Academy Research Fellows

Aim

The aim of research posts as Academy Research Fellow is to provide an opportunity for the most talented researchers to develop their skills of academic leadership and to establish themselves as independent researchers. At the same time, research posts as Academy Research Fellow gives researchers an excellent opportunity to work independently on their research and to develop the research within their field. Academy Research Fellows are encouraged to engage in international research collaboration and mobility across international and sectoral borders, for example, so that they work part of their term abroad. Applicants for a research post as Academy Research Fellow may also be foreign researchers who already work in Finland or who will come to work within the Finnish scientific community.

The duties of Academy Research Fellows include supervision of thesis and dissertation writers in their own field and teaching associated with their own research, covering 5% of their annual working hours, without separate compensation.

Applicant

The applicant is a researcher who must have completed his or her doctorate no more than 3–9 years ago at the time of the application submission deadline (the doctoral degree certificate must have been issued between 30 September 2002 and 30 September 2008). Applicants who have gained their doctorate more than nine years ago can be considered only for very special reasons, such as maternity, paternity, parental or childcare leave, military service or non-military service, or long-term illness. If the applicant pleads these special reasons, they must be justified in the application under “Personal data/CV, Degrees, Additional information”. If the reasons are strictly confidential, the applicant shall contact the presenting official (see More information).

Successful applicants will have engaged in active scientific work and published significant contributions since gaining their doctorate.

Funding

Academy funding towards the salary of Academy Research Fellows is determined according to a monthly salary of EUR 4,640. In addition, the Academy allocates funding for indirect employee costs. The funding also includes an overheads share of 12.5%.

Those selected for research posts as Academy Research Fellow can submit a separate application for a research grant for research costs to the relevant Research Council, after receiving the decision on their salary funding. This research grant can be granted to cover research costs, salary costs of a research team, and national and international collaboration and mobility.

Funding period

A research post as Academy Research Fellow is filled for five years. The funding   period is 1 September 2012–31 August 2017. The funding period can be changed only for special reasons (see Applicant). One and the same person can be granted Academy Research Fellow funding only once.

Special conditions and restrictions

Research costs of Academy Research Fellows

Separate decisions will be made on the salary and the research costs of Academy Research Fellows. Those selected for a research post as Academy Research Fellow are requested to separately submit a detailed budget for research costs. However, a tentative budget for research costs shall also be appended to the application for a research post as Academy Research Fellow as part of the research plan (section 5, Implementation). The research costs are calculated according to the full cost model.

If an Academy Research Fellow is granted funding to set up a research team associated with his or her research post, he or she will not be eligible to receive funding for a simultaneous Academy Project expect for very compelling reasons. If a person selected to a research post as Academy Research Fellow already has sufficient funding through other Academy sources, the Research Council will consider the need for additional funding depending on the research plan.

European University Institute

The Academy of Finland and the European University Institute (EUI) have agreed that the EUI can receive one Academy-funded Academy Research Fellow at a time to carry out research at the EUI for 1–2 years. Funding for this opportunity is applied for as part of the five-year research post as Academy Research Fellow. Applicants who are interested in working at the EUI are requested to read about the research conducted at the EUI before applying and to contact the Academy’s science adviser responsible for EUI issues (see More information) when drafting their application. Applicants need not append any separate invitation from the EUI to their application.

Restrictions

In the September 2011 call, the Academy will consider only one application from one and the same researcher for an Academy Project (incl. a consortium sub-project) and a research post as Academy Research Fellow or Postdoctoral Researcher. If one and the same researcher does submit more than one application for any of these funding opportunities or applies for more than one type of such funding, only the first application received from that applicant will be reviewed. Applications that are not reviewed for this reason will not be eligible for funding.

A researcher who has been granted Academy funding for Postdoctoral Researchers, can be granted a research post as Academy Research Fellow only in special cases, if the two terms would overlap with more than four months.

Appendices

See Appendix 1 A, Application appendices.

How to apply

The additional cost model (fixed overheads percentage of 12.5%) is applied to the application for salary funding. Those who are granted salary funding are requested to submit a separate application for research costs in accordance with the full cost model. The Academy’s contribution to funding comes to no more than 80% of the total research costs.

The deadline is 30 September 2011 at 16.15. The deadline is non-negotiable.

Applications are drafted in the Academy’s online services, select Open calls > Academy Research Fellow.

More information

• Senior Science Adviser Tiina Petänen, tel. +358 9 7748 8263 and Science Adviser Harri Hautala, tel. +358 9 7748 8408 (Biosciences and Environment Research Unit)
• Science Adviser Päivi Messo-Lindén (Culture and Society Research Unit), tel. +358 9 7748 8224
• Science Adviser Jan Bäckman (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Unit), tel. +358 9 7748 8394
• Science Adviser Aki Salo (Health Research Unit), tel. +358 9 7748 8244
• research at the EUI: Science Adviser Jyrki Hakapää, tel. +358 9 7748 8277

Content updated according to September call for applications 2011