FAQs on Fellowship

For the 2025 Fellowship, we are accepting applications only from residents of Albania 🇦🇱, Andorra 🇦🇩, Åland Islands 🇦🇽, Austria 🇦🇹, Belgium 🇧🇪, Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦, Bulgaria 🇧🇬, Chile 🇨🇱, Costa Rica 🇨🇷, Croatia 🇭🇷, Cyprus 🇨🇾, Czechia 🇨🇿, Denmark 🇩🇰, Estonia 🇪🇪, Faroe Islands 🇫🇴, Finland 🇫🇮, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Gibraltar 🇬🇮, Greece 🇬🇷, Guernsey 🇬🇬, Hong Kong 🇭🇰, Hungary 🇭🇺, Iceland 🇮🇸, India 🇮🇳, Indonesia 🇮🇩, Ireland 🇮🇪, Italy 🇮🇹, Japan 🇯🇵, Jersey 🇯🇪, Kenya 🇰🇪, Kosovo 🇽🇰, Latvia 🇱🇻, Liechtenstein 🇱🇮, Lithuania 🇱🇹, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Malta 🇲🇹, Malaysia 🇲🇾, Mexico 🇲🇽, Monaco 🇲🇨, Montenegro 🇲🇪, North Macedonia 🇲🇰, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Norway 🇳🇴, Panama 🇵🇦, Poland 🇵🇱, Portugal 🇵🇹, Romania 🇷🇴, Rwanda 🇷🇼, San Marino 🇸🇲, Serbia 🇷🇸, Singapore 🇸🇬, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Slovenia 🇸🇮, South Africa 🇿🇦, South Korea 🇰🇷, Spain 🇪🇸, Svalbard and Jan Mayen 🇸🇯, Sweden 🇸🇪, Switzerland 🇨🇭, Tanzania 🇹🇿, Thailand 🇹🇭, Turkey 🇹🇷, Uganda 🇺🇬, United Kingdom 🇬🇧, United States 🇺🇸, and Zimbabwe 🇿🇼. Applicants must currently live in one of these countries and plan to stay in one of them when implementing during the creation of their project. Fellows may move between eligible countries, but cannot relocate to a country that is not on this list.

No! You do not need any skills, knowledge or qualifications.

You just need to be passionate about the environment and have an idea to solve an environmental problem!

We encourage everyone no matter what their background is, to apply. Just ensure you meet our demographic eligibility criteria.

To be eligible for the beVisioneers Fellowship, applicants must:

- Be between the ages of 16 and 28 at the time of applying
- Reside in one of the eligible countries listed in Question 1 during their entire duration in the Fellowship.
- Have a good command of the english language
- Show a strong dedication to positive environmental change
- Demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit, including persistence, resilience, and determination
- Have an environmental challenge they want to tackle in one or more of the target countries
- Not work for, or have a parent or guardian who works for Mercedes-Benz

To be considered for the Fellowship, we invite you to apply with an idea to solve an environmental challenge you’re passionate about. We are particularly interested in seeing your deep understanding of the challenge itself. Show us why this problem matters to you and the world, and how committed you are to making a difference. You can also apply if you are already actively working on a project, but please note that we do not accept projects past prototyping stage.

In case you are already working on a project or idea and do this together with team members, please note that Fellows are selected on an individual basis. For this reason, every member of a project team who wishes to participate must apply individually, and the acceptance of one team member does not guarantee the acceptance of others. The fellowship experience is designed to help you grow personally as a leader, and significant emphasis is placed on individual development and reflection. We therefore recommend that project founders or leaders apply.

A project in the “idea stage”primarily focuses on creating, refining, and evaluating a proposed idea or concept intended to address a specific and defined environmental challenge. During this initial phase, the project has not yet solidified its plan, specific goals, or allocated resources. In the idea stage, a project encompasses the following elements:

1. One or more conceptual project solutions or initiatives aimed at addressing a particular need, problem, or opportunity.
2. Assessment of the project’s relevance (potential and practicality) involves providing insights into how the offering addresses the problems, desires, or challenges of the intended audience and partners, thus making it suitable and appealing to potential users. This can also be accomplished by exploring comparable solutions or pioneering initiatives in the field (state of the art) to gauge the potential success of your project.
3. Identification of potential key stakeholders/partners who may have an interest in or be affected by the idea, including the community, users, or organizations that can support project implementation.
4. Development of a basic outline or vision for how the project could potentially be executed, including overarching goals and potential key milestones.
5. Identification of potential risks and challengesassociated with the idea, accompanied by the formulation of broad strategies to manage or mitigate these risks.

