Processing procedures Semper Ardens
Processing procedures for applications to Semper Ardens Advance, Semper Ardens Accomplish and Semper Ardens Accelerate.
Processing procedures Semper Ardens
Processing procedures for applications to Semper Ardens Advance, Semper Ardens Accomplish and Semper Ardens Accelerate.
Publiceret:
28.05.2026
Processing of applications
Applications for Semper Ardens Accelerate and Semper Ardens Accomplish follow the same assessment procedure. Applications for Semper Ardens Advance follow a separate assessment procedure, reflecting the scope of the grant.
In connection with the Autumn Call 2026, the Carlsberg Foundation is introducing panel assessment as part of the assessment procedure for all Semper Ardens applications. The panel assessment replaces the previous procedure under which Semper Ardens applications were assessed by 3 external peer reviewers.
The Foundation has established 4 panels, each consisting of up to ten internationally recognised experts within the Foundation’s main scientific areas:
- Humanities
- Social Sciences
- Life Sciences
- Physical Sciences
- Francesca Tinti, Professor, University of the Basque Country (Panel Chair)
- Mary Laven, Professor, University of Cambridge
- Galin Tihanov, Professor, Queen Mary University of London
- Marco Baroni, Professor, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
- Madeleine Akrich, Research Director, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation
- Mahmut Mutman, Professor
- Gabriel Moshenska, Professor, University College London
- Helen Walkington, Professor, Oxford Brookes University
- Paul Bowman, Professor, Cardiff University
- Søren-Peter Olesen, Professor emeritus, University of Copenhagen
- Gioacchino Natoli, Professor, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia
- Yves Moreau, Professor, KU Leuven
- Stefan Raunser, Professor Dr., Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology
- Birgitta Henriques-Normark, Professor, Karolinska Institutet
- Ido Amit, Professor, Weizmann Institute of Science
- Daniela Cota, Research director, Université de Bordeaux
- Ana Caño-Delgado, Professor, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics
- Elaine Holmes, Professor, Imperial College London
- Anita Maguire, Professor, University of Cork (Panel Chair)
- Bernhard Keimer, Professor, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research
- Johanna Rosén, Professor, Linköping University
- Magda Titirici, Professor, Imperial College London
- Maarten van Steen, Professor emeritus, University of Twente
- Giulio Cerullo, Professor, Politecnico di Milano
- Jonathan Keating, Professor, University of Oxford
- Andrea Ferrara, Professor, Scuola Normale Superiore
- Philippe Huybrechts, Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
At no time and under no circumstances may panel members be contacted by applicants, potential applicants, host institutions, or beneficiaries in relation to the assessment of applications. Any such contact will result in the disqualification of the application and may, in serious cases, lead to the disqualification of all applications from the institution concerned.
Applicants may, through the CF-Grant application system, indicate up to two relevant panels across the foundation’s main scientific areas for the assessment of their application. The foundation will assess these requests but cannot guarantee that they will be accommodated.
Processing procedure Semper Ardens Accelerate & Accomplish
Stage I – Panel Assessment
Applications for Semper Ardens Accelerate and Semper Ardens Accomplish are assessed by the relevant panel(s) on the basis of the assessment criteria determined by the foundation’s board. The panel assessments form part of the overall basis for the board’s subsequent assessment.
Stage II – Board Assessment
The board of the Carlsberg Foundation assesses all applications on the basis of the panel assessments and the board’s own assessment criteria.
Stage III – Decision
The board of the Carlsberg Foundation makes the final decision on all applications.
All applicants will receive the board’s decision in the form of either a grant letter or a rejection letter by mid-December.
Processing procedure Semper Ardens Advance
Stage I – Panel Assessment
Applications for Semper Ardens Advance are assessed by the relevant panel(s) on the basis of the assessment criteria determined by the foundation’s board. The panel assessments form part of the overall basis for the board’s subsequent assessment.
Stage II – Board Assessment
The board of the Carlsberg Foundation assesses all applications in accordance with the board’s own assessment criteria and the panel assessments. The board then decides which applications for Semper Ardens Advance will receive an invitation for an interview.
Stage III – Interview
A number of applicants for Semper Ardens Advance will be invited to an interview to present their project to the board of the Carlsberg Foundation and participate in a subsequent Q&A session.
For the 2026 call, interviews will be held on Thursday 26 November and Friday 27 November 2026.
In the case of a PI team, all team members must participate in the interview.
Stage IV – Decision
The board of the Carlsberg Foundation makes the final decision on the applications that have proceeded to the interview stage. The decision is based on the panel assessments, the Board’s own assessments, and the interviews with the applicants.
All applicants will receive the board’s decision in the form of either a grant letter or a rejection letter by mid-December.
Application Review and Compliance
- All applications are treated confidentially
- Applications are reviewed by the foundation secretariat for compliance with the general and specific requirements
- Failure to comply with the general and specific requirements will result in the application being declared inadmissible and rejected.
Applications that comply with the general and specific requirements will proceed to further assessment by the panels and the board.