New EU-funded project will support researchers at risk

The European Commission has established a new initiative supporting a European fellowship scheme for researchers at risk. It will be implemented through the three-year project “Supporting at-risk researchers with fellowships in Europe” (SAFE), with a budget of EUR 12 million.

Support network and fellowships

This initiative promoted and supported by the European Parliament will

• develop and test procedures to assess the risks these researchers face
• award fellowships to non-EU nationals to enable them to continue their work safely at universities and research institutions across the European Union
• develop mechanisms to match researchers with host institutions in the EU

SAFE will provide around 60 fellowships of up to two years to doctoral and postdoctoral researchers with or without refugee status.

Non-EU citizens who are already recognised as refugees in the EU will also be eligible to receive a fellowship.

Call opening in November

The call for applications to the SAFE project has opened on 18 November 2024, with a deadline on 20 January 2025. Selected researchers will start their projects as of spring 2025.

As of mid-October, a matchmaking support is helping researchers find a suitable host organisation that will recruit and offer them training and career development opportunities.

Applications will have to be submitted by the host organisations, and not by the individual researchers themselves.

Launch event and information session on the call for applications and the matchmaking service

On 19 November, the SAFE Project will host an online launch event and information session to present the project’s objectives and support services for researchers at risk. 

The event will be opened by Christian Ehler, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA Panel).

The SAFE consortium will present the projects and its objectives, and provide participants with practical information on the matchmaking support for researchers and potential hosts as well as the conditions to apply for SAFE fellowships.

Researchers and organisations interested in hosting researchers at risk are invited to join the session and discover support and networking opportunities provided by SAFE.

Further details and registration are available on the event page.

Experienced partnership for researchers at risk

SAFE is being implemented by an experienced partnership of organisations supporting researchers at risk. It is composed of

• the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, coordinating institution)
• Campus France
• PAUSE/Collège de France
• the Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED)
• eight supporting partners, including the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Foundation, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research, the Finnish National Agency for Education, the European University Association, the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, the Dutch Organisation for Internationalisation in Education and Sofia University

Timeline