Spring call 2025: Postdoctoral fellowships for combined research stays abroad and reintegration into Denmark

The Carlsberg Foundation is inviting applications for postdoctoral funding instruments offered in the spring call 2025. For the first time, the Internationalisation Fellowship and Reintegration Fellowship have been combined into a single funding instrument that may be applied for as a 2-3-year Internationalisation Fellowship. The aim is to give young, talented researchers not only the opportunity of a research stay abroad, but also the assurance of being able to return to a Danish research institution where they can continue to work with their research ideas.

Researchers will still be able to apply for Reintegration Fellowships separately in connection with the foundation’s autumn call up to and including 2026.

Evaluation shows need for research stays abroad with an assurance of reintegration

The decision to make the change was based in part on a detailed evaluation of the Internationalisation and Reintegration Fellowships carried out by the foundation among applicants and grant recipients in 2023-2024.

The evaluation revealed a need for postdocs who wish to gain important research experience abroad to be assured of a continued connection with Danish research after their stay. The evaluation also identified a desire for the administration of the fellowship to be made easier, as a result of which this will be handled in future by the universities alone. With this change in the framework of the fellowship the hope is that it will increase the diversity of applicants.

Professor Lasse Horne Kjældgaard, CEO, Carlsberg Foundation, says:

“Every year, the Carlsberg Foundation allocates a substantial amount of funding for young researchers in the form of various types of postdoctoral fellowship. From this year, we have changed the Internationalisation Fellowship so that it automatically incorporates a concluding period at a Danish research institution. We’ve done this because the researchers themselves stated that it’s a challenge leaving Denmark without the assurance of being able to return and have the opportunity to re-embed themselves in the Danish research landscape. We hope this change will be well received.”

Requirement to be abroad for longer than at home

The sole requirement for the combined research stay abroad and reintegration is that the stay abroad must be longer than the period subsequently spent in Denmark. The researcher is thus free to spend the entire period abroad or to split the stay abroad between two different institutions.

The change also means that from 2025 inclusively there will only be one annual call for Internationalisation Fellowships, which will be in the spring. In order to be considered for an Internationalisation Fellowship, the applicant must document a prior strong connection to Danish research.

Please note that on February 24 at 11:00, we will be hosting a webinar about the new type of grant.

Postdoctoral fellowships at the Danish Institutes in Rome and Athens

The Carlsberg Foundation is also calling for applications for postdoctoral fellowships at the Danish Institute in Rome and the Danish Institute at Athens respectively.

The foundation is offering a single two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Danish Institute in Rome for research within the humanities, social sciences and/or natural sciences. The fellowship is open to applicants who have a PhD from a Danish research institution and no more than three years’ research experience since obtaining their PhD.

Additionally, the foundation is offering a single two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Danish Institute in Athens for research within archaeology, history, language, literature, art, architecture and cultural traditions in Greece and the Mediterranean countries. This fellowship is likewise open to applicants who have a PhD from a Danish research institution and no more than three years’ research experience since obtaining their PhD.

All applications received for the postdoctoral fellowships will be subjected to an expert assessment by the Carlsberg Foundation’s board of directors, who makes the final decision on the foundation’s grants.

The application deadline is 4pm on 1 April 2025.