The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. With more than 8,000 people working in scholarship and science, it is Brandenburg's largest university, and the fourth largest in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan area.

Karina Jung, Executive Assistant for Fundraising and Marketing, was looking for ways to reach a wider pool of applicants for the university’s prestigious Voltaire Prize, which honors researchers committed to freedom in research and education.

Every year, the University of Potsdam awards the Voltaire Prize for Tolerance, International Understanding and Respect for Differences to a young researcher or scientist whose work embodies these ideals. The prize is named after the French philosopher and writer François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, whose principles of enlightenment and tolerance have inspired the University of Potsdam.

Internationalization of its faculty and researcher base is a crucial component of the university’s current strategy, which includes increasing faculty diversity. The university was therefore keen to attract an international and diverse group of applicants for its Voltaire Prize. But the fundraising team struggled to increase the number of international nominations through time-consuming manual recruitment efforts.

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The University of Potsdam realized that tapping into ResearchGate’s member base of more than 20 million members worldwide could be an effective way to reach early-career academics and extend their reach beyond European institutions. Karina got in touch with ResearchGate to find out how they could promote the prize on the platform.

ResearchGate worked with University of Potsdam to promote the Voltaire Prize with a tailored advertisement through the Employer Branding solution, which targeted an international audience and encouraged applicants from diverse research backgrounds to apply.

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Your institution can also access the Employer Branding solution. Contact ResearchGate to receive a free consultation about your current and future hiring needs, and find out how we can help you optimize your recruitment.

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