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ETH Zurich - IDEA League Mobility Grants
Many postdoctoral and established researchers (“Oberassistent/innen”) at ETH Zurich have managed to obtain their own funding through fellowships or grants from various sources. These fellowships or grants allow them to conduct their own research projects and support them on their way towards academic independence.
ETH Zurich offers these postdoctoral and established researchers the opportunity to spend a research period at one or more of the external pageIDEA League partner universities TU Delft, RWTH Aachen, Chalmers University and Politecnico di Milano. The research stays are between two weeks and three months long. The Mobility Grants are intended to expand the scientific portfolio and network of the researchers and should benefit their work at ETH Zurich or their career development. Thereby, the grants should enable and encourage the use of research infrastructure at other external pageIDEA League universities and/or collaborations with researchers at these universities. A connection to research infrastructures is desirable, but not required. The research stay can also be used to start or work on joint projects. The Mobility Grant is competitive with only five grants available each year.
Project duration and funding
A lump sum of CHF 5’000 will be awarded per month. A maximum of CHF 15’000 can be awarded per grant. For shorter stays, the funding will be adjusted to the duration of the research stay and the expected expenses.
The following costs may be covered through a Mobility Grant: consumables and other research costs, access/user/service fees for research infrastructure, machine time, technology platforms, travel and accommodation. No salaries can be paid by the Mobility Grant. The allocated funding can only be used for expenses during the research stay.
Deadline and evaluation
Requests can be submitted anytime. There are four cut off dates per year, after which applications will be evaluated: 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December.
Applications must be written in English and sent directly by email as a single PDF file to the ETH Zurich Grants Office: ethfellows@sl.ethz.ch. Please use the template provided, and add the letter(s) of commitment of the host(s) and the letter of support of the ETH host professor.
Applicants must contact the host(s) at the partner university/universities themselves. Applications without an invitation letter/letter of commitment of the host are not possible.
AI Based Application Success Predictor
1. Highly original, high-risk/high-reward research (highest predictor)
This is the defining characteristic of ETH Grants.
ETH explicitly prioritizes projects that:
- Venture into unexplored research areas
- Pursue bold, unconventional ideas
- Have potential for fundamental discoveries
- Could lead to transformative technologies
- Are difficult to fund through traditional agencies
Projects that are merely incremental extensions of existing work receive low priority.
2. Clear departure from the PI's existing research program (very high predictor)
One of the most distinctive ETH requirements is that proposals should represent a "step-out" project.
Competitive proposals should:
- Explore a genuinely new research direction
- Move beyond the PI's current core research
- Avoid simply extending ongoing projects
- Demonstrate scientific independence from previous work
Projects that could readily be submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) as routine follow-on studies are generally not considered competitive for ETH Grants.
3. Scientific excellence and potential for major impact (very high predictor)
Successful proposals address important scientific questions with the potential to generate:
- Fundamental new knowledge
- Breakthrough technologies
- High scientific visibility
- Broad disciplinary influence
- Significant innovation
ETH seeks projects capable of producing internationally recognized advances rather than incremental improvements.
4. Strong innovation and interdisciplinarity (very high predictor)
Innovation is central to ETH funding.
Competitive projects frequently involve:
- Novel methodologies
- Emerging technologies
- Cross-disciplinary approaches
- Integration of different scientific fields
- Creative combinations of expertise
For Collaborative ETH Grants, interdisciplinary collaboration between two or three ETH research groups with clear added scientific value is a major evaluation criterion.
5. Strong feasibility despite ambitious goals (very high predictor)
Although ETH encourages high-risk ideas, proposals must remain technically credible.
Strong applications include:
- Clear hypotheses
- Appropriate methodology
- Realistic milestones
- Sound experimental design
- Risk-mitigation strategies
- Feasible timelines
The balance between ambition and feasibility is critical.
6. Outstanding investigator track record (very high predictor)
Applicants are generally expected to have demonstrated research excellence.
