives for a more circular and just society.
Whether you’re filming the human stories behind fast-fashion supply chains, mapping the overlooked environmental toll of digital tech, or developing community-led models for resource sharing, this program gives you time, money, and a powerful network to turn your work into something that actually moves the conversation forward.
Why Utrecht University Is the Ideal Setting
Utrecht University consistently ranks among Europe’s strongest institutions: 103rd in the QS World University Rankings 2026, with standout positions in environmental science (54th globally) and green and sustainable science and technology.
Its strategic theme, Pathways to Sustainability, drives interdisciplinary research that bridges science, policy, law, humanities, and the arts. The university doesn’t just study sustainability; it actively collaborates with governments, businesses, and communities to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
The two communities behind this fellowship perfectly illustrate that approach. The Critical Pathways group brings critical social science, law, and humanities perspectives into sustainability debates, questioning who benefits from current systems and who gets left behind.
Its partner, Towards a Circular Economy and Society, focuses on concrete solutions: redesigning production chains, understanding consumer behaviour, and tackling the systemic barriers that slow real progress.
Together, they create a rare space where rigorous research, creative practice, and activism meet. Fellows don’t sit in isolation; they join weekly seminars, co-host events, and build lasting connections with scholars and practitioners who are shaping EU circular-economy policy.
The City of Utrecht: A Living Laboratory for Sustainability
Utrecht itself feels like a living laboratory for the ideas the fellowship explores. The city is one of Europe’s most bike-friendly, with more bicycles than residents and a historic centre built around canals and green spaces.
The Netherlands leads Europe in circular-economy policies, and Utrecht’s central location puts you within easy reach of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, places where national and EU-level decisions on sustainability are made every day.
The university campus blends historic buildings with modern, sustainable architecture, and the city’s compact size means you can walk or cycle between lectures, workshops, and community events. For international fellows, this environment removes many of the usual barriers: excellent public transport, English spoken everywhere, and a welcoming, progressive culture that values diverse perspectives.
What the Fellowship Actually Offers
The financial package is straightforward and generous. Up to €10,000 per fellow covers:
- International travel to and from Utrecht
- Accommodation for the full 4–6 weeks
- Living expenses (food, local transport, daily needs)
- Visa costs (if required)
The program can also help arrange housing and travel logistics, so you can focus on your project rather than paperwork.
Beyond money, you receive:
- A dedicated workspace and access to meeting rooms
- Full use of the university library and ICT facilities
- Integration into both the Critical Pathways and Towards a Circular Economy and Society communities
- Support for organising your own workshop, film screening, performance, or public discussion
Fellows are encouraged, not required, to collaborate with local partners, whether that means connecting with Dutch NGOs working on waste reduction or joining university researchers on ongoing circular-economy projects.
Who Should Apply: A Truly Open Call
This fellowship deliberately breaks from the usual academic mould. You don’t need a doctorate, publications, or even a university affiliation. The selection committee looks for people whose work already challenges the status quo or reveals hidden dimensions of sustainability and justice.
Ideal candidates include:
- Artists, writers, and filmmakers creating work that makes abstract problems feel immediate and human
- Activists and community leaders are testing real-world alternatives to extractive systems
- Journalists and policy advocates uncovering stories that mainstream media often misses
- Sustainability practitioners and entrepreneurs developing scalable circular solutions
- Academics from any discipline who want to experiment beyond traditional research formats
What matters most is alignment with the theme and a clear plan for how your residency will contribute fresh perspectives. The program especially welcomes voices from underrepresented backgrounds and regions whose experiences are often left out of European sustainability debates.
The 2026 Theme: Making Visible the Invisible
The core question driving this year’s fellowships is deceptively simple: what are we not seeing? The hidden environmental and social costs of everyday life, the water used to produce a single pair of jeans, the labour conditions in distant supply chains, the long-term impact of data centres on local ecosystems, or the cultural assumptions that keep linear “take-make-waste” economies in place.
Fellows are invited to explore any angle that fits: the power dynamics in global resource extraction, the overlooked role of care work in circular economies, the stories of communities already living more regeneratively, or innovative ways to communicate these truths through art, film, or policy briefs.
The goal isn’t just critique. It’s to illuminate pathways toward fairer, more regenerative systems, ones that value both human dignity and planetary health.
How to Apply: A Straightforward Process
Applications are due by 27 April 2026 (23:59 CET). The process is refreshingly simple:
- Download and complete the official application form (a Word document available on the university website).
- Prepare a short CV.
- (Optional but recommended) Attach examples of your work, portfolios, writing samples, film clips, or project descriptions.
- Email everything to Tom Gerritsen at criticalpathways@uu.nl.
In your proposal, clearly explain:
- Your project idea and how it connects to the “Making Visible the Invisible” theme
- What activities do you plan to organise during the residency (workshop, screening, discussion, etc)
- Your preferred 4–6 week window within October–November 2026
- A realistic budget request (up to €10,000)
You’ll hear back within six weeks of the deadline. The selection panel includes representatives from both host communities and prioritises proposals that bring new critical perspectives and clear plans for engagement.
Practical Tips for a Strong Application
Stand out by being specific. Don’t just say you want to “explore sustainability,” describe the exact hidden story you want to reveal and how you’ll make it visible to others. Show that you’ve thought about how your background (whether artistic, activist, or academic) gives you a unique angle.
Be realistic about the short residency format. Focus on what you can realistically achieve or advance in 4–6 weeks, while also showing how the fellowship fits into your longer-term work. Mention any existing connections to circular economy or justice issues, even if informal.
Finally, demonstrate genuine interest in collaboration. The program values people who want to learn from and contribute to the Utrecht community, not just use the space as a quiet writing retreat.
Why This Fellowship Matters
Europe is in the middle of an ambitious circular-economy transition, with new regulations, funding streams, and public pressure to move beyond greenwashing. Yet many of the most important conversations, about justice, power, and whose voices shape the future, still happen behind closed doors or within narrow academic circles.
The Critical Pathways Fellowship deliberately opens those doors. By welcoming non-traditional applicants and supporting creative, critical, and community-based approaches, it recognises that solving today’s sustainability challenges requires more than technical solutions. It requires new stories, new questions, and new ways of seeing.
For many fellows, the real value will come from the unexpected conversations in Utrecht’s corridors, the feedback on a rough-cut film, or the collaboration that turns an idea into a joint project with lasting impact.
Your Next Step
The Critical Pathways Fellowship offers something increasingly rare: funded time and space to think deeply, create boldly, and connect meaningfully around the biggest questions of our time. With applications open until 27 April, the window is short, but the opportunity is significant.
Start by reading the full call on the official Utrecht University page. Download the application form, refine your idea, and send it in.
Four to six weeks in Utrecht could sharpen your work, expand your network, and help make visible the changes our world so urgently needs. Don’t let the deadline pass unnoticed. Apply and become part of the conversation that’s shaping more sustainable and just futures.