FIDIPRO

The goal of the Finland Distinguished Professor Programme (FiDiPro) funding programme is to strengthen scientific knowledge and know-how in Finland, add a more international element to the Finnish research system, bring added value into the national innovation system and support the research-driven profiling of universities and research institutes. Through the programme, universities and research institutes can hire foreign professor-level researchers or Finnish professor-level researchers who have worked abroad for extended periods to conduct and promote research in Finland for a fixed period. For more information on the FiDiPro programme’s background and goals, see www.fidipro.fi.

The programme is aimed at creating long-term international cooperation. Funding is primarily granted for purposes of hiring leading-edge researchers who will be based in scientifically significant and strategic key areas as defined by universities and research institutes and who are internationally highly merited researchers and have wide experience in researcher training. While working in Finland, FiDiPro Professors are first and foremost expected to carry out and actively advance internationally competitive research and to contribute to strengthening Finnish research environments. Proposed FiDiPro candidates shall in principle be prepared to work in Finland.

Decisions on projects selected to the FiDiPro programme are made by the Board of the Academy of Finland. The Academy, the host university or research institute and any other funding bodies involved shall jointly agree on the resources, tasks and responsibilities of FiDiPro projects.

The visiting FiDiPro researcher shall be based at a Finnish university or research institute. The researcher shall also be in an employment relationship to that university or research institute. The researcher may work abroad for no more than half of the funding period. Besides the FiDiPro researcher’s salary expenses and travel and other costs, Academy funding may also be used towards setting up a research team. Applications shall be filed by the employing university or research institute, which will also contribute towards the FiDiPro professor’s visit and research costs.

The Academy’s funding is awarded for 2‒5 years.

A condition for the payment of funding is that the university or research institute receiving the funding and the invitee have in advance agreed in writing that the ownership rights to any patentable inventions emerging during the employment relationship are transferred to the employing Finnish university or research institute

The FiDiPro programme has a two-stage call. At the letter of intent stage, the university or research institute is required to submit a proposal on how the research project ties in with the FiDiPro programme and its goals (incl. the university’s or research institute’s strategies and competence areas). The university or research institute may submit a letter of intent for several researcher candidates to be invited. All applicants are required to submit an order of priority of the candidates, with justifications.

The plan of intent shall be detailed enough so that its significance can be assessed in terms of the research system, the promotion of research and the competence of the proposed candidate. Universities and research institutes applying for funding are expected to contribute financially towards the researcher’s salary and research costs as well as to provide other practical assistance. The site of research shall also provide the basis facilities for research.

Appendices to letter of intent

• plan of intent, no more than four pages, including

-       rationale for how the research project ties in with the FiDiPro programme and its goals (incl. the strategy and competence areas of the university or research institute)

-       background and objectives of the research

-       description of the research team

-       most important research methods

-       expected outcomes as well as scientific and societal impact

-       national and international collaboration

-       timetable for the research

• curriculum vitae for the invitee, no more than four pages
• list of publications of the invitee. Clearly indicate the ten most important publications.
• scanned appendix: priority order (with justifications) confirmed by the university or research institute, no more than two pages.

Only the requested appendices are appended to the application. The appendices shall be drafted in accordance with the Academy’s guidelines, see Appendices on the Academy’s website. The appendices shall be drafted in English and appended to the application in the online services under “Appendices”. The only exception is the curriculum vitae, which is appended under “Personal data/CV”.

How to apply

The applicant for FiDiPro funding is a university or research institute. The letter of intent is submitted in the Academy’s online services by the Finnish contact person indicated in the application, who shall agree with the university rector or the research institute’s highest director that he or she can be indicated as the issuer of the signature. After the deadline has expired, the Academy will send a request for signature (commitment by the site of research) by email to the person indicated in the application. The signature is submitted in the Academy’s online services with a function tailor-made for this purpose.

In this call, the costs of a research project are calculated according to the full cost model. Applications shall be written so as to ensure that the Academy’s contribution to funding comes to no more than 80% of the estimated total costs of the project. See guidelines on how to enter the costs in the application on the Academy’s website under Full cost model.

For more information, please contact the science adviser mentioned in the latest call for applications.

Updated according to September call 2011