In 2017 the AXA Research Fund will be proposing up to 25 Post-Doctoral Fellowships to outstanding researchers. Students can be awarded a grant for up to €130,000 for an 18 to 24 month period.
The research project must fall within the scope of the AXA Research Fund’s overall mission, that is, to fund basic science dedicated to developing a better understanding of global risks.
The mission of the AXA Research Fund is to fund academic research dedicated to bettering our understanding of important hazards, risks and threats and our current global societal challenges within four clusters: socioeconomic risks, environmental risks, life risks and the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
The AXA Research Fund supports academic innovation carried out by top-tier researchers all over the world. It provides researchers with the means and freedom to complete their work successfully, so that they feel encouraged to explore new avenues.
Eligibility Criteria
The following criteria must be met in order for applicants to be eligible for scholarship:
- Only candidates without a permanent academic position are eligible.
- The applicant must have been awarded his/her first PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree) before the beginning of the Post-Doctoral grant and within the 3 years preceding the deadline for the submission of their research proposal.
- The eligibility period may be extended up to 6 years in the event of documented career breaks. Eligible career breaks may in particular include:
– Maternity / Paternity leave: For maternity and paternity leave, the effective elapsed time since the award of the first PhD will be considered reduced by 6 months for each child born after the PhD award.
– Long-term illness, clinical qualification or national service. The effective elapsed time since the award of the first PhD will be considered reduced by the documented amount of leave taken for each event that occurred after the PhD award. If relevant, documentation regarding career breaks should be annexed at the end of the application.
- For candidates presented by institutions located in non-focus countries, past, present or planned international mobility is mandatory.
Offered Benefits
Each grant can be up to one hundred and thirty thousand euros (€130,000) at most and for duration of eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) month period.
Application Process
To apply, academic institutions must be preregistered on our platform at least 5 days prior to the opening of a campaign. Institutions are urged to appoint a single Operational Contact to handle relations with the AXA Research Fund.
First, the host institutions operational contact nominates the number of fellows they wish to present by entering their names & email addresses online. The AXA Research Fund reviews their researchers’ profiles, and, depending on the available funding, allocates slots to the candidates the institution will be allowed to present.
Candidates are then invited by the European Science Foundation (ESF) to submit their research proposals and are provided with the necessary information to access the application form.
