Junior postdoctoral fellowship

The junior postdoctoral fellowships are intended to support researchers who have very recently completed their PhD, in developing an independent, international research career.

The FWO collaborates with the Plantentuin Meise, VITO and Flanders Hydraulics for the funding of additional postdoctoral fellowships.

The Suzanne Duchesne Fund is administered by the King Baudouin Foundation and provides €93,000 for the 2024 call in the form of special bench fees for selected postdoctoral researchers in oncology (Med4 panel).

L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science is also offering the three best female candidates from biomedical and STEM disciplines (for applications submitted in the S&T, Bio and Med panels) an additional bench fee of €20,000 to support their research careers.

• 18 September 2023: call opens
• 1 December 2023 at 5pm: call closes (last application date)
• 21-28 March 2024: online preselection meetings
• 29 March 2024: invitation to interviews
• 17 April - 8 May 2024: (physical) interviews
• 16 May 2024: announcement of results
• 1 October or 1 November 2024: start of fellowship

• Duration of the fellowship: Three years
• Gross monthly salary (4 years seniority): €5,292.92 (index 2,O399 from 1/12/2023)
• Bench fee which can range from €4,000 to €10,000 per year

• See the programme regulations for more details on eligibility conditions
• You hold a PhD by thesis or a degree or a diploma or certificate recognized as equivalent in accordance with European Union directives or a bilateral agreement
• You can apply for a junior postdoctoral fellowship if your PhD was obtained not longer than 3 years before October, 1 of the year in which the fellowship would start, or will be obtained at September 15 of that year at the latest (in the latter case you need to informs the FWO of the date of your public defense by 1 July of that year at the latest).
• You have not yet benefited from this fellowship, not even partially.
• You can apply maximum two times for the same fellowship. You can apply for a senior postdoctoral fellowship immediately after your junior postdoctoral fellowship.
• You agree with the Research Integrity Clause.

• You have to find a supervisor at a Flemish host institution (article 3 of the regulations on postdoctoral researchers).
• You need to submit your application via the online application (addressed to a FWO expert panel).
• The supervisor receives a request from the FWO to write a letter of recommendation.
• Once the expert panel has completed the preselection, you will be notified and depending on your result, you will or will not be invited to the second round.
• If you are invited to the second round, you will be interviewed by the panel between 17 April and 8 May 2024. You will receive an invitation for this on 29 March 2024. Have a look at the dates for the interviews
• On the basis of the proposals from the expert panels, the board will make the final decision on the selection. The results will be announced via email and via our results page on 16 May 2024.
• You will get feedback on your evaluation once the decisions have been published.
• The evaluation and selection procedures are explained in a number of information sessions (see below).