Villum Investigator
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Granted amount:
DKK 30m
Villum Investigator 2024
Villum Foundation is pleased to announce the 2024 call for Villum Investigators. A total amount of DKK 400 million is allocated to this call.
Status
Open
Maximum application amount
DKK 40m
Application
- Open for submissionsApplication
- Deadline for submissions
14:00
The aim of the Villum Investigator Programme is to allow outstanding experienced researchers to pursue original new ideas in the technical or natural sciences.
Applicants are expected to be active researchers with a track record of excellent research for the last 10 years or more.
A Villum Investigator is appointed for a six-year period at a Danish university or other Danish research institution. Applicants who are already established in Denmark may apply for up to DKK 30 million. Applicants who at the time of application have been employed outside Denmark for at least four of the last five years may apply for up to DKK 40 million.
Villum Foundation is committed to diversity and has a focus on equal opportunities throughout the assessment process and grant period (you may find our Gender Policy here).
If you applied for a Villum Investigator grant in 2022 and were not invited for an interview, you are ineligible to apply in 2024. Applicants in the 2024 call who are not invited for an interview will be ineligible to apply in the next Villum Investigator call in 2026.
Villum Investigators can re-apply at the end of their grant period in open competition with other applicants; in the 2024 call we expect an indicative amount of DKK 90 million to be available for present Villum Investigators re-applying.
The assessment and selection process is divided into two steps.
Step 1: The foundation's Working group for technical and natural science evaluates the applications based on the Terms of Reference and decides which applicants should be invited for an interview. The selected applications will be sent for external peer review.
Step 2: Based on the application, the external peer reviews, the applicant's written reply to the peer reviews, and an interview with the applicant, the working group recommends to the board of Villum Foundation which applicants should receive a Villum Investigator grant.
Important dates:
- 21 August 2024, 2 PM: Deadline for applications
- November 2024: Decision to proceed to Step 2 ( interview)
- 15 January 2025: Peer reviews are forwarded to the selected applicants
- 23 January 2025: Deadline for applicants' comments on peer reviews
- 4-6 February 2025: Interviews for the selected applicants
- March 2025: Rejection or approval of grant
Villum Investigators are required to devote at least 75% of their total effort to the direct conduct of technical and/or natural sciences and education at a Danish research institution.
The research must be conducted at the Danish research institution where the applicant is employed.
The grant cannot be used to cover the base salary of the Villum Investigator. The host institution will pay this throughout the six-year period as a Villum Investigator.
The grant cannot be used to cover the salary of permanently employed or tenure-track scientific staff.
Health or veterinary research, i.e. research focused on the health of humans and animals, including nutrition, medicine, biomedicine, pharmacology and research within diagnostics and methods for examination and treatment.
Furthermore, applicants affiliated with departments whose main scientific focus is within these areas (including university health departments, hospitals, the Danish Cancer Society, DTU Health Tech and SDU Health Informatics and Technology) are not eligible to apply and will receive an administrative rejection.
The application must contain the following documents in pdf format:
- Application (download guidelines below).
- Research publications. List up to five research publications (excluding review papers) or other documented outputs that best describe your most important scientific achievements/discoveries during the last five years. Be specific about your own contribution to any multiauthor publications. Please include the full text of the publications or, if Open Access, provide links to online repositories.
- CV using the provided template, publication list from the last 10 years, and a list of current research funding.
- Budget in the provided template. The Villum Investigator grant is large and flexible. Applicants already established at a Danish research institution may apply for up to DKK 30 million for a period of six years, including 15% indirect costs. Applicants who at the time of application have been employed outside Denmark for at least four of the last five years may apply for up to DKK 40 million including indirect costs. The size of the budget is expected to reflect expenses typical for the proposed research field. The grant can be used to fund postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, equipment, technical assistance, and other customary project expenses.
- Letter of support. A letter from the department wishing to host the Villum Investigator demonstrating its support for and recognition of the application.
- Optional request for specific peer reviewers not to be included in the process. Please note that the foundation is not bound to exclude specific reviewers.
The documents above must be submitted as six separate pdf files.
Are references included in the page limit in item C in the application guidelines?
No, references must be listed in item K. Please note that item K is a literature list and not a list of your own publications.
Is the PI required to spend 75% of the working hours on the Villum Investigator grant?
No, not necessarily. The PI is required to spend a substantial amount of time on the Villum Investigator grant and devote at least 75% of her/his total effort to the direct conduct of technical and/or natural sciences and education in general.
Can a PI be affiliated to a non-Danish university while having a Villum Investigator grant?
A Villum Investigator is required have her/his main position at a Danish research institution, meaning at least 75% of a full-time position.
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