We do not accept projects passed the prototype phase.

beVisioneers has defined the following key areas of intervention for planet-positive projects:

1. Clean Energy & Energy Access: This involves developing, deploying, and scaling renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and emerging energy sources to provide reliable, affordable, and clean power while significantly reducing carbon emissions. It encompasses energy storage solutions, smart grid systems, and infrastructure development that ensures equitable access to clean energy for all communities, particularly underserved and rural populations, while accelerating decarbonization efforts and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
2. Water Access, Resilience, & Conservation: This focuses on ensuring sustainable management of water resources through advanced treatment and purification systems, conservation technologies, and resilient infrastructure that can adapt to climate change impacts. It emphasizes equitable access to clean, safe water for all communities while implementing efficient water use practices, flood management systems, and drought-resistant solutions.
3. Biodiversity & Restoration: This encompasses the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural ecosystems and species diversity through habitat conservation, ecosystem restoration projects, establishment and management of protected areas, and integration of biodiversity considerations into urban planning. It promotes practices that support wildlife corridors, species reintroduction, and the maintenance of ecological balance across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments.
4. Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems: This involves transforming food production, processing, distribution, and consumption to create environmentally regenerative, economically viable, and socially equitable food systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support carbon sequestration. It includes regenerative farming practices, precision agriculture technologies, development of alternative protein sources, reduction of food waste throughout supply chains, and promotion of local food systems that enhance soil health, biodiversity, community resilience, and contribute to agricultural decarbonization.
5. Alternative Materials, Waste, & Circular Economy: This focuses on developing and implementing bio-based and sustainable materials, advanced recycling technologies, waste-to-energy systems, and circular design principles that eliminate waste and pollution while reducing carbon footprints across material lifecycles. It promotes the continuous use of resources through strategies of reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling, creating closed-loop systems that minimize environmental impact, maximize resource efficiency, and support decarbonization through reduced material production emissions.
6. Sustainable Transport & Mobility: This involves developing and promoting transportation systems that minimize environmental impact and carbon emissions while providing accessible, efficient mobility options. It encompasses electric and alternative fuel vehicles, expansion and improvement of public transit systems, infrastructure for active transportation such as cycling and walking, and integrated mobility solutions that reduce emissions, air pollution, and urban congestion while serving diverse community needs and advancing transport sector decarbonization.
7. Sustainable Construction & Infrastructure: This focuses on designing, building, and retrofitting the built environment using environmentally responsible practices, materials, and technologies that minimize carbon emissions throughout building lifecycles. It includes green building standards, energy-efficient systems, sustainable water management in buildings, climate-resilient infrastructure, and renovation of existing structures to improve performance and reduce operational carbon footprints. This approach considers the entire lifecycle of buildings and infrastructure to minimize environmental impact while creating healthy, efficient spaces for communities and supporting built environment decarbonization.

Application Process:

Applying for a beVisioneers Fellowship is easy. You can save your work in progress and come back to it at any time.

Step 1: Register for our Application Platform

Sign up for our application platform.
After registering, you will receive an email from Dream ID with login instructions.
Use your email address to sign in and start your application.

Step 2: Complete the Written and Video Application

Fill out the written application and submit a short video.
This should take around 30 minutes.
If you need financial support, you can apply for it during this step.

Step 3: Await Shortlisting Results

Once you’ve submitted your application, wait to hear from us.
We will notify you by March 06 2026 if you’ve been shortlisted.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to complete a 15-minute online activity.

