Grants Office Newsletter March 2026

Dear Researchers of the University of Basel,

As the sunny weather starts to establish itself, the news and opportunities regarding research funding are popping up like spring flowers. In our first Newsletter for 2026, we inform you about changes to the SNSF career funding schemes, new opportunities for seed money here at the University of Basel, as well as plenty of upcoming calls and events.

For those of you planning an ERC application this year, don’t miss our interview with Prof Thomas Ward or our event in June.

We also provide you with an overview of funding opportunities from Swiss Federal Offices, as well as some updates about tools and e-alerts to help you find new funding opportunities.

We wish you a pleasant and informative read.

The Grants Office Team

Eve Silfverberg, Gillianne Bowman, Aleksandra Grzegorczyk, Luca Wacker & Julia Wyss

ERC Advanced Grants are for established researchers with a track-record of significant research achievements. Projects can cover any topic of research and scholarship and are evaluated by subject specific plans.

We spoke to Thomas Ward, ERC Advanced Grantee and former ERC Starting Grant panel member about his experience with grant writing and the evaluation process. Essential reading for anyone who is planning an ERC application.

Thinking of applying for an ERC grant? On the 10th June we are planning an ERC Information Event for applicants from all levels. Details and registration on our website. 

TO THE INTERVIEW

First of all, we would like to congratulate our seven new MSCA Postdoctoral Fellows. We wish them a good start with their projects.

If you are new at the University of Basel (or not yet arrived) and interested in applying for an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship with us, the Euresearch Applicants Training on 1st July in Basel is for you. Registration will soon open.

Kindly reach out to the Grants Office if you are planning to apply to the September 2026 deadline.

The SNSF is reforming its career funding schemes to better implement the strategy and values in terms of supporting favorable framework conditions and career paths. As of 2028, a new post-doctoral funding scheme combining Ambizione and Postdoc.Mobility will be launched.

The Ambizione call set for November 2026 and the Postdoc.Mobilit call in August 2027 will therefore be the last calls for these schemes. For these final calls the SNSF plans some adjustments to the eligibility criteria, details of which will be announced soon.

The Vice President for Research is launching a new seed funding call for interdisciplinary collaborative projects. Ground-breaking and transformative ideas with a potential for establishing new, highly innovative, focal areas will be supported.

Applications for up to 100’000 CHF can be submitted anytime. The seed money will support the preparation of new interdisciplinary grants (NCCR, ERC Synergy or similar).

SEED FUNDING

Funding streams from the Swiss Federal Offices are designed to support applied, interdisciplinary research that addresses societal challenges and contributes to both national and global goals of Switzerland. While some federal offices have regular calls, others look for specific expertise on an ad-hoc basis.

To give you a good overview of the funding opportunities, we have collected information from federal offices with regular calls, as well as examples of previously funded projects.

READ ARTICLE

The University of Basel’s new “Action Plan. Equal Opportunity, Diversity & Inclusion 2026–2030” is now online. Together with the university’s “Strategic Position: Equality, Diversity & Inclusion 2022–2030,” the action plan meets the requirements for equality plans within the framework of the European research funding program Horizon Europe. This means that the action plan is also of central importance for the eligibility of international research projects.

In order to create and maintain inclusive research, work, and study environments, the action plan targets seven main strategic objectives such as to strengthen intercultural skills, to protect personal integrity, to promote diverse careers, or to adopt a family-friendly approach.

LEARN MORE

Euresearch is the Swiss guide to European research and Innovation. Providing information and guidance on funding opportunities within the EU Framework Programmes Horizon Europe and other initiatives.

Researchers are very welcome to register for personalized e-alerts to receive timely updates on EU funding programmes in their targeted areas of interest.

An overview of deadlines for MSCA, ERC and collaborative projects can also be found on the Grants Office website. 

From 1^st May onwards researchers at the University of Basel and associated institutes will be able to search for funding opportunities using Research Connect. This specialized database allows you to discover new funding opportunities worldwide.

Once the subscription is active, we will offer an online webinar to present this new tool. Further details will follow.

Due to this change our subscription with Research Professional will be discontinued at the end of April.

The latest issue from Horizonte – The Swiss Research Magazine focuses on expeditions in the past and nowadays.  

Moritz von Brescius, SNF Consolidator Grantee at the Institute for European Global Studies, is cited in the article From conquering the unknown to a final glance of what we've lost. 

In the “behind the scene” portrait series Creating a framework for good research Cornelia Fürstenberger from Unitectra, Technology Transfer, informs about her work between academia and industry.

The Grants Office would like to congratulate:

• Philippe Cattin and Paul Ritsche for their Innosuisse funded projects
• 5 new Weave/Lead Agency Projects
• Anne Christin Meyer-Gerspach and Christoph Hess for their Uniscientia projects
• Özgür Genç for the TSC Alliance project
• Gergor Hutter for a Helmut Horten Stiftung project
• Mattia Zampieri and Matthias Wymann for their Krebsliga Schweiz projects
• Urs Jenal for his UKRI Grant and his Novo Nordisk project
• Mattia Zampieri for the San Salvatore Foundation grant
• Marc Aurel Busche for a Synapsis Foundation project
• Anna Leoni Swart and Anne Zintzsch for their 3RCC projects
• Claudia Weidensteiner for a project from the foundation Suisse de recherche sur les maladies musculaires

Check out Research Professional for more national and international Calls.