A Two-year Research Talent Programme for Early Career Researchers
AAU Excellence
A Two-year Research Talent Programme for Early Career Researchers
AAU Excellence
Please see the mail below this page
To apply for admission to AAU Excellence 2026
The purpose of AAU Excellence is to enhance the academic qualifications of early career researchers. AAU Excellence seek to raise the bar for excellent research at AAU, hence giving early career researchers an opportunity to develop their research competencies and mature their research ideas into groundbreaking and original research and prepare them to apply and ultimately secure prestigious research career grants.
AAU must contribute to solving the major societal challenges, and this poses new, special demands for research competences. Therefore, as a university, we must be able to attract, develop and retain the best talented researchers.
Programme activities
Each year AAU selects eight new participants for the programme. Participants are enrolled into the programme for a period of two years. Within this time the participants will complete a specialised curriculum of activities put together by the programme director and the scientific board of AAU Excellence, which consists of international top professors across all four AAU faculties.
The programme’s activities are defined within four key areas:
- 1
Maturing research ideas
The programme aims to support the participants in forming a strong and independent research profile and developing and maturing original research ideas. To this end the participants are given a participant’s grant to finance relevant activities aimed at realising their individual research visions as well as mentoring to support their development.
- 2
Mentoring
To support participants in their development the programme offers several types of mentoring. Participants are asked to suggest an appropriate senior mentor from AAU. Furthermore, all participants are offered additional mentoring through a group of accomplished mid-career mentors from AAU as well as external mentoring from other academic or non-academic institutions. The focus of the mentors is the career development of the participants.
- 3
Courses
The programme offers a specialised curriculum focusing on strengthening the skills of the participants as well as broadening their perspectives on the academic ecosystems. All activities chosen with the aim to help the participants succeed within all the different areas of academic life. The curriculum offers introductions to the prestigious grants, research leadership, scientific grant writing, communication training etc.
- 4
Networking and exclusive events
Participants are urged to and supported in the efforts to establish and strengthen their national and international research networks both within their own field of research and the interdisciplinary. The programme offers unique opportunities to train networking skills through special events with prominent guests. The participants are invited to exclusive and inspirational meet ups with international top researchers, university management and representatives from scientific foundations etc.
OPEN CALL FOR AAU EXCELLENCE
? AAU Excellence 2026 ?
Aalborg University invites all interested early career researchers to apply for admission to AAU Excellence 2026.
Call
Call for AAU Excellence
Send your application to aau-excellence@aau.dk
Appendix 1: Timeline
Full Timeline for the Application Process
Appendix 2: Application form AAU Excellence
Phase 1 Expression of interest
Who can apply?
The target group is talented early career researchers with up to five years of PhD seniority.
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Employment at AAU
- Acquired PhD after the 13th of June 2020 (PhD age of no more than 5 years by the application deadline)
- In case of parental or sick leave, etc., the time period will be prolonged
- External applicants can apply for the programme if they have a signed employment contract with AAU by the time they are enrolled into the programme