Postdoc.Mobility will replace Advanced Postdoc.Mobility fellowships in 2018

In 2018 the SNSF will introduce Postdoc.Mobility, a new scheme that will replace the Advanced Postdoc.Mobility fellowships offered until now.

In its multi-year plan 2017-2020, the SNSF set itself the agenda of promoting earlier independence for young researchers and of offering mobility fellowships that are more specifically aimed at promoting academic careers. In addition, the SNSF plans to simplify and streamline its portfolio of mobility funding schemes. The implementation of Postdoc.Mobility in early 2018 will mark an important step towards achieving these goals.

Raising research profiles and increasing independence

Postdoc.Mobility enables young researchers in all disciplines funded by the SNSF to enhance their research profile and become more independent by carrying out a research stay abroad. Fellowships are normally awarded for a period of 24 months. Fellowship holders may additionally apply for a return grant to cover a subsequent research period of 3-12 months in Switzerland.

First call in November 2017

The first call for Postdoc.Mobility fellowships will be launched on 1 November 2017, with the submission deadline of 1 February 2018. There will be two calls per year. Researchers will be eligible to apply if they have a PhD, or if they have completed their studies in human, dental, veterinary, social or preventive medicine. Applications may be submitted up to three years after obtaining the PhD, or up to eight years after receiving a medical licence (state examination). Where there is good cause, the SNSF may extend these time windows by a maximum of one year on request.

The Postdoc.Mobility Regulations, which are already available, provide additional information. A new website dedicated to the Postdoc.Mobility fellowships will provide detailed information as of early 2017, including on the formal participation requirements.

Advanced Postdoc.Mobility: final calls

The final submission deadlines for Advanced Postdoc.Mobility applications will be in 2017 (1 February and 1 August). Interested researchers who would like to submit an application for a postdoctoral stay abroad after these calls should pay particular attention to the shorter time windows of the follow-up scheme, Postdoc.Mobility. They have been reduced from five years to three years after the PhD, and for the medical disciplines from nine years to eight years after the state examination.

Doc.Mobility and Early Postdoc.Mobility until 2020

Both Doc.Mobility and Early Postdoc.Mobility will be continued unchanged until the end of 2020. This will give the universities enough time to define a strategy of their own in the 2017-2020 peridod. Both funding schemes will be discontinued thereafter. As of 2021, mobility funding by the SNSF at doctoral level will be limited to mobility grants in projects (available since 2013 and open to all SNSF-funded doctoral students), and at postdoctoral level to the new Postdoc.Mobility scheme outlined above.