Funding Program «UniBE Short Travel Grants for (Post)Docs»

The University of Bern, by way of its «UniBE Short Travel Grants for (Post)Docs» funding program, supports short research stays of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers for the purpose of further developing their own research projects.

«UniBE Short Travel Grants for (Post)Docs» provide funding for travel and accommodation for research stays abroad (field research stays, research stays at universities or other research institutions, scientific work in libraries, scientific collections, archives, laboratories, etc.), which last at least two weeks and no more than eight weeks. The maximum funding amount per application is CHF 7'000.- for stays within Europe and CHF 8'000.- for stays outside Europe.

The activity carried out within the framework of the requested research stay must have a substantial effect on the progress of the applicant’s research project.

Eligibility to apply extends to:

• Doctoral students engaged in research who have been registered as doctoral students at UniBE for at least six months at the beginning of the stay and for at least six additional months on completion of the stay.
• Early Postdocs, Advanced Postdocs, Senior Research Assistants, Teaching and Research Assistants I and Senior Teaching and Research Assistants under the old regulations, as well as postdoctoral researchers by way of a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, who have been employed as Postdocs at the UniBE for at least three months at the beginning of the stay and remain employed for at least another six months on completion of the stay.
• Early career researchers at the postdoc level who have been employed at the Inselspital Bern for at least three months and remain employed for at least another six months on completion of the stay, provided that they complete a substantial part of their research work at the UniBE, and that they have a corresponding workplace at the UniBE.

The need for funding for the requested research stay must be well justified.

Doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers (or early career researchers at the postdoc level, respectively), are not eligible to apply if they are already entitled to comparable mobility funding, e.g., as part of their employment at the University of Bern or at the Inselspital Bern or membership of a Graduate School, or if funding for the same research stay abroad has already been assured by a different university-internal or -external entity.

There are two application deadlines per year, on March 1st and September 1st respectively.