Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS) is a scientific platform for curiosity-driven and independent research that hosts excellent scholars from all disciplines, from anthropology to astrophysics. AIAS offers a highly competitive international fellowship programme, and in its multidisciplinary setting, it focuses solely on research excellence and training of research talents. The long-term ambition of AIAS is to become a scientific hallmark for researcher-driven research that can attract the most talented researchers from around the globe in competition with other prestigious fellowship programmes in the US and China. By building such outstanding research platforms in Europe, institutes like AIAS can contribute to retaining talent and reintegrating European scholars into European science. The programme offers full academic freedom to the fellows to pursue their ideas and independently develop ground-breaking ideas in a stimulating scientific environment. The Programme has had a distinct focus on career development. The fellowship programme has provided space and time for the researchers to nurture their intellectual and academic development. The AIAS-COFUND II programme has effectively reinforced research excellence by:
•Allowing fellows to choose their research topic freely and fully focus on deepening their research skills
•Enhancing fellows’ genuine understanding of the methodologies and approaches of other scientific disciplines, enabling them to work across disciplines, tackling societal multifaceted problems.
•Establishing a multidisciplinary training platform to develop the fellows’ academic openness in their careers and to strengthen their capabilities to work anywhere in Europe or abroad, not just in their country of origin.
•Attracting junior and senior researchers from around the globe to Europe and thereby contributing to the European goals of increasing the number of researchers with innovation skills in Europe.
The results of the AIAS-COFUND II Programme include:
•A highly competitive programme: The programme has received 1243 applications in four calls, a threshold of a minimum of 4 in all calls for the selected fellows. The programme has resulted in 1588 fellowship months distributed on 61 fellowships of 26 different nationalities.
•Interdisciplinary exchanges, dissemination, and exploitation of project results: 128 peer-reviewed publications registered in the Participant Portal and 497 conference and workshop presentations by the fellows, highlighting the global reach and academic impact of the fellows’ research outputs.
•Quality career-enhancing activities: 20 targeted career development seminars and workshops have been offered, tailored specifically to the career and development needs of this cohort of fellows.
•Career grants and improved employability: 16 individual large career grants were awarded to fellows. The programme achieved a 100% employment rate among fellows after the end of their fellowship, with 30% retained at Aarhus University.
•High-impact research on societal challenges: Fellows have conducted research projects addressing critical societal issues, including climate change, sustainability, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These projects contribute with valuable insights and solutions to global challenges, underscoring the fellowships’ commitment to advancing research with an impact on pressing contemporary issues.