The key upcoming deadlines and time periods for beVisioneers are:

Application Period: September 15 2025 - January 25 2026

Invitation to complete online activity (if shortlisted): March 09 - March 27 2026

Selection Period: March 28 - April 2025

Launch of the Fellowship’s 12-Month Intensive Program (Year One): June, 2026

beVisioneers is a multi-year fellowship which starts with a 12-month foundation year. This first year focuses on bringing ideas to the prototype phase and consists of blend of weekly on-demand and live classes where fellows build knowledge and learn by DOing around 3 labs:

- Personal Sustainability Lab
- Project Sustainability Lab
- Environmental Sustainability Lab

Key elements of the program include:

- Weekly online live sessions
- On-demand content (e.g. a content library micro-videos, downloadable toolkits & templates)
- Mentoring
- Masterclasses & co-working missions
- Peer coaching
- Access to experts in relevant fields
- Access to earned project scholarships and needs-based access to a financial stipend
- In-person gatherings: annual Regional Summits, quarterly local hub meetups and an opportunity to attend a global summit on an international level.

There are no costs to individual fellows. Participation in the program is fully funded by donations from Mercedes-Benz. Free of charge, all Fellows benefit from the beVisioneers learning program and access to the beVisioneers community. All expenses associated with travel to summits are also fully covered.

beVisioneers is primarily focussed on offering an outstanding learning experience to help you gain the skills needed to bring a planet-positive project to life. The program therefore begins with a 12-month hybrid intensive program, a blend of weekly on-demand and live classes in which fellows build knowledge and learn by DOing. Based on project progress and viability you will have opportunities to apply for project scholarships after the first 12 months. Project scholarships will be awarded to the projects that demonstrate the highest potential for environmental impact and are up to €20,000!

beVisioneers is committed to ensuring an accessible and financially inclusive fellowship experience. Active engagement in the fellowship program requires reliable and consistent access to a computer and the internet, as well as sufficient time for learning and project development. For this reason, beVisioneers offers financial support to help fellows with specific needs overcome logistical and/or financial barriers that may prevent their full participation. Financial support is available only for the initial, 12-month intensive learning program, and every candidate invited for a Fellowship interview is welcome to apply for this financial support on a needs assessment basis. There are two types on financial stipends available:

Costs of Living Stipend:

The Living Cost Stipend offers monthly financial aid to help fellows partially cover essential expenses. It is adjusted for local cost levels of each country. The stipend is available during the first year of the program to those who are economically disadvantaged or will face financial hardship due to their participation in the fellowship. The stipend will also be available for fellows during the duration of their project scholarship cycle in year 2 or 3 of the program under the same conditions.

Online Access Stipend:

The Online Access Stipend is a one-time financial support to ensure fellows can participate in the online program. It covers essential digital access needs and is available to those eligible for the Cost of Living Stipend or who require additional support for online participation. It is paid out at the beginning of the first year of the program.

For both stipends, fellows are required to provide documentation of their financial situation and submit receipts for their expenses.

The Fellowship is a hybrid experience, with most content and training over the initial 12-month learning period delivered in live online sessions and through access to on-demand content. During this period, Fellows also attend quarterly local meet-ups (in person whenever possible) and a regional in-person summit. Based on their engagement and achievements over the Fellowship period, Fellows may also be invited to participate in an in-person global summit.

Fellows retain the exclusive rights to all intellectual property brought to and/or developed as part of the beVisioneers program.

Yes! Your expenses will be covered.

If you’re economically disadvantaged, you can apply for financial support to cover needs like a laptop or income replacement.

All fellows, regardless of financial status and if they are receiving this financial support or not, have their travel, expenses, and accommodation paid for for key program events.

Fellows are expected to dedicate a minimum of 24 hours per month to their project. Think of it like an accelerator or university program—you get out what you put in. The baseline is 24 hours, but the more time you commit beyond this, the greater your progress and impact will be. Meeting the minimum is how you pass; putting in extra time is like getting an A.

Towards the end of the Foundational Year of the Fellowship, Fellows can gain access to Project Scholarships through an application, rigorous review and selection process. Project Scholarships range from €2,000 to €20,000 and enable Fellows to continue their learning in an applied learning phase advancing their project.