SNSF funding after lengthy career interruptions
Whether due to motherhood, military service or an accident - researchers whose career was interrupted for a significant amount of time should not be excluded from funding. For this reason, the SNSF is introducing new rules for extending the time windows in career funding.
Researchers applying for SNSF career funding need to do so within clearly defined periods after obtaining their doctorate or medical degree. The time windows for submitting applications vary depending on the funding scheme and the target group. The aim is to help young researchers to become independent as quickly as possible.
Actual duration of interruption
Up until now, time windows could be extended by at the most one year. Justifiable reasons to do so included motherhood, parental leave, military service, education/training, illness and accident.
But experience showed that a one-year extension is not always sufficient. For this reason, the upper limit has now been dropped; instead the time window can be extended by the actual duration of the interruption. And all mothers are entitled to an 18 month extension for each child born after the doctorate or medical degree.
Keep more researchers on board
"The new rule offers researchers more flexibility. They avoid being excluded from SNSF funding due to a career interruption or an unusual career path," says Matthias Egger, president of the National Research Council of the SNSF. "In this sense, the new rule bolsters diversity in research and helps to keep more young researchers on board."