Shaping the research of the future: 22 Villum Young Investigators
In the (research) vernacular, the Villum Young Investigator Programme is called YIP. The programme is aimed at early career researchers so that they can create the best possible framework for pursuing the ideas they are passionate about. The grants are used to develop research groups and hire more young researchers (postdocs and PhD candidates) to help carry out the research projects, among other things. As part of the programme, the researchers will have the opportunity to be part of a research community with networks and seminars on issues such as research management.
VILLUM FONDEN will be open for applications to the programme from 29 March - 8 June 2023. Read more about the programme
What the new Villum Young Investigators have in common is excellent research and an affiliation with a Danish research institution:
“With the Villum Young Investigator Programme, we are supporting universities’ development of research environments at the highest international level by attracting and retaining talented young researchers from Denmark and abroad. The recipients are outstanding researchers, and I’m pleased to see that the universities are providing many of them with good career opportunities with tenure track positions,” says Thomas Bjørnholm, Executive Chief Scientific Officer of VILLUM FONDEN.
Since 2012, the programme has supported a total of 222 research talents with a total grant sum of over DKK 1.5 billion.
From plants to stellar streamsThe contributions from this year’s grantees to the technical and natural sciences range widely – from quantum computing to stellar streams from distant galaxies.
Several of the projects have a focus on sustainability. In one of the projects, the researcher will take the temperature of plants in the Arctic to investigate how they are affected by and affect climate change. Another project will explore how to teach robots to design and build material-efficient structures, drawing on sophisticated construction methods found in nature. And a third project works with the electrochemical production of renewable chemicals.
Celebration
The new Villum Young Investigators will be celebrated at VILLUM FONDEN’s presentation of the Villum Kann Rasmussen Annual Award in Science and Technology, taking place on 23 January – the birthday of Villum Kann Rasmussen (1909-93), founder of the foundation. The Annual Award 2023 is going to chemistry professor Donald Canfield – read more in the news article: Primordial ocean explorer receives Annual Award.
The eye of the needle
VILLUM FONDEN received 98 applications for the programme. The 22 researchers who made it through the eye of the needle have been through a process of academic evaluation and interviews with the foundation’s scientific committee, as well as final approval from the board of the foundation.
The gender distribution between applicants was 75% men and 25% women, while the distribution among grantees is 54% men and 46% women.
The new Villum Young Investigators are based at the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, Aarhus University, the University of Southern Denmark and the IT University of Copenhagen.
The photos and the collage and video can be used in regards to publicity of the programme.
Download the press photos and video with the Villum Young Investigators 2023.
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