The SLU career grant is awarded every 2 years.
According to a decision by the vice-chancellor, those eligible for the 2021 grant are researchers in the early stages of their career, i.e. those who earned their doctorate between 4 and 10 years ago.
To be nominated, candidates must be employed at SLU and not have professional commitments elsewhere. The grant is SEK 1 million annually for three years and may be used freely by the grantee. This year will also see the grantees take part in a bespoke career development programme.
The 2021 grantees are:
- This year’s five grantees were selected in fierce competition. It’s gratifying to see that SLU has so many prominent talents in so many different research domains. Their competence and drive will have a huge impact on our operations during the years to come, says Vice-Chancellor Maria Knutson Wedel.
The purpose of the career grants is to give young researchers with the potential of becoming renowned research group leaders the recognition they deserve and provide them with financial support and an opportunity for professional development. For SLU, it is of strategic importance to keep prominent young researchers who can develop innovative, high-quality research and build the strong research environments of the future. The career grant is intended to help grantees develop independent research and acquire further qualifications. It can also be seen as an incentive for grantees to take greater risks in their research.
The departments were asked to nominate suitable candidates at the start of the selection process.
Each faculty then made a selection which was submitted to the vice-chancellor. The final selection was made after external peer review of the faculties’ nominations, 18 in total.
Up till now, a total of 13 career grants have been awarded to young researchers.