Grant Writing Courses for Postdoctoral Fellows
No matter the career stage, securing external funding is crucial for scientists to be able to explore new ideas and advance their careers. Proposal writing is both an art and a science, and as such, it can be taught and learned. Since 2022, the EPFL Research Office has offered a course tailored to postdocs entitled, “How to prepare successful grant proposals.”
2026 dates:
Winter series
- Lecture | Writing tips: 3rd February, in-person, 11:30-3pm (Further information; Register here)
- Practice | Writing clinic: 3rd, 17th and 31st March
Spring series
- Lecture | Writing tips: 24th April, in-person, 11:30-3pm
- Practice | Writing clinic: 26th May, 9th and 23rd June
Autumn series
- Lecture | Writing tips: 28th August, online, 12-3pm
- Practice | Writing clinic: 15th and 29th September, and 13th October
Audience
Primarily intended for EPFL postdoctoral researchers, but also open to senior EPFL PhD students who want to start preparing their postdoctoral fellowship applications. The Autumn online lecture is also open to external Postdoctoral fellows applying to be hosted at EPFL. Additional writing clinics will be offered to internal and external fellows applying for specific schemes (e.g. MSCA PF, SNSF Ambizione) with EPFL as the host.
Structure and content
Theory | Writing tips
A one-off presentation of the theory behind the preparation of successful proposals. This course will teach participants where to look for appropriate fellowship and research funding opportunities, the ins and outs of the application process itself, and how to prepare a written proposal.
Practice | Writing clinic – Optional, upon further registration.
3 sessions during which participants write their own, ready-to-submit funding proposal, and provide feedback to each other.
Practice writing is a key step in strengthening writing skills, as is reading and reviewing the work of others. Therefore, the main goal for postdocs in the clinic will be to write a full proposal for a major postdoctoral / independent fellowship or proof-of concept innovation grant through an iterative process. Postdocs will write and receive critical feedback on their proposal excerpts before rewriting them based on these constructive criticisms and suggestions. They will also gain an understanding of how proposals are being assessed by funders and hone their proposal writing skills through peer review exercises.
Each session will include a peer review exercise done in small groups. The exercise will be based on written assignments related to the topics of each class.
Session 1: Significance, objectives, and hypotheses
Session 2: Title, abstract, introduction
Session 3: Experimental design, timeline, broader impacts