FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Programme for Junior and Senior Researchers - Phase 2

Project Information

FCFP

Grant agreement ID: 754340

DOI

10.3030/754340

Project closed

EC signature date 3 April 2017

Start date 1 September 2017

End date 31 August 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 4 743 600,00

EU contribution

€ 2 371 800,00

Coordinated by

ALBERT-LUDWIGS-UNIVERSITAET FREIBURG
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FCFP (FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Programme for Junior and Senior Researchers - Phase 2)

Reporting period: 2019-09-01 to 2024-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) at the University of Freiburg is an internationally renowned university-based Institute for Advanced Studies that offers fellowship stays for excellent junior and senior researchers from around the world. The FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Programme (FCFP) targets experienced researchers at both the junior and senior level and offers them fellowship stays of up to one year. The stimulating mix of junior and senior researchers is based on the idea of lifelong training and represents one of the hallmarks of the programme.

Over the course of the FCFP (09/2017-08/2024), six yearly calls are issued. The programme forms a central element of the Institute’s activities, with FCFP fellows making an important and integral contribution to the larger FRIAS community of fellows from Freiburg, Germany, and abroad. FCFP is open to researchers from all disciplines and welcomes applications from academics from all over the world. It offers internationally competitive employment conditions, thereby promoting the recruitment of outstanding researchers from Europe and all over the world. Over the course of the six calls, selected applicants took up 75 fellowships at FRIAS, hereby also becoming Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows of the European Union. Fellows receive a living allowance, a family allowance if applicable, a mobility and travel allowance, a training allowance, and a research cost contribution. Through FCFP, FRIAS distributed ~508 fellow months.

At FRIAS, FCFP fellows are part of a lively, excellent, and internationally diverse community of junior and senior fellows from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Fellows profit from frequent exchanges within a diverse, stimulating community that attracts renowned researchers from leading institutions worldwide. Before, during, and after the fellowship, fellows are supported by FRIAS’ administrative expertise. In many instances, the interactions within the community of fellows lead to significant new impulses for a fellow’s research. Close interactions over the academic year have the potential to foster long-term collaborations and network building. FCFP junior fellows profit particularly from the research opportunities provided by FRIAS, including dedicated support arrangements like mentoring, tailor-made training courses, and the opportunity to engage in both teaching and outreach activities.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Within the funding period of FCFP, FRIAS has published six annual calls for applications. In total, FRIAS received 998 applications (390 junior & 608 senior fellowship applications). Fellowships are awarded through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based, multi-stage selection process that comprises the following steps: Eligibility check, international peer-review, and final selection by the external FRIAS Scientific Advisory Board. The decisive evaluation criteria in the selection procedure are the academic excellence of both the applicant and the proposed project. The applicant’s experience and capabilities are also taken into account during the evaluation of the applications.

After the fellowship has been awarded and accepted, fellows benefit from FRIAS’s comprehensive approach to providing optimal support for its fellows. Benefits include top working facilities, excellent laboratories for the experimental sciences, a very popular literature service along with a dedicated fellow service to support fellows in getting settled in Freiburg. Special and individual support is given to researchers wishing to stay in Freiburg with their partner and/or children. Fellows enjoy the opportunity of being connected with larger research projects and centres at the University of Freiburg. FRIAS organizes numerous events such as academic colloquia, conferences and workshops. FRIAS also offers events for a broader university and public audience. FRIAS offers its fellows the opportunity to present their research or to teach at the faculties of the University of Freiburg. Furthermore, FRIAS and the University of Freiburg offer fellows a range of non-scientific training and skills programs, though a wider range of options is offered to German-speaking participants.

Publications supported through this scheme testify to the academic success of the fellowship programme. The feedback of the FCFP fellows has been extremely positive. Many FCFP fellows stay in touch with their (new) collaborators in Freiburg. Seven fellows selected in earlier calls of the FCFP programme have already returned to FRIAS through the institute’s Alumni programme. By optimally supporting mobility and exchange across disciplines and regions, FCFP adds to the attractiveness of the European Research Area.

FCFP contributes to the overarching aim of supporting researchers at crucial points in their careers, hereby making research careers more attractive. Due to the releasement of administrative and teaching duties at their home institution, fellows had the opportunity to work on their research project without significant interruptions. Other fellows benefitted especially from the balance between the time they had at disposal for individual research project and the social activities for scientific exchange. Many researchers experienced the intellectual stimulating atmosphere as motivating. The varied FRIAS programme enabled fellows to discover new perspectives and methodical approaches and to share ideas beyond the defined borders of their research discipline, enhancing the quality and reflexivity of their work.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The impact of the FCFP on the European Research Area (ERA) is manifold. A concentrated period of work results in high-quality output during as well as after the fellowship. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie FCFP contributes to the overarching aim of supporting researchers at crucial points in their careers, hereby making research careers more attractive. FCFP fellows enhance and broaden their international research network. The established networks will connect different researchers and institutions within and outside the ERA and offer a basis for future, joint activities.
FCFP stimulates FRIAS to further improve its efforts in communicating science to a wider audience. Various dissemination and outreach activities help to maximise the social and economic impact of research performed within FCFP. The programme attracts outstanding researchers from all over the world, thereby making significant contributions to various research fields, to individual researchers’ careers, and to the European Research Area in general. Furthermore, FCFP researchers become more familiar with the German and Upper Rhine research landscapes, thus enhancing their opportunities for continuing their career in said regions.

FCFP fellows within the FRIAS fellow community