For most ETH Grants, Principal Investigators should:
- Hold an ETH appointment
- Have an active externally peer-reviewed grant (e.g., SNSF or EU funding), unless exempt as a newly appointed professor or career-development fellow
- Show a strong publication record
- Demonstrate leadership in their field
For postdoctoral schemes, scientific achievements relative to career stage are emphasized.
7. Strong potential to enable future external funding (very high predictor)
ETH views many of its internal schemes as seed funding.
Competitive proposals clearly explain how the project will:
- Generate preliminary data
- Enable future SNSF applications
- Strengthen ERC proposals
- Support EU funding
- Launch new long-term research directions
A successful project should position the investigator for larger competitive grants.
8. High-quality research environment and institutional support (high predictor)
Reviewers expect applicants to have access to:
- Advanced research infrastructure
- Appropriate laboratories
- Technical expertise
- Institutional commitment
- Strong mentoring (for early-career schemes)
For ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships, a committed host professor and strong scientific synergy between host and applicant are essential.
9. Strong independence and leadership potential (very high predictor for early-career awards)
Programs such as ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships, Career Seed Awards, and Focus Grants prioritize applicants who demonstrate the ability to establish an independent research career.
Competitive applicants typically show:
- Independent research ideas
- Evidence of leadership
- Original publications
- Limited prior dependence on the proposed mentor
- A clear academic career trajectory
For ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships, applicants are encouraged to propose their own project, and priority is given to candidates who have not closely collaborated with the host professor previously.
10. Strong collaboration with clear added value (high predictor for collaborative grants)
For collaborative funding schemes, reviewers expect collaboration to create scientific value beyond the sum of individual contributions.
Strong collaborative proposals demonstrate:
- Complementary expertise
- Shared scientific objectives
- Integrated methodology
- Clearly defined roles
- Novel interdisciplinary approaches
Simply combining multiple groups without genuine integration is unlikely to be competitive.
Specialties
Eligibility Requirements
Scientific staff employed at ETH Zurich with a non-permanent contract (i.e. postdoctoral and established researchers), who have obtained their own fellowship or grant to work on their own project at ETH Zurich, are eligible to apply.
Holders of the following or similar fellowships/grants are eligible:
• ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Branco Weiss Fellowship
• SNSF Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship
• SNSF Ambizione Grant
• SNSF Postdoctoral Fellowship Return Grant
• SNSF PRIMA Grant
• AXA Fellows, Schmidt Science Fellows, EMBO Grantees, Banting Fellows.
This is not an exhaustive list; for fellowships/grants not on this list the Grants Office needs to be contacted to clarify eligibility.
Fellows/grantees are eligible to apply for a Mobility Grant also after their funding has expired, as long as they are still employed at ETH Zurich for the entire duration of the Mobility Grant. The research stay can be performed during the active fellowship/grant period or afterwards.
The research stay must be performed at one or more of the external pageIDEA League partner universities of ETH Zurich:
• TU Delft, The Netherlands
• RWTH Aachen, Germany
• Chalmers University, Sweden
• Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
The planned research stay must be between two weeks and three months long. The grant can be split and more than one partner university can be visited for a maximum period of three months in total.
The Mobility Grant can only be granted once to any researcher during their employment at ETH Zurich.
It is possible to resubmit a Mobility Grant application following a rejection once.
Sponsor Details
Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit
Address: Rämistrasse 101 HG E 32 / 34 8092 Zurich
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Grant
Multiple Deadlines:
1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December.
Funding Amount:
$18,563
CHF 15’000
Host Details
Affiliation: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Address: Rämistrasse 101 HG E 32 / 34 8092 Zurich
Website URL: https://grantsoffice.ethz.ch/funding-opportunities/internal/idea-league-mobility-grants.html
Disclaimer:It is mandatory that all applicants carry workplace liability insurance, e.g., https://www.protrip-world-liability.com (Erasmus students use this package and typically costs around 5 € per month - please check) in addition to health insurance when you join any of the onsite Trialect partnered fellowships.
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