2026 International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): Young Scientists Summer Program, call for invited applicants

At the core of the Research Council of Finland’s activities is to provide funding for excellent scientific research. The research we fund is also expected to have high scientific and societal impact and follow the principles of responsible science.

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) hosts doctoral candidates from around the world in the Young Scientist Summer Program (YSSP). The 2026 YSSP will run on-site in Austria from 1 June to 28 August 2026, and participants will have the opportunity to work on their own scientific projects. The YSSP includes up to 50 doctoral candidates each year.

The selections are made by IIASA. The Research Council of Finland can award grants towards the travel and accommodation costs of up to three doctoral candidates based at a Finnish host institution. The aim is to support their opportunities for collaborative research in an international research environment and to advance their research careers.

Applications are invited from one doctoral candidate selected to the YSSP 2026.

Other conditions and obstacles to the granting of funding

We will not consider (process) the application if the person responsible for the application has been found guilty of a serious violation of research integrity in the previous three years.

RCF funding will not be granted to a recipient located in Russia or Belarus. In RCF-funded projects, cooperation with individual Russian or Belarusian researchers and research teams can only be carried out if the instructions of the site of research, the sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the export control provisions, the travel recommendations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs or other guidelines by authorities do not prevent it. Funding shall be granted and used in a way that respects the equal treatment of researchers, regardless of nationality.

We will not consider (process) the application (or consortium application) if the person responsible for the application is a member of the RCF Board or scientific councils or the Strategic Research Council.

Funding can only be granted if the conditions set by the RCF for the funding are met. In addition to the eligibility criteria, another condition that must be met in order for the funding to be awarded is that you have in your application identified and assessed the risks related to research security and, where necessary, presented an adequate risk management plan.

The applicant must also describe in the application how good scientific practice will be followed in the implementation of the project, how gender equality and nondiscrimination will be promoted in the implementation of the project, and how the RCF’s guidelines on open access to research results and on the responsible management of research data will be followed in the project.

The application will not be considered (processed) if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements set for the call, if the application does not belong to the call, or if there in some other respect are no conditions for processing the case. A scientific council or another decision-making body may decide not to fund an application based on science policy objectives, or if it is apparent for some other reason that the applicant cannot receive funding with the submitted application. Read more: Eligibility.

The RCF Board decides the principles for RCF funding decisions. The present call is governed by the principles adopted on 18 September 2025.

You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after you have submitted your application to us.

When the call opens

• Sign up or log in to our online services. Check and update your personal details. Your up-to-date email address is important when we are in contact with you.
• Instructions on how to fill in the application form are available in the online services.

Application parts in the online services

The different parts of the application are listed below. A comprehensive A–Z index of application guidelines is available on our website. Instructions for filling in the application form are also on the tabs of the form.

• Personal details
• General information: topic, keywords and scientific disciplines of the project, details on the site of research
• Abstract
• Collaborators
• Funding for the project
• Public project description

Appendices

• Acceptance letter by IIASA
• The research security assessment is an obligatory appendix. Use the template provided. Read more: Research security.
• The description of the implementation of responsible science is an obligatory appendix. With a free-form appendix (approx. 1 page), describe how good scientific practice will be followed in the implementation of the project, how gender equality and nondiscrimination will be promoted in the implementation of the project, and how the RCF’s guidelines on open access to research results and on the responsible management of research data will be followed in the project. Submit the appendix in PDF format. Read more: Responsible science.

Submitting the application in the online services

You can submit the application when you have filled in or attached all the necessary information. A red warning triangle tells you that there is an error or information missing.

Submit your application in good time. You can supplement and edit the application and change appendices until the call deadline.

Fill in the grant amount under ‘Other costs’.

How to submit and supplement the application

The non-negotiable call deadline also applies to consortia. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline. The deadline for the application is 1 April 2026 at 16.15 Finnish time.

Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the content of the application appendices is correct.

You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline. For example, you can change the appendices to the application. If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline, immediately get in touch with us via our helpdesk, so that the application can be reopened for supplementation.

We may ask you to supplement the application. In that case, you will receive a supplementation request by email. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, or if the application is substantially incomplete even after a request for supplementary information, we may declare it inadmissible (i.e. it will not be processed). Make sure that your email address is up to date.

How the application becomes pending

According to section 17 of the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act and section 8 of the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector, the sender is responsible for the application arriving by the set deadline. An application becomes pending when the online application and the obligatory appendices have been submitted in the online services. The system will confirm a successful submission by sending an email to the address you have provided.

Publicity and data protection

Except for the research plan, plan of intent, abstract and progress report, which are primarily confidential, the application and its appendices are public documents. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any secret information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities.

We are committed to following regulations on data protection. The applicant is responsible for the disclosure of the personal data contained in the application and, where appropriate, for requesting the consent of the parties concerned.

The GDPR-compliant privacy notice concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.

A subcommittee appointed by the RCF Board will make the funding decisions on 20 April 2026.

You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made. After receiving the email, you can log in to the online services with your user ID to view the decision and its justifications. In the online services, you will also have access to the review report(s), which may include the panel ranking (panels rank the best applications).

How to receive the funding

A positive funding decision is accompanied by the funding terms and conditions. They include instructions on how to receive the funding.

• Contact us primarily via the helpdesk (select ‘Application guidance, international calls’).
• Technical issues with the online services? Contact us via the helpdesk (select ‘Online services and other technical questions’).
• Our telephone number (switchboard) is +358 295 335 000.