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Programme details

Programme objectives of the Marie S. Curie FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Programme

The Marie S. Curie FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Programme (FCFP) contributes to the overarching aims of supporting researchers at crucial points in their careers and making research careers more attractive. Doing so, the objectives of the Marie S. Curie FCFP are in line with the objectives of the European Research Area (ERA) and the EU’s People Programme.

Offering fellowships with the focus on the needs of individual researchers, their individual mobility strategies and their personal research projects is an important addition to scientific networking. Fellowship stays of up to a year are the ideal instrument for building relationships of trust between like-minded researchers. Relationships of trust can form the basis for future collaborations and thus help to form ever more and closer links for cooperation and exchange. In this context, the Marie S. Curie FCFP especially benefits from the close proximity of Freiburg to France and Switzerland. FRIAS is an important cornerstone in strengthening both regional and international collaboration within the EUCOR network of universities in the Upper Rhine area. This is particularly true with respect to the universities of Basel and Strasbourg. FRIAS fellows enjoy every opportunity to engage with colleagues at these universities and have the possibility to participate in established research networks in many fields with colleagues from these institutions.

 

Programme details

The Marie S. Curie FCFP addresses excellent researchers from all disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, medicine and engineering. Under the Marie S. Curie FCFP, incoming fellows are placed within the strongest and most competitive research areas of the University of Freiburg. They are free to pursue their own research projects and are given the means to really push forward with their ideas.

The programme comprises one scheme directed at junior researchers (completed PhD plus one to six years post-doctoral experience) and one scheme directed at senior researchers (completed PhD plus a minimum of six years post-doctoral research experience or a tenured professorship or equivalent permanent position). FRIAS is committed to supporting junior researchers at a critical step in their career through a fellowship. However, one of the preconditions for the success in this respect is a diverse community of excellent fellows, including established and internationally renowned senior researchers from all over the world. This mix of different career levels and backgrounds proves very attractive for excellent, open-minded researchers.

In general, the senior scheme supports fellowships of three to ten months duration. Special reasons should be given for fellowships exceeding six months duration. In the junior scheme, researchers may apply for fellowships of twelve months. If – over the course of the fellowship – the junior fellows develop a collaboration with a non-academic partner institution in the region, they may apply for an extension of their fellowship for up to three months, provided they will closely work with and possibly even at this partner organisation (a company, a non-profit or cultural institution).

The determining selection criteria in the merit-based, internationally oriented, peer-review selection procedure are the academic excellence of both the applicant and the project proposal. A personal qualification with regard to experience and capability to conduct the research project is also taken into account during the evaluation of the applications. A thematic proximity between the project and the research profile of the University of Freiburg is expected to guarantee an added value for conducting research within the Marie S. Curie FCFP.

Selected applicants are offered an External Senior or a Junior Fellowship at FRIAS with all the corresponding rights and obligations for the duration of the fellowship. During the time of the FRIAS fellowship they also hold the status of a Marie S. Curie fellow of the European Union. Within the current selection round, fellowships are awarded for the period between September 1, 2023 and August 31, 2024.

Fellows receive a living allowance, mobility allowance and a research cost contribution. All fellows will have at their disposal a budget for individual training activities and travel costs. Additionally, fellows accompanied by at least one child receive an additional monthly family allowance.

The Institute provides its fellows with modern office space and an up-to-date infrastructure. Accommodation is available through the university guest house and additional centrally located apartments. Fellows have full access to all library services from one of the leading German university libraries. Special attention is drawn to supporting fellows who plan to come to Freiburg together with their families.

Fellows enjoy the opportunity of being connected with larger research projects and centers at the University of Freiburg, as well as to the FRIAS research focus. The research focus gathers a certain number of fellows around a topic of common interest, but other topics and research areas have their place in FRIAS as well.

For a comprehensive list of excellence clusters, priority programs, research centers, collaborative research centers (SFBs), EU-projects, graduate schools and research training groups as well for further information on the 11 faculties and their research profile please consult https://uni-freiburg.de/research/research-profile

Under the FCFP, fellows enjoy the freedom of pursuing their own research projects and of really pushing forward their ideas. To support fellows in making optimal use of this unique opportunity, FRIAS has put in place comprehensive measures for career guidance and mentoring as well as various skills training options, both within the fellows’ disciplinary field and for additional skills necessary for a successful career.

The expectations that accompany a Marie S. Curie FCFP fellowship include a clear commitment of the researchers to the proposed project, full-time presence at the institute and active participation in the institute’s academic and cultural events. Longer periods of absence require the directors’ approval. These expectations are clearly set out in the fellowship agreement signed by the fellow and the FRIAS.


Important information relating to the programme

It is very important to be aware that an individual researcher cannot benefit, at the same time, from more than one EU funding action.

 

About the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Visit the website of the European Commission

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