Research Funding

Guides on funding opportunities

Explore the most popular research funding opportunities.

Important: please use your EPFL email address to access these documents on Google.


Discover the new Compendium for Collaborations focusing on special funding opportunities for collaborations financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Part 1), Horizon Europe (Part 2), and International funders (Part 3).

Discover the Foundations Compendium, an all-new guide presenting a non-exhaustive collection of Swiss and international grant-making foundations, funding research projects, scientists’ career and science communication.

This guide is meant to give an overview of several Federal Offices and funding instruments, selected according to the policy areas defined by the Federal Council for the period 2021-2024.

Most popular funding instruments for postdoctoral fellows in Switzerland.

Toolkits and links to funding opportunities

BRIDGE Discovery is aimed at experienced researchers for basic as well as applied research in order to realise the innovation potential of research findings.

 

 

 

Have you earned your spurs as a young researcher and come up with an idea for developing your research results into a marketable product?

 

Bertarelli Foundation research funding opportunities

The Catalyst fund will support projects that aim at developing novel therapeutic approaches, such as cell and gene therapy, optogenetics, bioactive molecules, diagnostic tools, imaging techniques and implants among others.

Application deadline: to be announced
Catalyst Fund webpage

COST research technology funding opportunity epfl
European Cooperation in Science and Technology. Copyright: COST
 
COST Actions (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding organisation for research and innovation networks.
symposium awards latsis research epfl
Fondation latsis awards researchers and boost technology through symposiums. Copyright: Fondation Latsis

The Fondation Latsis Internationale grants CHF 40’000.- for organizing a scientific symposium.

Targeted to a group of two to maximum four Principal Investigators (PIs) – of which one will be designated as the corresponding PI (cPI) – working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems.

The ETH Domain Open Research Data (ORD) Program consists of 5 measures to foster and improve ORD practices with the broader aim of advancing Open Science among ETH Domain researchers and institutions.

GRS research funding opportunity

The Gebert Rüf Stiftung mission is to promote Switzerland as a top location for business and as a place to live. It supports impact-oriented entrepreneurial projects in any disciplines, as well as science outreach.

Horizon Europe is the EU funding programme for research and innovation running from 2021 to 2027 with a €100 billion budget. 

Switzerland is considered as a non-associated third country for the submission of project proposals in Horizon Europe and other related programmes and initiatives. This status can be changed at any time, but apply for all calls in 2022.

For more information on the association status of Switzerland to Horizon Europe please check the SERI Factsheet and the Q&A documents.

Horizon Europe calls

information technology research funding opportunity
The purpose of the Hasler Foundation is to promote information and communications technology (ICT) for the well-being and benefit of Switzerland as an intellectual and industrial centre. The Foundation aims to play an active role in ensuring that Switzerland continues to take a leading position in science and technology in the future.
 
national research funding opportunity

Innosuisse helps leverage your innovation: we support science-based innovation projects carried out by companies – particularly SMEs – working with public-sector research partners.

Fondation Leenaards supports people and institutions in the fields of culture, aging and biomedical science in the Lake Geneva region. The annual Leenaards Prize for Translational Medical Research is awarded to collaborative projects, which investigate a clinical problem, linking it to a component of advanced basic research.

Copyright: European Commission

The European Commission (EC) has informed the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) that Switzerland will be treated as a non-associated third country for the submission of project proposals in

Switzerland is considered as a non-associated third country for the submission of project proposals in Horizon Europe and other related programmes and initiatives. This status can be changed at any time, but will now apply for calls in 2022.

The participation of Switzerland in MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (European Fellowships) is by principle excluded as a non-associated third country.

Switzerland is however eligible to act as outgoing host institution in the MSCA Global Fellowship action.

For more information on the association status of Switzerland to Horizon Europe please check the SERI Factsheet and the Q&A documents.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) provide grants for all stages of researchers’ careers – be they doctoral candidates or highly experienced researchers – and encourage transnational, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility.

EPFLeaders4impact is a new postdoctoral fellowship programme funding talented researchers who have the ambition to provide innovative solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Next call deadline: 1 March 2023

EPFLeaders4impact webpage

For any question please contact [email protected]

Novartis research funding opportunity

The purpose of our Foundation is to foster medical-biological science by supporting research projects conducted at Swiss universities in the field of medicine and medically oriented biology/biochemistry and by co-funding research fellowships abroad.

FreeNovation supports unconventional biomedical research projects with the ultimate aim to provide healthcare solutions for patients.

