Are you curious about life and want to get to know other countries and people?

We’re offering you the chance to embark on a unique and unforgettable journey. You will be on the road for at least four weeks, will meet new people and deepen your interests. And best of all, you get to decide where to go! Because this journey is entirely your own.

Get ready for a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Do you want to discover the world, but don’t have enough cash?

We’ll give you 700 euros – totally independent of your academic achievement, your parents, or your nationality. The only important thing is that you have a plan and do your own thing. You can get far and experience a lot with 700 euros, as you can tell from the short reports (german only) of our many travellers!

Are you ready to strike out on your own?

Apply now

Do you want to discover the world in your own way but don’t feel like mass tourism?

We don’t either! With our scholarship you’ll move independently in a country of your choice. Without flying - because the journey is part of the experience. It's up to you alone where you spend the night and whatever else you need to live. That’s how you discover places that you fall in love with at first sight, as well as those that you start to appreciate after the second glance.

Discover your world!

Apply now

Have you never travelled alone before?

Then look forward to a whole series of adventures. We will be happy to give you travel tips and help inspire you to find an exciting research topic. That’s how your journey will become unforgettable - and you’ll not only discover new things, but also yourself. And that is more exciting than it may sound - let yourself be inspired by the experiences of other scholarship holders!

Are you ready for your adventure?

Apply now

WANTED: Successor for the management of the zis office

For our office in Überlingen on Lake Constance, we are looking for a Head of Office (part-time position 60%) as soon as possible, at the latest by 01 May 2021. It is a great, varied job, which at the same time is very compatible with family life due to the highly flexible working hours. You can find all further information about the advertised position here.

Coronavirus pandemic: zis journeys probably possible in 2021

Dear applicants,

the year 2020 was also extraordinary for us ... for the first time since 1956 we were not able to award zis scholarships to support young people in their travel plans. The perspective for 2021 look better. Also, and especially under these challenging conditions, we would like to make zis journeys possible again, next year also within Germany. Although we can of course only make a final decision on the journeys next spring, we are expecting your exciting applications from 15.11. 2020 - you will find everything else in our Corona-FAQ. (Status October 2020).

A small consolation: scholarship holders who have been accepted into mentoring for 2020 may postpone their journey until 2021 and do not need to reapply. The age limit for this group will exceptionally be handled accommodatingly. All zis scholarship holders will be informed about the further procedure by E-mail.

And last but not least: As the Corona rules are different in every country and the complexity of travel and travel conditions is increasing, we unfortunately had to decide to only accept applicants who are resident in Germany this year.

We wish all scholarship holders of the year 2020, applicants and all alumni: Stay healthy!

Go on the journey of your life

Are you young and curious about life? Do you want to discover the world in your own way? Do you have clear travel ideas, but not enough cash? Then you’re in the same boat as many of our scholarship holders, whose wishes we have helped fulfil. Because no matter who you are or what drives you, our foundation will help you plan your at least 4 week long research trip.

Every year we award approximately 60 new scholarships to young people so that they can gain new impressions and deepen their interests and talents outside of the mainstream. Where you want to go and what you want to research is up to you!

Start the journey of your life!

Find out more about zis

zis - in a nutshell

Are you interested in current and previous journey projects and would like to stay up-to-date when it comes to invitations, events, perspectives and our daily work? Then sign up for the zis newsletter! (Currently available in German only. Sorry.)

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This is what our zis travellers are saying

So after about 40 hours on the coach I’ve arrived back in the home pastures. I’m acutely sleep deprived – but I’ve gained all the more experiences for it! I had an amazing trip and got to know the country from so many different sides.
_{Moritz von Hirschhausen, 2016, Topic "The Relationship between Europe and the UK after the Brexit Referendum"}
In my everyday life, I rarely grant myself so much time and attention as I could on my zis journey to think beyond my own good life and all the pretty facades. In my opinion, that’s the great opportunity that zis offers us young people…
_{Emilia Henkel, zis journey 2016, Topic "Perceptions of and Relations to Bangladesh in the British-Bangladeshi Diaspora”}
Looking back, it’s hard to believe how much I learned on my journey about people, myself, travelling and the world. The leap into the cold water of the unknown and the foreign has been more than worthwhile for me. I can only recommend it to everyone…
_{Lorenz Böttcher, 2016 Topic "100 years of Irish division - where does the conflict in Northern Ireland stand on the anniversary of the Easter Rising?"}
I had unique and intense encounters and important life experiences. Borders and obstacles were overcome through active intercultural communication (sometimes with hands and feet!) In their place, I learned tolerance, self-confidence and self-awareness. And last but not least, I developed a never-ending and growing curiosity about our world...
_{Janine Koppelmann, 1997, topic "Bullfighting and Flamenco in Spain“}
A zis journey is like climbing a secured high-ropes course: it looks dangerous, you have to be careful and work hard to overcome your fear of heights, but you'll have a lot of fun doing it! And for emergencies, you still have the safety nets to catch you. Luckily, I didn’t need them…
_{Naomi Nordblom, 2009, topic "On the other side - the banques alimentaires in France“}
Even though I travelled alone, I almost never was. That might sound a bit absurd, but that’s just the way it was. I only felt a bit lonely on one or two evenings in Sibiu, which seems a bit ridiculous given that the journey was 31-days long…
_{Vincent Förster, 2009, topic "Cinema in Romania - a revival through the 'new Romanian film?"}
So at the end of my journey I arrived somewhere else entirely and unexpectedly close: at my self. The magic of a journey: you travel far away, adopt a new rhythm of life, take unpleasant detours, lean far out of the window, sometimes even too far, only to finally arrive at your self…
_{Miriam Schmidt, 2013, topic "In the footsteps of a clown through France“}
For me, the zis-journey is the beginning of a quest that I want to continue far into the future…
_{Marie Verse, 2014 , topic "Remembrance as a form of encounter - a literary quest in France"}

Our most popular destinations

Get inspired! Our interactive map shows you which countries have already been discovered by our zis travellers. A travel diary and project report (or piece of art or craft) were created for each trip. Let the adventure begin!