Internationalisation Fellowships

Two to three-year postdoctoral fellowships for research at an international research institution and a Danish research institution.

Deadline

01.04.2026 - 16:00

Frequency

Yearly

Opens

31.01.2026

Amount

Salary and operating expenses

For applicants

Purpose

Through these fellowships the Carlsberg Foundation wishes to promote internationalisation of talented young researchers from Denmark by enabling postdoctoral research at one or two leading international research institutions and facilitating their reintegration into the Danish research environment.

Who?

Applicants must have obtained a PhD degree, or alternatively, expect to obtain the PhD degree before the start date of the grant period. The PhD degree must have been obtained from a Danish research institution.

Applicants are not eligible if they have more than three years of experience since obtaining their PhD by the application deadline. The Carlsberg Foundation reserves the right to request additional documentation.

Any periods of leave will be accepted as extensions of this time limit (parental leave, family care leave, illness, military service, etc.).

In addition to having obtained their PhD at a Danish research institution, the applicant must have demonstrated a strong connection to Danish research, as specified in the Charter of the Foundation, for example:

  • subsequently have been employed at a Danish research institution; or
  • through personal or family relations be strongly connected to Danish research; or
  • possess so strong and demonstrated ties to Danish research that even if the applicant moves abroad during the entire project period, the applicant intends to return to Danish research upon the completion of their stay.

The fellowships cannot be applied for as a continuation of other postdoctoral fellowships abroad.

Applicants who are already affiliated with the international research institution(s) at the time of the application deadline will not be eligible to apply. Such an affiliation can for instance consist of having previously been employed or having been enrolled in graduate or undergraduate studies at the research institution(s). Shorter research stays are not understood as affiliations.

The applicant will be expected to take up residence in the country where the international research institution(s) is located. 

What?

The applicant can determine the duration of the project periods of the fellowship spent at both the international and the Danish research institution. However, the time allocated to the international research institution must constitute half of the total project period or more.

The Carlsberg Foundation covers the fellow’s full salary and operating expenses of DKK 8,000 per month. 

The operating expenses are at the postdoctoral fellow’s disposal to cover conferences, study trips, etc. and cannot be used to cover overhead costs, administration fees, or other costs to be covered by the project supplement.

For the project period abroad, the applicant may apply for an additional amount of DKK 50,000 per year when traveling with a partner, or an additional amount of DKK 100,000 per year when traveling with child(ren). 

The grant must be administered by the Danish research institution, and the applicant will be employed at this institution for the entire project period of the fellowship.

CALL CLOSED Call opens: 31 January 2026 Deadline: 1 April 2026, 16:00
The updated guidelines will be available when the call opens

Requirements

Application requirements

The application must be submitted through the application system CF-Grant 

The application must be written in English.

Applications that do not meet the specified requirements will not be considered and will result in an administrative rejection.

Submitting documents other than those specified below will also result in an administrative rejection.

Choosing the wrong type of grant in CF-Grant will likewise result in an administrative rejection.

The documents must be uploaded in PDF format.

Required documents to be attached to the application form:

  • Project description
  • Budget
  • Curriculum vitae
  • List of publications of the applicant
  • Declaration from the Danish administering host institution
  • Declaration from the international host institution(s)
  • Recommendations

Document to be attached to the application form, if relevant:

  • Statement from PhD Supervisor

Project description

The project description must be written using Times New Roman, font size 12, margins on the left, right, top and bottom of at least 2 cm and line spacing of 1.5.

The project description must not exceed two A4 pages (including figures, tables, etc., but excluding references). Any references or bibliography must be added in direct continuation of the project description.

The project description must explain the innovative scientific quality of the project compared to the applicant’s PhD project, as well as how the project contributes to the applicant’s scientific career development.

The project description must also include a description of the scientific environment in which the project will be carried out, including an account of why the chosen environment is well suited to the proposed activities.

Furthermore, a description of the connection to Danish research must be included.

Budget

The budget must be uploaded using the Carlsberg Foundation budget template and must be finalised before upload.

The budget must include the salary of the applicant. Operating expenses of DKK 8,000 per month is added automatically in the budget template. 

Project supplement (indirect project costs) for applicants from Danish universities: 

  • Humanities and social sciences: DKK 200,000 per full-time equivalent (FTE) per year for PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and research assistants funded by the grant.

  • Natural sciences: DKK 250,000 per full-time equivalent (FTE) per year for PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and research assistants funded by the grant. 

The project supplement can only be applied for applicants from Danish universities during the project period of the fellowship spent at the university. 

During the project period spent abroad, an administration fee amounting to 15% of the project supplement can be applied for to aid the administration at the Danish university.

For the humanities and social sciences, the 15 % amounts to DKK 30,000 per full-time equivalent (FTE) per year and for the natural sciences the 15 % amounts to DKK 37,500 per FTE per year.   

The project supplement and the administration fee will automatically be added in the budget template where applicable. 

For more information on what the project supplement covers, and thus what cannot be applied for, see the full agreement on the following website: 

Curriculum vitae

The CV of the applicant must not exceed two A4 pages. Please do not include photo, home address, family information, CPR no., date of birth, or gender.

The exact date on which the PhD degree was obtained must be stated in the CV.

List of publications of the applicant

The list of publications must only include publications that have been submitted, published or accepted. It must be clearly stated which publications are peer-reviewed, and which are not. The PhD thesis of the applicant must not be included.

The name of the applicant must be in bold font and the order of authors must be exactly as listed in the original publication. All co-authors must be stated. If, however, the number of authors exceeds ten, it will be sufficient to list the first ten as well as the corresponding author(s).

Declaration from the Danish administering host institution

A declaration from the Danish administering host institution must be uploaded.
The declaration must confirm that the project can be carried out at the institution, including a commitment that the institution will administer the project throughout the entire project period.

Declaration from the international host institution(s)

A declaration from the international host institution(s) must be uploaded.
The declaration must confirm that the project can be carried out at the institution(s).

Recommendations

Between one and three recommendations must be uploaded or sent separately to cfgrant@carlsbergfoundation.dk no later than the application deadline.

Statement from PhD Supervisor, if relevant

If the applicant has not yet obtained their PhD degree, a signed letter from the applicant’s supervisor must be uploaded as part of the application, confirming that the PhD will be obtained before the planned start date of the grant period and no later than the latest permitted start date for the relevant call.

In this case, the final statement of the PhD assessment committee following the PhD defence must be sent to the Carlsberg Foundation before the latest permitted start date for the relevant call. The applicant is expected to start the fellowship before or on the latest permitted start date.

Popularised scientific description

Applicants are also required to complete a popularised scientific description in the CF-Grant application system.

The description must address What, Why and How (up to 400 characters each). 

This description will be published on the foundation’s website should the application be successful.

Assessment & process

Assessment criteria Ordinary call

Processing procedures

Budget

Download budget template

Budget

0.54mb

FAQ

Please note: The foundation reserves the right to make adjustments to the guidelines.

The Carlsberg Foundation cannot offer individual guidance on projects or elements of projects before the application deadline.

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2024

Succes rate

30%

2023

Succes rate

33%