IIASA operates where high-end research meets decision-making. Fellows contribute to integrated assessment models, spatially explicit datasets, and long-range scenario frameworks that governments and global initiatives rely on. Consequently, analytical work does not stay theoretical; it regularly informs negotiations, national planning, and corporate strategy through transparent, reproducible evidence.
Global challenges cut across disciplines and borders. The IIASA Postdoctoral Fellowship embeds recent PhDs within the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria, to work on climate, energy, biodiversity, demography, food, water, health, and risk—transforming rigorous systems analysis into decision-ready insights for policy and industry.
A deliberately transdisciplinary environment
You will collaborate with economists, ecologists, engineers, demographers, statisticians, and social scientists in the same building and on the same problems. This close co-location accelerates joint methods, shared code, and co-authored outputs. Instead of advancing a single silo, you will learn to link fields so your research answers concrete “what if” questions with real-world implications.
Fellowship Overview
- Location: Laxenburg, Austria (near Vienna)
- Focus: Systems analysis addressing global and regional challenges (e.g., climate mitigation and adaptation, energy transitions, land-use change, food–water–ecosystem trade-offs, disaster risk, population and human capital, digitalization and inequality).
- Duration: Typically 12–24 months—often an initial 12-month appointment with a possible extension based on progress, fit, and funding.
- Mode: Full-time, on site, with flexible collaboration across IIASA programs and external partners.
- Funding: Competitive salary with social benefits; accessto high-performance computing, libraries, research support, and—where relevant—travel funds for fieldwork, workshops, or conferences.
- Outputs: Peer-reviewed articles and policy briefs, plus open datasets, model contributions, or research software, as appropriate to your plan.
Why the structure matters
The two-year ceiling encourages focus and momentum. Fellows map a feasible arc from onboarding to first manuscript, then to broader synthesis or tool release—keeping timelines tight and deliverables measurable.
Who Should Apply
The fellowship targets researchers who combine disciplinary depth with systems-thinking range.
- PhD timing: Typically conferred within the last few years; near-completion candidates may also be competitive if timelines align.
- Track record: Evidence of analytical rigor—peer-reviewed papers or preprints, code repositories, curated datasets, or impactful conference outputs.
- Methodological strengths: Quantitative modeling, statistics, optimization, econometrics, machine learning, geospatial analysis, survey design, or mixed methods.
- Policy literacy: Ability to translate technical findings into options relevant for climate, energy, biodiversity, health, or development policy.
- Collaboration mindset: Clear communication, openness to cross-program feedback, and comfort working in diverse, international teams.
Strengthening your fit
Show how your methods and prior results integrate with IIASA’s modeling platforms or scenario activities. Reviewers look for credible plug-in points—places your expertise clearly extends existing capability.
Research Themes and Example Projects
IIASA programs span the Earth–human system.
1) Energy, climate, and air quality
- Extend or couple integrated assessment models (IAMs) to quantify trade-offs among decarbonization pathways, air-pollution control, and health co-benefits.
- Analyze the roles of hydrogen, storage, demand flexibility, and critical minerals under technology and policy uncertainty.
2) Biodiversity, land, and food systems
- Model land-use dynamics, deforestation drivers, and restoration potential while safeguarding affordability and nutrition.
- Assess how dietary change, food waste reduction, or precision agriculture shifts cross-border environmental footprints.
3) Water security and risk
- Couple hydrological models with socio-economic scenarios to evaluate drought, flood, and allocation risks across basins.
- Compare nature-based options and gray infrastructure portfolios under climate extremes.
4) Population and human capital
- Project population, education, and health trajectories and integrate them into climate or development scenarios.
- Examine demographic impacts on labor supply, migration, and urbanization.
5) Equity, digitalization, and just transitions
- Use microsimulation or agent-based models to assess distributional effects of carbon pricing, automation, or data policy.
- Map inequalities inexposure to hazards and access to energy, mobility, and services.
Application Components That Stand Out
1) Define a precise systems question: Frame a policy-relevant problem with explicit boundaries and couplings. For example: How can land-use policy and dietary shifts jointly meet biodiversity targets while keeping nutritious diets affordable? Precision signals feasibility.
2) Present a feasible, reproducible plan: Lay out a 12–24-month roadmap covering models, data sources, experiments, and validation. Specify computing needs, version control, documentation, and data governance. If any inputs are restricted, provide contingency datasets and alternative methods.
3) Demonstrate IIASA fit and mentorship: Name potential IIASA supervisors and programs. Show how your work extends an institute model suite, fills a known gap, or contributes to a scenario intercomparison. Concrete alignment reduces risk for reviewers.
4) Commit to measurable outputs: Propose a realistic publication strategy (e.g., two journal submissions plus a short policy brief). Where appropriate, include open tools—a lightweight package, reproducible notebooks, or a documented workflow.
5) Plan collaboration and impact: List external co-investigators (universities, labs, UN agencies, NGOs, or ministries). Explain how results will travel beyond academia—through stakeholder workshops, practitioner training, or targeted briefs tailored to policy needs.
Step-by-Step Preparation Timeline
Three to four months before submission
- Map IIASA programs; identify two or three potential supervisors.
- Draft a two-page conceptand solicit early feedback.
- Inventory data, compute resources, and ethics approvals required.
Two months before submission
- Expand to a full proposal (6–8 pages): questions, hypotheses, model structure, data, experiments, policy linkages, risks, and mitigation steps.
- Line up reference letters; confirm supervisor availability and program fit.
One month before submission
- Refine figures; add a Gantt chart with quarterly milestones.
- Draft an impact plan covering policy audiences, training, and open-science deliverables.
