‘For Women in Science’ is the successful global cooperation of UNESCO and L’Oréal. Together, these two partners have promoted women in science since 1998 – strengthening the excellence of research, fostering gender equality and highlighting the visibility of women in research (“role models”).

The “Swiss L’ORÉAL- UNESCO For Women in Science” Program will be launched in 2025 in partnership with L’Oréal Switzerland, the Swiss Commission for UNESCO and the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW. The Swiss program will support four outstanding female early-career scientists working in Switzerland each year – with an award worth 25,000 Swiss francs.

Main eligibility criteria

• Candidates must identify as female postdoctoral level researchers who have already been completed their Phd in the STEM fields of life and environmental science, physical sciences, mathematics and computing, engineering, architecture or medicine.
• Candidates must have no more than 3 years’ active full-time equivalent postdoctoral experience (discounting career breaks but including teaching experience and/or time spent in industry).
• Candidates must not currently hold a permanent academic position or have ever held a permanent academic position in the past or have received a promise of a permanent academic position before the start date of the award.
• Candidates must conduct research in the fields of life and environmental sciences, physical sciences, mathematics and computing, engineering, architecture or medicine.
• Psychology, education sciences, and social sciences are not eligible for this award.
• Candidates may be citizens of any country but must be conducting their research at a Swiss university or research institute.
• Applications are also welcome from candidates who wish to establish/re-establish themselves after a career break or other period of absence from active research in the STEM fields.

Selection criteria

• Excellence of the applicant’s current and past research
• Relevant, timely, clearly articulated research proposal
• Feasibility of the proposed activities
• Potential to leverage the grant to enhance the candidate’s career and/or assist with a successful return to scientific research

The application deadline is 31 March 2025. Click the “Read More” button below to see the full description on the official website and apply.

About SPI Flagship Initiatives

SPI Flagship Initiatives are multi-annual programmes combining science and technology projects from different disciplines and different groups/institutions in Switzerland around a polar focus region. The funding is focused on field campaigns (logistics, safety, etc.), data management, outreach, and programme coordination, thus providing temporary infrastructure for a Swiss-led polar research programme.

Further information can be found in the detailed description of the SPI Flagship Initiatives framework and scope provided in the SPI Flagship Initiatives – Call for Proposals. Please feel free to reach out to secretariat@swisspolar.ch if you have any questions.

The 2025 call for SPI Flagship Initiatives pre-proposals is now open

The second call for proposals for SPI Flagship Initiatives starts with the call for pre-proposals to be submitted by 30 April 2025.

Click the “Read More” button below to see the full call, important dates, and current SPI Flagship Initiatives.

The Scientific and Community Outreach 2025 is an initiative to support former Leading House grantees‘ outreach efforts to facilitate the dissemination of project results to diverse audiences, including the general public, scientific communities, and relevant stakeholders. The initiative aims to maximize the impact of research results by promoting broader understanding and utilization of scientific advances.

Each proposal must have one principal applicant based in Switzerland. The applicant must have an eligible Swiss institution affiliation (Swiss federal institutes of technology, cantonal universities, federal and cantonal research institutes, or universities of applied sciences).

Applications are open from the 31st of January 2025 to the 30th of March 2025.

Click the “Read More” button below to find the complete description and apply.

The aim of the Research Partnership Grant (RPG) is to strengthen or initiate scientific exchange between Swiss and Latin American researchers and institutions by enabling them to jointly undertake preliminary research and organise meetings, conferences, or workshops. RPGs are particularly useful for developing new joint project proposals or connecting already existing, independently funded projects in Switzerland and the Latin American partner countries for long-lasting cooperation.

Each proposal must include one principal investigator based in Switzerland, affiliated with an eligible Swiss institution, and one principal investigator in Latin America. Multilateral partnerships with additional Latin American countries are welcome.

Applications are open from the 31st of January 2025 to the 30th of April 2025.

Click the “Read More” button below to read the complete description and apply.

Call for Applications – Reference Number 10110

Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer was the Founding Director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) – now RIFS – in Potsdam, Germany. With the Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellowship, RIFS wants to support individuals who, like Klaus Töpfer, are committed to sustainable development and build bridges between science, politics, and society.

RIFS is looking for applications from highly talented mid-career professionals, from Germany or abroad, who have worked for at least ten years on issues related to sustainable development and have the potential to serve as change agents. The proposed project should have a long-term impact that unfolds beyond the Fellowship. It should address a particularly relevant aspect of sustainability with particular effectiveness (e.g. through the chosen method, planned event or intended communication channels) or effectively address a relevant aspect that has so far received too little attention. Applicants should bring innovative ideas from their respective fields in science, the arts, civil society, business, politics, or other areas of society and have gained professional experience in different countries and cultures.

The Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellowship is awarded for one year and will commence in the first quarter of 2026. The fellowship can be flexibly adapted to the candidate’s life situation, for example divided into intervals. The chosen candidate is expected to pursue the project on site in Potsdam during the entire term and to contribute to the work of the institute. Please visit our website for more information about the Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellowship and a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

The Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellowship is supported by a discretionary budget of up to 30,000 €, which can be applied to cover travel expenses, publication fees, support for organizing workshops, or production costs for artistic work, for example. The fellowship’s benefits include a monthly stipend and financial compensation to cover additional living costs during the stay in Germany.

Applications must be received by 31 March 2025, 23:59 CEST. 

Click the button below to view the full job description and apply.

Synthesis centres are research infrastructures that enable the development of knowledge from heterogeneous information, data, theories etc. as well as multiple perspectives from diverse groups. In this distinctive position on the world research scene, synthesis centres are at the forefront of knowledge in critical areas such as Biodiversity, Environment and Climate Change. Given the global nature of the tightly linked climate and biodiversity crises, several synthesis centres around the world have joined together to synthesize knowledge linking the biodiversity and climate change crises.

What do we fund in this call?

• Synthesis proposals are invited on the interactions of biodiversity and climate change.
• All centres are different and have distinct foci and project rules. Familiarize yourself with those differences and decide for where your idea fits best (feel free to contact the individual centre contacts – see below).

How does it work? What is funded? Please check the websites at the participating centres.

• Working group meetings of diverse teams (according to the individual centre rules) to be held at the same centre will include
  • 2-4 meetings from 2025-2028
  • Travel expenses (accommodation, travel, meals, support with the logistics) & scientific support for meeting preparation
  • Some postdoctoral fellowships are available as part of funded working groups (see detailed call description)
  • Activities to foster cross-working-group interactions

Timing (for summary of dates check this table):

• Call open: Differs by centre (check the centre call websites)
• Full proposal deadline: Differs by centre (check centre call websites)
• Decision announced at ‘The First International Symposium on Synthesis Research in Aquatic Ecosystems’ hosted by AquaSYNC and taking place 10-12 June 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark (details how to join tbd)
• Additional support deadlines: after working group funding decisions announced