Funding Opportunities

Funding your Post-doctorate

We have listed below several funding schemes that may help you fund your research projects as an independent scientist after your PhD, by order of relevance.

SNSF Postdoc.Mobility

Description:

Early Postdoc mobility fellowships are for early career postdoctoral researchers wishing to conduct a stay anywhere in the world for 12 to 18 months.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • PhD obtained before and up to 3 years after doctoral exam.
  • At least 2 years of working experience at a research institution in Switzerland
  • Swiss nationality, permanent residence, residence, cross-border commuter permit, or marriage/registered partnerships with a Swiss citizen

Information concerning deadlines are provided below

EPFLeaders4impact – Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

EPFLeaders4impact is a new postdoctoral fellowship programme funding talented researchers who have the ambition to provide innovative solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

EPFLeaders4impact fellows will be able to take steps towards starting a company based on their own research or to have their proposed innovative solution implemented through a technology transfer to an existing company/organisation.

Eligibility:

  • Applicants must be Experienced Researchers (ER); they must hold a doctoral degree or have at least 4 years of full-time equivalent research experience by at the latest the date of recruitment.
  • Applicants must fulfil the MSCA transnational mobility rules and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Switzerland for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline.
  • Applicants must be able to carry out full-time research during the fellowship period. Parental leave, sick leave, care leave, and military leave are nevertheless permitted.

For more information:

The Branco Weiss Fellowship

Description:

The Branco Weiss Fellowship awards young researchers around the world with a generous personal research grant of 100’000 CHF per year, giving them the freedom to work on whatever topic they choose anywhere in the world, for up to five years. This research fellowship is designed to support postdoctoral researchers after their PhD and before their first faculty appointment. Those in current postdoctoral positions are also eligible. Ideally, fellows pursue unconventional projects in new areas of science, engineering and social sciences.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • You officially hold a PhD
  • Your project departs from the mainstream of research in your discipline
  • You have a record of outstanding scientific achievement
  • You demonstrate in the proposal a willingness to engage in a dialogue on relevant social, cultural, political or economic issues across the frontiers of your particular discipline

For updated deadlines and more details, you can consult either of the two links provided below

CRI Irvingtion Postdoctoral Fellowship

Description:

The CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is CRI’s longest-standing continuous program. Postdoctoral fellowships provide support to fund and train young immunologists and cancer immunologists at top universities and research centers around the world. Fellows receive up to $175,500 over three years to cover the cost of salary, insurance, and other research-related expenses.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicants for the CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship Program must be working in areas directly related to cancer immunology.
  • Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation and must conduct their proposed research under a sponsor who holds a formal appointment at the host institution..
  • Only in exceptional circumstances will applicants who have already spent 3 or more years in a sponsor’s laboratory by the start date of fellowship be considered for a fellowship award.
  • The fellowship can be performed in the United States or abroad, but must take place at a non-profit institution. There are no citizenship restrictions.
  • Only one fellow per sponsor may apply per application round, and faculty sponsors may not have more than three CRI-supported fellows at any time.

Informations concerning deadlines can be found in any of the two links below

EMBO Long-term Fellowships Life & Molecular Sciences

Description:

EMBO is an organization of more than 1700 researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences. The EMBO Long-Term Fellowships are awarded for a period of up to two years and support post-doctoral research visits to laboratories throughout the world. International exchange is a key feature in the application process.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicants must hold a PhD at the start of the fellowship
  • Applicants who already hold a PhD degree at the time of application are eligible to apply only if they passed their PhD exam in the two years prior to the date of application
  • Applicants must have at least one first author publication accepted in or published in an international peer reviewed journal at the time of application
  • All applications must involve movement between countries (detailed information about mobility requirements is listed in guidelines)
  • Reapplication is permissible only once

Information concerning deadlines can be found below

EuroTech Postdoctoral Programme

Description:

The EuroTechPostdoc Programme is a postdoctoral fellowship programme for young experienced researchers who have already demonstrated excellence and potential in their field of research. Successful applications propose collaborative research projects with one of the EuroTech Universities as main host and a second EuroTech University as co-host, within one of the five focus research areas of the EuroTech Universities Alliance (DTU, EPFL, TU/e Eindhoven and TU Munich):

  • Health & Bio Engineering
  • Smart & Urban Mobility
  • Data Science & Engineering
  • High Performance Computing
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Be in possession of a doctoral degree or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience.
  • Mobility Rule: Researchers may not have resided or carried out their main activity  in the country of the host university for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline.

Information concerning deadlines are provided in the links below

FEBS Long-term Fellowship

Description:

The Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) is a charitable organization supporting research and education in molecular life sciences. FEBS Long-Term Fellowships are awarded to support long-term visits for the purpose of scientific collaboration or advanced training. These Fellowships are originally granted for one year and may be renewed for a further year up to a maximum of three years.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Supports long-term visits for the purpose of scientific collaboration or advanced training
  • Applicants must have a PhD, and must have completed their PhD no more that 3 years ago
  • applicants need to be members of a FEBS, to be working in a laboratory in a FEBS country and to be seeking to work in a laboratory in a different FEBS country

More informations concerning deadlines below

HFSP Postdoctoral Fellowship

Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) postdoctoral fellowships encourage early career scientists to broaden their research skills by moving into new areas of study while working in a new country. HFSP fellowships are for three years.

Long-Term Fellowships (LTF) are for applicants with a Ph.D. in a biological discipline, who will broaden their expertise by proposing a project in the life sciences which is significantly different from their previous Ph.D. or postdoctoral work.

Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships (CDF) are for applicants with a Ph.D. from outside the life sciences (e.g. in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering or computer sciences), who have had limited exposure to biology during their previous training.

Ambizione – Swiss National Science Foundation

Description:

Ambizione grants are aimed at young researchers who wish to conduct, manage and lead an independent project at a Swiss higher education institution. An Ambizione grant comprises the salary of the grantee and project funds. Whereas, an Ambizione project grant contains only project funds. The grants are awarded for a maximum of four years.

Eligibility criterias:

  • Applicants must hold a Doctorate (PhD)
  • Applications may be submitted no later than four years after completing the doctorate (PhD). The date of the examination, respectively the defence of the doctoral thesis is the relevant date.
  • Research activities of at least 12 months after the doctorate (PhD) at an institution different from the one where the doctorate was obtained.

The deadlines for application are provided on any of the two webpage link provided below

Freigeist Fellowship – Volkswagen Stiftung

Description:

The ‘Freigeist’ scheme is deliberately left open to all disciplines and topics, with a main focus on junior researchers (up to 4 years of postdoctoral experience) working at the borders of neighbouring fields or disciplines. The scheme provides funding up to 5 years for doing your own research in Germany.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • PhD degree no longer than four years prior to submission
  • linked to research institution in Germany
  • completed change of academic environment and research stay abroad

Links below provide access to application deadlines

Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship

Description:

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship grants a funding of CA$70,000 per year (taxable) over 2 years (non-renewable) to lead postdoctoral research at a Canadian institution.

Eligibility Criterias:

  • have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD
  • must apply within a four-years period following the PhD
  • Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and foreign citizens are eligible to apply

More details concerning precise deadlines are provided in the links below

WBI Bourses d’excellence

Description:

WBI is a Belgian postdoctoral mobility program that provides funding for postdoctoral research led in the frame of a Wallonian university or institution.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Have a PhD from a foreign institution

Deadlines can be found in the links below