Support­ing Outstand­ing Early-Career Researchers on Their Path to Professorship

Appli­ca­tions are now open for the 2026 Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award. The Hector Fellow Academy’s award is aimed at outstand­ing W1 profes­sors (with or without tenure track) and junior research group leaders in compa­ra­ble positions in the natural and engineer­ing sciences, medicine, and psychol­ogy. Appli­ca­tions can be submit­ted until October 30, 2026.

The Hector RCD Award provides a one-time research grant of €25,000. In addition, awardees receive funding for a doctoral researcher position, includ­ing €9,500 in research funds per year. They also become members of the Hector Fellow Academy for five years, giving them access to an inter­dis­ci­pli­nary network of outstand­ing researchers. Member­ship offers numer­ous oppor­tu­ni­ties for scien­tific exchange and new collab­o­ra­tions. Awardees can also benefit from additional funding oppor­tu­ni­ties offered by the Hector Fellow Academy, for example to organize workshops and confer­ences or to initi­ate inter­dis­ci­pli­nary research projects together with other Academy members.

Through the Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award, the Hector Fellow Academy has been support­ing researchers since 2020 during a pivotal phase of their careers — between their postdoc­toral position and a professorship.