Villum Ascending Investigator 2025

Villum Foundation is pleased to announce the 2025 call for Villum Ascending Investigator. A total amount of DKK 150 million is allocated to this call. A total of 7-8 grants are expected to be awarded in 2026.

The Villum Ascending Investigator programme targets researchers in the mid-stage of their independent careers who have demonstrated scientific excellence and are ready to expand their leadership role and consolidate their research vision. Grants support the development of research groups to foster long-term impact within the Danish and global research landscape in the technical and natural sciences.

Applicants must have a clearly defined research goal for the full five-year grant period and will be selected based on their past research performance, plans for future research, and their leadership capacity.

The 2025 Villum Ascending Investigator call has a total budget of DKK 150 million. Individual project applications can be up to DKK 18 million for researchers already established in Denmark. International recruitments may apply for up to DKK 22 million. The grant period is 5 years.

Applicants may apply a maximum of two times.

Villum Foundation is party to the agreement between a number of private foundations and the Danish universities on a common model for indirect costs that are covered through a project supplement and included in the application budget. In accordance with the agreement on project supplements, a Villum Ascending Investigator grant does not cover salaries for academic staff in group A (professors, associate professors, and assistant professors).

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).

Status

Closed

Full budget of the call

DKK 150m

Maximum application amount

DKK 22m

Application

- Open for submissions

19 June 2025

Application

- Deadline for submissions

3 September 2025 14:00

The assessment of applications for the Villum Ascending Investigator programme is carried out in 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 applications will proceed to step 2 and be invited for an interview.

Step 2: The selected applicants are invited for an interview. The applications are sent for external peer review and applicants will have the opportunity to reply to the peer reviews. Based on the application, the external peer reviews and the interviews, the working group recommends a number of applications for funding to the board.

Important dates:

19 June 2025: Call opens
3 September 2025: Deadline for applications at 14:00
October - November 2025: Decision to proceed to Step 2 (interview and peer review)
January 2026: Peer reviews are forwarded for commenting to the selected applicants
3-5 February 2026: Interviews
March 2026: Rejection or approval of grant

See the members of the Villum Foundation Working Group for Technical and Natural Science here.

Applicants must have a PhD age of at least 9 years and be in, or recruited for, a permanent position at the Associate Professor or Professor levels.

Professors must not have held their title for more than 5 years at the time of the application.

Villum Ascending Investigators are required to spend at least 75% of their time on research and teaching at a Danish University.

Applications must be accompanied by a department hosting letter that expresses the continued commitment of the host institution to support the career of the applicant.

Projects are subject to the agreement on project supplements.

All Villum Ascending grant holders are expected to participate in a leadership development course hosted by Villum Foundation.

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.

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, as separate files):

Application. The application includes a summary and a section of 1-2 pages on the applicant’s research vision and top achievements.
Letter of support from the host department.
CV in the provided template, publication list from the last 8 years, and a list of current research funding.
Budget in the provided template. Applicants already established at a Danish research institution may apply for up to DKK 18 million for a 5-year period. Applicants, who at the time of the application have been employed outside of Denmark for at least 3 of the last 4 years may apply for up to DKK 22 million. The size of the budget is expected to reflect expenses typical for the proposed research field.
Optional: Requests for specific peer reviewers not to be included in the process. Please note that the foundation is not bound to exclude specific reviewers.

See documents for download and application guidelines for further details.

Does my time employed as a Professor MSO count towards the max. 5 years as a professor?
Yes.

Can I subtract parental leave from my time as a professor?
Yes.

Does the maximum 5 years appointed as professor also apply to associate professors applying to the programme?
No, there is no maximum for time spent at the associate professor level.

Is there a maximum PhD age for applicants?
No.

Am I disqualified from applying if I have or have previously had an ERC Consolidator grant?
No, you can still apply if you fulfill the requirements of the programme. However, you may not apply for activities already covered by other sources.

Can I apply for salary for technical staff?
Yes.

Can I apply for salary for research staff?
Yes, for PhDs or postdocs employed on the project. The PI cannot include their own salary to be covered by the project grant.

Can I include standard glassware, personal computers, or other basic supplies in my application?
No. These should be covered via the project supplement. Please refer to the agreement for specifics.

Is the PI expected to spend a certain amount of working hours on the Villum Ascending Investigator grant?
No, but the PI is required to spend at least 75% of their time doing research and teaching at a Danish University.