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Postdoctoral fellowships for Ukrainian researchers

Welcome on the portal dedicated to the postdoctoral fellowships for Ukrainian researchers

The Belgian Science Policy Office has launched an initiative aiming at offering postdoctoral research stays (of maximum 12 months) in Belgian Federal Scientific Institutions to Ukrainian researchers.

To be valid, the postdoctoral research stays will only take place in one of the following scientific institutions:

The application form can be downloaded here.

Only applications that are fully filled AND signed will be taken into account. These applications will only be reviewed and assessed by the Federal Scientific Institutions that are selected by the researcher. The researcher will be notified by e-mail of the eligibility of her/his application under 48 hours. The assessment of the application is performed by the scientific institution selected by the researcher. The outcome of the selection will be notified to the candidate per e-mail within 24 hours after the selection panel has met. Pay attention to the fact that juries are not organised on a continuous basis. We try to do our best, but it may take some time to gather the necessary expertise to assess some projects. Thank you for your understanding.

On January 6th, 2023 the number of postdoc fellowships that can still be granted is 24.

Other important points:

  • This Ukrainian Postdoc Fellowship programme is only intended for Ukrainian researchers. Proof of citizenship must be given in the application form. Proof of PhD must also be given.
  • Applications can be introduced continuously, as long as the number of 24 Postdoc Fellowships is not reached. Once filled AND signed, the application form should be sent to ukrainian.postdocs@belspo.be.
  • There is no age limit to apply for a postdoc fellowship.
  • There is no limit to the number of Federal Scientific Institutions that can be ticked.
  • For questions and additional information, or complaints, send an email to ukrainian.postdocs@belspo.be.

Introduction of the scientific institutions

State Archives of Belgium (RA-AE)

The General State Archives in Brussels preserves the largest collection of historical sources in the country: some 315 km worth.
The State Archives obtain and preserve (following appraisal) archive documents that are at least 30 years old from courts, tribunals, public authorities, notaries and from the private sector and private individuals (businesses, politicians, associations and societies, influential families, etc. that have played an important role in society). It ensures that public archives are transferred according to strict archival standards..
The State Archives ensures the proper preservation of archival documents is conducted and managed by the state authorities. For this purpose, the State Archives issues directives and recommendations, conducts inspections, organises training for civil servants and acts as an advisory body for the construction and preparation of premises for the conservation of archives and for the organisation of archive management within a public authority.
The scientific personnel of the State Archives makes archives accessible for research by authouring inventories and other search aids such as research guides, archive overviews, guides and institutional studies. Indeed, one of the key tasks of the institution is to make these archive documents available to the public, while respecting the privacy of particular information.
The State Archives hosts the CEGESOMA, the Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Society, is the Belgian centre of excellence for the history of 20th century conflicts. It carries out research, organises public events and holds document collections. It is a platform for academic and public activities in Belgium and abroad, in particular with regard to the two World Wars.

KBR

KBR is the Royal Library of Belgium. KBR collects all Belgian publications and preserves, manages and studies an extensive cultural and historical heritage. It provides the public with access to information, facilitates research and offers a broad cultural experience. KBR wants to bring people and knowledge together and shares its heritage with the world. Whoever starts to work at KBR not only dives into the past but also contributes to a better future.
Read more...

Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB)

Research and public service in the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere of the Earth and other planets, and of outer space.
More information...

Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (KMI-IRM)

Scientific Services
Observations
This division delivers trustworthy meteorological data, data about the composition of the atmosphere and it contributes to the development of new observation methods for public services and scientific research.
Weather forecasts
This department is responsible for delivering the weather forecasts and the warnings.
Information processing and IT support
Expansion of an evolving, up-to-date and reliable IT and telecommunication infrastructure that, with appropriate support to the users, enables to carry out optimal operational and scientific, creates an environment that allows standardized processing and exchange of information and data and developing new methods and stimulating their applications.
Meteorological and climatological research
This Department consists of three sections: Hydrometeorological Modeling, Dynamic Meteorology and Climatology, Risk Analysis and Sustainability.
Meteorological and climatological service
Providing meteorological, climatological and hydrological services on a continuous, reliable, contemporary and adapted manner to the wishes of the customer, in consideration of the safety and the informing of the population, meeting the needs and wishes of users and increasing the public perception of the Institute.

Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA)

A precious instrument for the conservation and restoration of our heritage.
Since its founding, the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage has been devoted to the study and conservation of the artistic and cultural heritage of this country. Paintings, sculpture in wood and stone, tapestries, objects made of precious metals and glass, and even buildings are expertly researched and treated there.
Various workshops are involved in the conservation and restoration of paintings, sculptures, gold and silver, textiles, glass and other adornments of historical monuments. The philosophy of the KIK-IRPA is to restrict intervention to a minimum out of respect for historical authenticity.

KIK-IRPA's current research priorities open to collaboration with Ukrainian researchers include the following topics:

  • interdisciplinary research on early Netherlandisch paintings (the Flemish Primitives or other works originating from Belgium, possibly preserved in Ukrainian collections), as well as data management and updating of the Friedländer database;
  • interdisciplinary research on the development of protocols for guiding cultural heritage institutions to reduce energy consumption in the short and/or long term, providing support and guidance to institutions to facilitate the integration of sustainability into daily practice;
  • interdisciplinary research on the sustainable management of built heritage to improve the assessment of the increased risks of climate change, including the impact of urban heat islands, and the assessment of appropriate restoration measures to make our monuments more resilient to the effects of climate change;
  • the development and enrichment of our data repositories in heritage science (collections of images, articles, reports and scientific data), and the implementation of machine learning or artificial intelligence for data mining, natural language processing, image recognition, etc.

