Finnish Foundations Post Doc Pool 2026: Funding, Eligibility & Deadline

Finnish Foundations’ Post Doc Pool at a Glance

Säätiöiden post doc -pooli, or the Finnish Foundations’ Post Doc Pool, is a joint funding mechanism created by Finnish foundations to strengthen the international mobility of researchers connected with the Finnish research system.

It provides flexible grant funding for postdoctoral research carried out outside Finland, normally for one or two years and for a minimum of six months.

Who Can Apply?

Recent doctoral degree

Applicants should normally have completed their doctoral degree no more than four years before the application.

When calculating the four-year period, the Pool can exclude qualifying periods such as parental leave, compulsory military service, illness and doctors’ specialist training.

Non-Finnish applicants

Finnish citizenship is not required. The official rules explicitly state that grants are also available to non-Finnish nationals.

Doctoral candidates awaiting defence

A candidate who has not yet publicly defended the doctoral thesis may apply if permission to defend has already been granted.

The thesis pre-examiners’ statements must then be included with the application, and the grant cannot be paid until the doctoral degree has been completed.

Research Abroad and Mobility Rules

The funded research must take place outside Finland.

The programme is intended primarily for research periods of at least one academic year, although a well-justified shorter period of at least six months can also be supported.

Funding may be awarded for up to 24 months.

Host institution

Applicants must obtain an invitation from the receiving university or research institution and include it with the application.

Applicants joining a research group or laboratory are also asked to provide information about the host professor’s most relevant publications connected to the proposed research topic.

Why this host?

The research plan and abstract should explain why the selected foreign institution is scientifically appropriate and how the proposed stay will strengthen both the applicant’s work and Finnish research.

What Does the Post Doc Pool Grant Cover?

There is no universal fixed stipend. Applicants prepare a cost estimate based on the destination country, project and personal or family circumstances.

Eligible costs can include:

• living costs through a working grant;
• travel costs;
• moving expenses;
• school and childcare costs for accompanying family members;
• research costs;
• additional insurance; and
• other justified expenses connected with conducting research abroad.

If you receive salary

Applicants receiving a full salary cannot apply for the working-grant component.

Applicants receiving only a partial salary may request a partial working grant.

Tax and insurance

Grant taxation and statutory insurance depend on the amount and individual circumstances. The Pool directs recipients to the Finnish Tax Administration and Mela for authoritative personal guidance.

Required Application Documents

Applications are completed electronically and all attachments must be uploaded as PDF files.

The current instructions require:

• research-project abstract;
• project and research plan;
• curriculum vitae;
• list of publications;
• official opponent statement, or thesis pre-examiner statements for eligible pre-defence applicants;
• one to three references; and
• invitation from the receiving university or institution.

Language

Most attachments may be prepared in Finnish, Swedish or English.

Abstract, Research Plan and Cost Estimate

Abstract

The abstract is limited to 2,000 characters.

It should briefly explain:

• why the applicant is going to the selected institution;
• the central research project; and
• whether family members will accompany the researcher abroad.

Project and research plan

The research plan may be a maximum of five pages using 12-point font.

It should explain the research question and plan while clearly linking the applicant’s own research to relevant work at the receiving foreign institution.

Cost estimate

Applicants enter the requested grant amount in the electronic system and itemise living support, travel and moving costs, family costs, research expenses, insurance and other justified expenditure.

For projects longer than one year, a separate cost estimate is required for each year.

Reference Requirements

At least one reference is mandatory, and applicants may include up to three.

A referee can either provide the letter to the applicant for attachment or upload it directly through the Pool’s system.

The application and references should help explain the importance of the research stay for the applicant’s field and Finnish research and show how the postdoctoral project differs from or develops the applicant’s doctoral research.

Important Rule on Artificial Intelligence

The application form asks applicants whether artificial intelligence was used elsewhere while preparing the application and, if so, how it was used.

The Pool also states that artificial intelligence is not used in evaluating applications.

Selection and Funding Decisions

Applications are reviewed by academic expert panels. Multidisciplinary proposals may be sent to more than one panel where necessary.

The Pool does not provide applicant-specific feedback on the review process or individual grant decisions.

Successful applicants are informed after funding decisions are made, and awardees’ names are published.

How to Apply

1. Confirm that your research period abroad will last at least six months.
2. Check that your doctorate normally falls within the four-year eligibility window.
3. Identify an appropriate host institution outside Finland.
4. Obtain the formal host invitation.
5. Prepare the maximum five-page research plan without using AI to draft it.
6. Prepare the Finnish- or Swedish-language abstract.
7. Prepare the CV and publication list.
8. Prepare the cost estimate based on the destination and family situation.
9. Arrange one to three references.
10. Upload all required PDF attachments through the Post Doc Pool application system.
11. Submit the electronic application during the official application period.

When Is the Next Application Round?

The Post Doc Pool operates two regular application rounds each year.

The programme’s standing schedule places the spring round in January and the autumn round from 15 August to 15 September.

After the current Autumn 2026 round closes, the next regular opportunity is therefore the January 2027 spring round. Applicants should wait for the dedicated 2027 call notice before relying on any specific detailed timetable or funding amount.

CareerAidHub Applicant Guidance

Do not treat this as a general Finland-based postdoc

The defining feature is outward mobility: the funded research is conducted outside Finland. Researchers looking for a postdoctoral position inside Finland should use a different funding or recruitment route.

Explain why international mobility is necessary

The host choice should provide scientific capabilities, methods, collaborators or research infrastructure that materially strengthen the proposed project.

Differentiate the postdoc from the PhD

The application explicitly asks how the new project differs from or builds on the doctoral research. Make the next scientific step clear.

Build the budget from actual destination costs

Because funding is based on the applicant’s cost estimate rather than a single universal stipend, applicants should justify the requested amount realistically rather than aiming for an assumed standard award.

Researchers comparing other opportunities can review CareerAidHub’s current postdoctoral fellowships, research grants and funding opportunities, and research jobs.