Villum Young Investigator

Technical and Scientific Research

For young, ambitious researchers with the potential to make a significant and independent contribution to the technical and natural sciences at a Danish university.

The Villum Young Investigator programme is aimed at young researchers wishing to establish their own independent research group. Applicants may be experienced postdocs, assistant professors or associate professors. A Villum Young Investigator grant is expected to be career defining, and you are ineligible to apply if you have already received a similar grant from other sources.

Villum Foundation supports the internationalisation of Danish research, and researchers recruited from abroad may apply for a larger grant to facilitate the recruitment. We encourage Danish universities to use the programme to support and recruit both Danish and international research talents.

The ideal applicant is a highly talented young researcher in the field of technical and natural sciences. Applicants should have two to eight years of research experience after completing their PhD.

You can apply for a Villum Young Investigator Programme grant amaximum of two times.

We announce the programme once a year in open competition.

Researchers already established at a Danish research institution can apply for up to DKK 8 million.

Villum Foundation wish to encourage the recruitment of international researchers to Denmark. If you have been employed outside Denmark for at least two of the last three years at the time of application, you can apply for a maximum of DKK 10 million.

Villum Foundation is a party to the new agreement between a number of private foundations and the Danish universities on a common model for indirect costs. This means that indirect costs are covered through a project supplement calculated from the number of project-funded full-time academic staff equivalents in certain staff categories.

A grant runs for five years.

It takes approximately eight months from application to final approval or rejection of the application.

The assessment of Villum Yong Investigator applications takes place in two stages. First, the applications are evaluated by the Villum Young Investigator committee. They select a number of applicants for the second round.

In the second round, the selected applications are invited to an interview with the committee. Based on the applications and interviews, the committee recommends a number of applicants for funding.

The board will make its final decision at its meeting in December 2025.

As a Villum Young Investigator, you become part of a network of like-minded individuals and are invited to the annual Villum Young Investigator meeting, covering topics such as recruitment and research management. You will also become part of the Villum Fellow community and get the opportunity to participate in networking activities with other Villum Fellows.

Watch the video Ten years with the Villum Young Investigator Programme.