Call for Applications

By means of Academic Excellence Fellowships, the FAN helps outstanding, innovative young talents to decide at an early stage to pursue an academic career and to follow it with determination and focus.  

Eligibility to apply
Applicants must be either employed at or associated with UZH through their planned research project. Applications are open to young research talent from all faculties. The following criteria apply:

The following individuals may apply: 
•    postdocs, habilitation candidates and candidates for equivalent academic qualifications, as well as 
•    heads of research groups who are not yet a member of a faculty

Applications from the Faculties of Medicine and Science and from the Vetsuisse Faculty may generally be submitted from the third postdoc year of research onwards. 

Coverage of the fellowship
Support for the applicants’ research projects primarily covers: 

• salary of the applicants or
• salary of participating doctoral candidates, postdocs or research associates. 

One-off amounts up to CHF 120,000 in total are granted. These figures also include the employer’s social insurance contributions.

The FAN coordinates its fellowship support with UZH’s own academic career development program (UZH Postdoc Grants). Candidates may apply to both for support, although a note to this effect must be included where multiple submissions are made. If funding has already been granted by another institution, a copy of the letter informing you of that award must be enclosed.

When and Where Can You Apply?

• The FAN calls for applications once a year. The next submission deadline is 31 January 2026. 
• Fellowship funding is usually granted for one year but may be requested for shorter periods if required. The earliest a project can begin is 1 July 2026, the support ends on 31 December 2027 at the latest. 
• Applications are to be submitted at: https://www.fan4talents.uzh.ch/de/Ausschreibung-Call-for-Applications/Call-for-Applications/Application-Academic-Excellence-Fellowship.html
   (please upload documents in pdf format: one pdf for the budget with document title «surname_first name_‘Budget’» and one pdf for all other documents with document title «sur-name_first name_‘Application’») 
• Professors are requested submit their reference letters directly via this form: https://www.fan4talents.uzh.ch/de/Ausschreibung-Call-for-Applications/Call-for-Applications/Submission-Reference-Letters.html

What Should the Application Contain?

• Pitch (max. 350 characters, incl. spaces): Concise summary of the project that sums up its essence and social relevance;
• A brief outline of the research project (no more than 2,500 characters, including spaces);
• A detailed description of the project (no more than 25,000 characters, including spaces, excluding the bibliog-raphy);
• A CV (in view of the target group of the FAN, this must also state the applicant’s year of birth), with a list of publications;
• The applicant's Master’s and doctoral degree diploma; 
• A project plan (both with regard to matter and time, including start and end of the funding period); 
•  A budget (salary, including the employer’s social insurance contributions; material expenses, travel and con-ference costs may also be covered where justified and to a limited extent only), according to budget template (XLSX, 57 KB) (please remember to sign the template);  
• A letter of recommendation from two professors, one of whom must be at the University of Zurich. The second recommendation (or any optional third one) should preferably come from a professor at a different university. The letters of recommendation must indicate in particular whether the applicants are among the best in their discipline, and whether they have both the academic and personal qualities to pursue a successful career in re-search and teaching at the university level;
• Confirmation letter from the institute or clinic: the letter should confirm that the project to be funded will be affiliated with the institute or clinic and that the infrastructure needed to carry out the project is available (equipment, rooms, etc.);
• If experiments involving humans or animals requiring authorization are planned, copies of the authorizations granted by the relevant ethics commission or the cantonal veterinary office (without applications). If authori-zation is still pending, a copy of the applications should initially be provided, and copies of the authorization must be provided before the project begins.

Applicants who have already been supported by the FAN may not apply a second time. Applications
must be written in German or English. 

Who Reviews the Applications? 
The advisory board of the FAN selects the candidates for funding in a competitive procedure, taking into account the available funds. The key decision-making criteria are academic qualifications and the applicant’s suitability for an academic career, as well as excellence and originality in their research work.  
All applicants will be notified of the board’s decision by the middle of April 2025 at the latest. Due to the limited funding quota, however, no project-specific reasons for rejections will be communicated.

Where Can I Find Further Information?
Sabine Höhl
FAN – Fonds zur Förderung des akademischen Nachwuchses
UZH Alumni Office
Schönberggasse 15a
8001 Zurich
e-mail: fan@alumnioffice.uzh.ch
phone 044 634 28 74