- Finalize CV (include DOIs, ORCID, software repositories) and a one-page statement of fit.
Final weeks
- Complete forms, proofread, and verify file naming and formats.
- Check every PDF for legibility and internal consistency.
- Submit early to avoid portal bottlenecks and last-minute errors.
Selection: What Reviewers Look For
- Scientific merit and novelty: Does the proposal close a consequential knowledge gap using credible methods?
- Feasibility: Are data, code, and compute access aligned with the timeline?
- IIASA synergy: Will the work strengthen or extend a model, dataset, or scenario activity in use at the institute?
- Policy salience: Is there a plausible path from results to decision support?
- Diversity and collaboration: Does the project bridge disciplines, geographies, and sectors to deliver shared learning?
Writing to these criteria
Use active voice, concrete verbs, and auditable milestones. Every claim of impact should connect to a deliverable—paper, dataset, software, or stakeholder event—with a month and owner.
Living and Working in Austria
Laxenburg and greater Vienna
Laxenburg lies just south of Vienna, combining green space with easy access to an international city. Public transit is excellent, and cultural offerings are world-class. English is the working language at IIASA; basic German helps for daily tasks but is not required.
Employment and support
Fellows typically receive social insurance, paid leave, and HR assistance for relocation and visas. The institute’s research services help with computing, library access, and administrative compliance, allowing you to concentrate on research and dissemination.
How to Frame Your Methods (and Avoid Pitfalls)
- Quantify uncertainty. Use sensitivity analysis, ensembles, or structured scenarios to test robustness and communicate ranges clearly.
- Bridge scales. When possible, link global models to regional or local case studies to demonstrate relevance for implementers.
- Document assumptions. Maintain a concise parameter and calibration sheet; track version changes transparently.
- Design for reproducibility. Containerize workflows (e.g., Docker/Apptainer), release READMEs and licenses, and automate data pipelines where permissible.
- Control scope. Prioritize two or three core deliverables you can execute well within 12–24 months.
Example One-Page Structure for Your Proposal
- Title & abstract (150–200 words)
- Policy-relevant problem & objectives
- State of the art & IIASA niche
- Methods & data (diagram of model/data flows)
- Work plan & milestones (Gantt)
- Outputs & dissemination (journals, briefs, tools)
- Risk register (with mitigation steps)
- Team & supervision (roles, collaborations)
- Resources (compute, storage, licensing)
- Ethics & data governance (where applicable)
Why this template works
Reviewers can quickly trace line of sight from questions to methods, resources, and outputs—reducing ambiguity and signaling professional project management.
Frequently Asked: Funding, Start Dates, and Extensions
- Funding model: Fellows receive a competitive salary and access to institute resources; some projects may also leverage co-funding or named fellowships.
- Start dates: Cohorts often align with spring or autumn onboarding; specific timing varies by call and program needs.
- Extensions: A second year is commonly possible based on performance, outputs, and alignment with program priorities.
- International applicants: IIASA hosts a diverse cohort; HR provides support for residence permits and relocation logistics.
Planning ahead
Because systems projects can span data use agreements and international collaborators, build a compliance buffer for data access, ethics approvals, and cross-border MOUs.
Final Advice
Successful fellows act as bridge-builders—experts in a home discipline who are literate across adjacent fields and policy contexts. Focus on a precise question, show how your methods integrate with IIASA platforms, and commit to transparent, reusable science. If you can deliver scientific value and decision relevance on schedule, this fellowship is a launchpad to roles in academia, government, multilaterals, think tanks, and mission-driven industry.
Feature Summary (for quick reference)
Feature | Details |
Program Name | IIASA Postdoctoral Fellowship |
Host Country | Austria (Laxenburg, near Vienna) |
Funded By | International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) |
Duration | 12–24 months |
Study Mode | Full-time, on-site |
Eligibility | Recent PhD holders or near-completion candidates with strong analytical track records and systems-analysis fit |
Financial Support | Competitive salary, social benefits, research support, compute resources, and travel funds where relevant |
Fields of Study | Climate, energy, biodiversity, demography, food, water, health, risk, equity, and related systems topics |
Deadline | Application window closes in September — we will update soon |
Official Website |
References (official)
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis — https://iiasa.ac.at
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The IIASA Postdoctoral Fellowship funds early-career researchers to pursue policy-relevant systems analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, focusing on climate, energy, biodiversity, water, demography, and risk.
Recent PhD graduates—or near completion—may apply. Additionally, candidates should show strong analytical skills, publications or code, and a clear fit with IIASA’s programs.
The fellowship typically runs 12–24 months. Moreover, extensions often depend on performance, deliverables, and alignment with program priorities.
Fellows receive a competitive salary, social benefits, research support, and access to computing resources. Furthermore, travel funds may be available for workshops or conferences.
Priority spans systems analysis of climate, energy transitions, land and biodiversity, water security, population and human capital, and just transitions. Therefore, interdisciplinary proposals score well.
Selection is highly competitive. However, applicants who present a precise question, feasible methods, strong supervision fit, and measurable outputs typically stand out.
A focused proposal, CV with DOIs/ORCID, letters of reference, reproducible methods, and a clear Gantt timeline help. In addition, show integration with IIASA models or datasets.
You should identify potential supervisors and demonstrate program fit. Consequently, named mentorships and clear plug-in points into institute workflows increase success.
Yes. IIASA welcomes international applicants and, importantly, provides HR support for residence permits, relocation, and onboarding logistics in Austria.
Plan peer-reviewed papers, policy briefs, and open tools or datasets. Additionally, define milestones so reviewers can track progress against decision-relevant impact.
