Deadline: 08-Oct-2025
The Novo Nordisk Foundation is inviting applications for its Start Package Grants to help Danish universities and research institutions become more competitive in attracting outstanding researchers. These grants also aim to promote international and national researcher mobility, including movement from industry to academia.
The funding is intended to support research positions such as tenure-track assistant professorships, permanent associate or full professorships, or clinical professorships with at least five years of research duties. The grant helps institutions strengthen recruitment offers during negotiations with top research candidates.
The grants support recruitment in areas such as medical and life sciences, sustainability, natural and technical sciences, and align with the Foundation’s 2030 Strategy. These areas include research on cardiometabolic disease, infectious diseases, regenerative medicine, health equity, sustainable agriculture and food, climate technologies, and interdisciplinary science with health or sustainability relevance.
A total of DKK 120 million is available. Funding per grant is up to DKK 5 million for tenure-track assistant professors, DKK 8 million for associate professors, and DKK 10 million for full or clinical professors, over a four-year period.
Applications must be submitted by the official with appointment authority at the recruiting institution. Only one application per position and candidate is allowed, and institutions must conduct a formal evaluation process involving at least two external reviewers, one of whom must be international.
The eligible positions must be research-focused. Assistant professor roles must be tenure-track and publicly advertised. Associate and full professor positions must be permanent. Clinical professorships must include mandatory research duties for at least five years. All roles must align with the Foundation’s strategic focus.
Candidates must change institutions as part of their recruitment. Internal recruitment, even across faculties, is not eligible. The candidate must not have been active at the new institution for more than 12 months in the last 36 months, excluding leave. Dual clinical appointments must meet mobility requirements on both affiliations.
Recruitment can be from within Denmark or internationally, including from industry. If the recruitment is domestic, the position must represent clear career progression. The candidate’s research must align with both the Foundation’s and the institution’s strategies, and they must be formally offered the position before the previous grant deadline.
Candidates must set up a full-time research group at the host institution within one year of receiving the grant. They can only receive one Start Package Grant and cannot simultaneously hold another major Novo Nordisk Foundation grant of certain types.
Funding will not be awarded for commercial purposes, overhead costs, or duplicate funding. If any part of the project is funded by another source, this must be declared, and the Foundation must be notified of any changes post-submission. The candidate’s salary is not covered by the grant and must come from the institution or another source.
For more information, visit NNF.