APART-USA Information

Due to the changes in the US research landscape, scientists in the USA and in the global research community are facing considerable uncertainty.

In this current situation, the APART-USA funding program of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is supporting outstanding postdoctoral researchers working at a US university or non-university research institution who wish to relocate their research activities to excellent research locations in Austria.

Target group

A total of 25 fellowships are available for the Austrian universities and non-university research institutions with the strongest research performance. Candidates for the program are nominated by the host research institutions themselves.

With the nomination, these institutions commit to covering 25% of the costs of the fellowship (this corresponds to EUR 125,000) and to employing the grantee for the full duration of the fellowship at the respective institution. Any supplementary agreements with the nominee are at the liberty of the nominating host research institution.

Host research institutions eligible for nomination can nominate scientists with excellent credentials who have completed a doctorate and who are affiliated with a US university or non-university research institution at the time of their nomination or were affiliated there until at least 1 January 2025.

Nominations can be made for holders of all citizenships.

The above-mentioned research institutions are free to make use of the maximum number of nominations allocated to them or not. In addition, each host research institution entitled to nominate has the option of making reserve nominations. Reserve nominations must be marked and ranked as such when they are submitted. Each host research institution is entitled to submit reserve nominations in the same amount as it is entitled to submit nominations.

Each researcher can be represented with a maximum of one nomination for the APART-USA program.

Duration of fellowship

The APART-USA fellowship is granted for a period of 48 months and must be commenced within six months of notification of the grant. In justified exceptional cases, a later start is also possible. On application, funding can be extended by up to three months at no extra cost.

Value of fellowship

The APART-USA fellowship amounts to a total of EUR 500,000. 25% of this funding (in total: EUR 125,000) comes from the nominating host research institution. 75% (EUR 375,000) comes from the Fonds Zukunft Österreich (FZÖ) of the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development (NFTE). With the nomination, the research institution commits to financing its share of the fellowship and to employing the fellow for the full duration of the fellowship at the respective institution. Any supplementary agreements with the nominee are at the liberty of the nominating host research institution.

When and how is the grant decided?

The aim of the program is to facilitate the rapid, unbureaucratic transfer of top researchers from the USA to the nominating top research institutions in Austria. The qualitative assessment and selection of candidates for the program is carried out by the nominating research institutions and is complete with the nomination for the program at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Nominations that meet the call criteria will receive a grant approval from the Austrian Academy of Sciences as soon as possible after the submitted documents have been reviewed. A funding agreement will be concluded with the recipients and the research institutions.

If, by the end of the submission deadline, fewer nominations meeting the call criteria have been received than the number of available fellowships, the remaining fellowships will be awarded by drawing lots from among all reserve nominations meeting the call criteria received by the end of the submission deadline.

Reporting

The grantees and the respective institute directors submit annual reports to the Austrian Academy of Sciences on the activities of the grantee and the use of funds. In good time before the end of the funding period, they submit a final report to the Austrian Academy of Sciences on the content and accounts. The details are governed by the funding agreement.

All publications resulting from the funding must include the note “gefördert im Rahmen des Programms APART-USA der ÖAW” or “funded within the APART-USA program of the OeAW”.

Payment of the fellowship

The fellowship is paid in annual installments, 75% of which is made up of FZÖ funds and 25% of which is made up of funds from the nominating host research institution. The prerequisite for the payment of the first installment is the conclusion of the funding agreement. Payment of the subsequent installments is subject to the timely submission of the interim and final reports. Further details are set out in the funding agreement.

Other provisions

The OeAW has no influence on the content or organization of the fellowship. The OeAW does not acquire any rights to the results of research work through the payment of the fellowship, nor does it exert any influence on the type of cooperation of the recipient(s) with research institutions and research groups.

Grantees must be employed at the nominating host Austrian university or non-university research institution with the necessary infrastructure for the duration of the fellowship.