The National Research Programmes (NRP) support coordinated research projects that contribute to the solution of urgent problems of national importance.

Your first step towards scientific independence!  The purpose of SNSF Ambizione grants is to enhance researchers’ scientific profile and to help them become scientifically independent in conducting their own research projects.

The SNSF Starting Grants is an integrative call which, in addition to the transitional measure for the ERC Starting Grants 2023, also covers the SNSF Professorial Fellowships call 2023. This grant allows outstanding researchers to lead an independent research project in any disciplines and a team of researchers in CH. Funding: max. CHF 1.8M for max. 5 years (including applicant’s salary, if applicable). Eligibility: max. 8 years after PhD + min. 3 years of research after PhD.

  • Internal deadline: contact your host institute and school
  • Call opens: November 1, 2022
  • Applicant Workshop: December 1, 2022 at 12:00
  • Deadline: February 1, 2023 at 17:00 CET
  • EPFL Toolkit
  • SNSF webpage
 
 
Make your ideas reality with the SNSF! With its project funding scheme, the Swiss National Science Foundation enables researchers to independently conduct research projects with topics and goals of their own choice.
Sinergia promotes the interdisciplinary collaboration of two to four research groups that propose breakthrough research.
 

The aim of Spark is to fund the rapid testing or development of novel and unconventional scientific approaches, methods, theories, standards and ideas, etc. It is designed for projects that show unconventional thinking and introduce a unique approach. The focus is on promising ideas of high originality for which preliminary data are not necessarily available (high-risk research).

SPIRIT: the New SNSF programme for international scientific collaboration with countries receiving development assistance.

SNSF Supplementary measures comprise very specific, targeted funding schemes that are available to grantees of the SNSF if certain conditions are met.

ligue suisse contre le cancer funding opportunity
Copyright: SCL
 
The Swiss Cancer League and the Swiss Cancer Research foundation (SCL/SCR) support basic, clinical, psychosocial and epidemiological research projects on the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer.

The Velux Stiftung supports basic and applied research in the fields of Daylight, Healthy Ageing, Ophthalmology and Forestry. The foundation aims to have an impact on and contribute to sustainable improvement and the benefit of society. This is achieved by supporting the creation of new knowledge through cutting-edge research and the fostering of its application and dissemination. The foundation attains leverage by focusing on projects with a high potential to initiate change and impact.

© Irina Sakharova

Meet the ReO members! Episode 14 – Irina Sakharova

— Meet the ReO members! is a series aimed at introducing the EPFL Research Office members. Meet Irina Sakharova, Programme Manager, in the fourteenth episode!

© 2023 EPFL

Six SNSF Consolidator Grants awarded to EPFL researchers

— The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) awarded six "SNSF Consolidator Grants" to EPFL researchers. This transitional measure replaces the ERC Consolidator Grants.

© iStock

Prizes for biomedical research in the Lake Geneva region

— Three scientific prizes will be awarded this year by the Leenaards Foundation, including two for research carried out in partnership with EPFL. The first research deals with antibiotic resistance, and the second seeks to better understand the link between genetic markers and cardiovascular diseases.

© 2023 EPFL

Preparing successful proposals: a course for Postdocs

— The EPFL Research Office is launching a new course tailored to postdocs entitled, “How to prepare successful grant proposals.”

© Maryam Majidian

Meet the ReO members! Episode 13 – Maryam Majidian

— Meet the ReO members! is a series aimed at introducing the EPFL Research Office members. Meet Maryam Majidian, Programme Manager, in the thirteenth episode!

@pikisuperstar/Freepik

Brand-new CYD proof of concept Fellowships launched

— A brand-new CYD proof of concept Fellowships program promoting research and innovation in cyber-defence has just been launched by the EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and the Cyber-Defence (CYD) Campus.

© 2023 EPFL

ETH Domain Open Research Data (ORD) program – Contribute call 4

— The ETH Domain Open Research Data (ORD) Program consists of 5 measures to foster and improve ORD practices with the broader aim of advancing Open Science among ETH Domain researchers and institutions.

© Galatea Lab

SNSF-funded project enhances THG microscopy for materials imaging

— A cross-disciplinary project involving three EPFL units – the Hub for Advanced Image Reconstruction, the School of Engineering's Galatea Lab, and the AudioVisual Communications Laboratory (LCAV) – has received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) to study methods for speeding image capture in non-linear optical microscopy. Their work will be used to examine nanostructures in transparent materials.

Contact

EPFL Research Office

Av. Auguste-Piccard 1

CH – 1015 Lausanne

[email protected]


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