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (KBIN-IRSNB)

Scientific Research into Natural Sciences
One in three people at the KBIN-IRSNB is a scientist. The scientific personnel includes mainly biologists, palaeontologists and geologists, but also oceanographers, anthropologists and archaeologists, as well as geographers, physicists, bioengineers and mathematicians, which enables us to conduct multidisciplinary research.
The research is focussed on the following areas:
• Biodiversity and mechanisms involved in the evolution of life
• Land, freshwater and marine ecosystems
• History of life, the climate and human settlements
• Geology of Belgium and modelling the North Sea

Scientific Expertise Aiding Public Authorities
The KBIN-IRSNB provides scientific expertise under Belgium’s international commitments in relation to environmental protection. It develops tools and methods for monitoring natural land or marine environments. It also offers useful advice for the development of national and European policies for the protection and conservation of biotopes and biodiversity.

Conservation and Management of Scientific and Heritage Collections
With 37 million specimens conserved as Belgian heritage of universal significance, the KBIN-IRSNB’s collections serve above all as reference and research tools. Just behind London and Paris in European classification, the collections in Brussels have been awarded the European label of ‘major research infrastructure’ and in this respect are constantly being visited and studied by researchers from around the world.

Royal Museum for Central Africa (KMMA-MRAC)

The Royal Museum of Central Africa has grown into one of the most important and heavily visited museums in the country. This majestic building situated in the natural beauty of the Warande park in Tervuren.
The Royal Museum for Central Africa must aspire to be a world centre of research and knowledge dissemination on past and present societies and natural environments of Africa, and in particular Central Africa, to foster – among the public at large and the scientific community – understanding of and interest in this area and, through partnerships, to contribute substantially to its sustainable development.
Cultural Anthropology and History
The scientists study the languages, colonial history, ancient societies, political systems, cultural productions, music, etc. of populations from Africa or with African roots.
Biologie
The biologists study the biodiversity of various animal groups and help promote the sustainable management of Africa's tropical forests.
Earth Sciences
The researchers study mineral resources, geodynamics, surface environments and natural hazards in Central Africa.

Royal Museums for Art and History (KMKG-MRAH)

The Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH) are a Federal Scientific Institute, currently with museums and research centers at three Brussels locations: the Art & History Museum (A&H), the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) and the smaller Halle Gate which is dedicated to the medieval City of Brussels. The A&H Museum is housed in a purpose-built museum complex and harbors archaeological and art collections of all continents and periods with the exception of Central Afrika and European paintings and manuscripts. It also includes an active plaster cast workshop established in the nineteenth century.  
Research at the A&H covers a wide range of disciplines and includes worldwide archaeological excavations, research on the museum collections, museology and the digitizing and opening up of collections and archives.  
The MIM houses worldwide collections of musical instruments and related documentation and it includes its own instrument conservation and restauration workshop. Research at the MIM is focused on organology, the branch of musicology that looks at instruments from a historical, anthropological, acoustic and technical perspective. The MIM is one of the founding members of the MIMO-portal (musical instrument museums online).

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (KMSKB-MRBAB)

The prestgious collection of 20,000 works of art in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, trace the history of the visual arts - painting, sculpture and drawing- from the 15th to the 21st centuries.
This jewel is comprised of several entities: the Musée Old Masters Museum, the Musée Modern Museum, the Musée Wiertz Museum and the Musée Meunier Museum, the Musée Magritte Museum and the new Musée Fin-de-Siècle Museum.

Royal Observatory of Belgium (KSB-ORB) and the Planetarium

The Royal Observatory of Belgium is a scientific research institute, which also provides a wide range of services.
Researchers study the planet Earth and other, near and distant objects in space. Scientists at the observatory are involved in the following fields: astronomy, astrophysics, geophysics, seismology, space geodesy and solar physics. The KSB-ORB also collaborates with a great many international centres.
The following tasks fall under the category of service activities: date and time service, management of the Belgian seismological network, gravimetric measurement, permanent monitoring of solar activity, space meteorological outlooks and the dissemination of information on a variety of astronomic phenomena.
The Royal Observatory of Belgium also runs the Planetarium on the Heysel.

Sciensano

Sciensano is a public institution, with science and health central to our mission. We can count on more than 700 staff members who commit themselves, day after day, to achieve our motto: Healthy all life long. Sciensano’s strength and uniqueness lie within the holistic and multidisciplinary approach to health. More particularly we focus on the close and indissoluble interconnection between human and animal health and their environment (the “One health” concept). By combining different research perspectives within this framework, Sciensano contributes in its unique way to everybody’s health.
Through our activities, we explore 6 fields of action :Animal health, Effectiveness and safety of vaccines, medicines and health products - Quality of medical laboratories, Food consumption and food safety, Health and disease monitoring, Health and environment, and Quality of healthcare.

National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC-INCC)

The INCC, a central forensic research organisation in Belgium :
- carries out forensic analyses at the request of judicial partners;
- offers an important added value to the judicial authorities (magistracy);
- provides high quality scientific research to a wide range of commissioning authorities.

The core activity of the INCC is the provision of forensic expertise. This mission aims to support the investigation and consequently the citizen who seeks justice. The INCC provides various expert reports to the judiciary.

At the same time, in consultation with the judicial authorities, the INCC provides high-quality scientific research: research into new scientific techniques and criminological research into various criminal phenomena and the responses to them.

Other activities include
- creating and maintaining forensic databases;
- assisting and advising the judicial authorities;
- providing training for judicial actors;
- participate in the scientific coordination of the technical and scientific police laboratories.