Funding from A-Z

The objective of DFF-International Postdoctoral Grant is to strengthen the international mobility of young talented researchers, as well as to develop the competencies of researchers who are in the beginning of their research career. The aim is to enable the grant recipient to consolidate his or her individual research profile by managing a specific research project in an independent matter, at a research institution abroad.

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS

Researchers who have a PhD or are expected to  submit thesis for defence within 6 months after the application deadline, or have obtained equivalent qualifications (e.g. a positive assistant professor assessment, ”adjunktbedømmelse”) may apply for a DFF-International Postdoctoral Grant. 

Your PhD must have been awarded by a Danish research institution.

COUNCIL-SPECIFIC CRITERIA

DFF │Natural Sciences requires that you spend the entire two-year grant period abroad.
DFF | Social Sciences requires that you spend at least 18 consecutive months abroad. Six months may be spent consecutively at a Danish research institution, either at the beginning or by the end of the project period.
DFF | Technology and Production Sciences, DFF | Medical Sciences, and DFF | Humanities require that you spend at least 12 consecutive months abroad. 6 months may be spent at the beginning and/or up to 12 months by the end of project period at a Danish research institution.

IRFD receives funds under the Danish National Budget, which are earmarked for the education of researchers at state, non-university public research institutions. In 2019, these funds amount to approximately DKK 21 million, corresponding to 8-9 grants. Maximum amount per grant will be DKK 1.8 million, excluding overhead. Please note that IRFD does not generally offer support for individual PhD scholarships. Therefore you cannot apply for an individual PhD grant to be carried out at a university.

The purpose of the PhD grants under this call is to strengthen the education of researchers at public, Danish, state, non-university research institutions. The instrument is relevant for non-university research institutions, and covers sector research institutions, university colleges, business academies as well as state archives, libraries and museums. It does not cover state approved museums, Advanced Technology Group (GTS) institutes, hospitals, and others.

This instrument is offered only by DFF | Medical Sciences. DFF | Medical Sciences funds pre-graduate scholarships for a duration of maximum one semester for the purpose of giving highly qualified students the opportunity to undertake scientific work and strengthening their interest in a further scientific career.

Applications for pre-graduate scholarships must be submitted by the student’s academic supervisor. As a supervisor, you must have obtained a PhD or achieved equivalent qualifications through your research. The council emphasises that you have experience as a supervisor as well as an individual research profile.

The council strives to distribute the scholarship grants among different research environments, so as to provide recruitment to a wide range of health sciences. Therefore, the council will only fund one pre-graduate scholarship per supervisor at a time, so that there is no overlap between multiple students under the same supervisor during the part of the grant period funded by the council.

In order to promote the education of researchers and strengthen internationalisation, Independent Research Fund Denmark offers the Sapere Aude (meaning "dare to know") instrument.

Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant is aimed at providing excellent younger researchers, i.e. researchers who have carried out top class research in their field, with the opportunity to develop and strengthen their research ideas. The instrument also aims at promoting the mobility internationally as well as nationally among research environments, and thereby to strengthen networks and careers. Starting Grants are targeted at top researchers who intend to gather a group of researchers and/or research students, to carry out a research project at a high, international level. Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant also strengthens the possibility for excellent younger researchers to return to a Danish research institution after a research stay abroad.

IRFD expects that a Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant prepares the grant recipient to apply for an ERC Starting Grant, Consolidator Grant or Advanced Grant, or a similar international programme.

There is expected to be approx. 32 grants in 2019.

This instrument is offered only by DFF | Humanities. The purpose of Research Networks | Humanities is to strengthen the broad base of cooperation among research areas which are geographically and institutionally scattered, both in Denmark and abroad. The network is expected to cooperate on defined research themes and challenges. In assessing applications, emphasis is placed on the originality of the concept and the network’s expected contribution to scientific development.