2026 Seal of Excellence Fund (SELF) Scholarship – University of Bern, Switzerland

Location: Switzerland

Program: Postgraduate – Research Funding

Eligibility: Supervisor (International students)

Duration: 1 year

Deadline: Not Specified

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The Seal of Excellence Fund (SELF) is a matching fund offered by the Vice-Rectorate Research and Innovation at the University of Bern to support outstanding postdoctoral researchers who received a Seal of Excellence from the European Commission for their Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship proposal but did not receive funding. The fund provides a lump-sum contribution of CHF 60,000 as co-funding to the institute’s own funds for a postdoctoral position of a minimum of one year. SELF aims to enable these researchers to either revise their MSCA PF proposal for resubmission or prepare a new proposal for another career instrument, thereby strengthening their chances of successfully securing competitive third-party funding. It is important to note that fellows cannot submit a SELF application themselves and applications must be submitted by supervisors on behalf of prospective SELF Fellows.

The University of Bern is one of Switzerland’s leading research universities, founded in 1834 and located in the Swiss capital city of Bern. The SELF programme reflects the university’s commitment to retaining and supporting talented postdoctoral researchers who have demonstrated the excellence of their research proposals at the European level. By bridging the gap between an unsuccessful MSCA application and the next competitive funding opportunity, SELF contributes to the international visibility and early-career researcher development at the University of Bern. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship proposals are submitted once a year typically by mid-September, and evaluation results including the awarding of the Seal of Excellence are communicated by the European Commission in January or February of the following year.

Benefits of the Fund

This fund will provide the following to its recipients:

Lump sum of CHF 60,000 as co-funding to the institute’s own funds
Co-funding of a minimum 1-year full-time postdoctoral position
Workspace and access to research infrastructure at the University of Bern
Other benefits

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Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this fund, applicants must meet the following:

Must have submitted a Horizon Europe MSCA-PF-2026 proposal with the University of Bern as the host institution
The unsuccessful MSCA-PF proposal must have received at least 85 points and been awarded the EU Seal of Excellence
Supervisors must submit an Expression of Interest for SELF, one per prospective SELF Fellow, to the Grants Office by December 31, 2026
The institute or department must have the necessary resources to cover its own contribution for at least one full-time year, and the SELF contribution may not replace existing funding
After MSCA-PF results are announced, supervisors must submit the formal confirmation of the Expression of Interest to the Grants Office by email within 4 weeks
SELF Fellows must begin their employment no later than 1 year after the MSCA-PF results are announced
Fellows cannot submit a SELF application themselves. Applications must be submitted by supervisors

Note: Kindly check the official webpage for full and detailed requirements.

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Selection Criteria

If the SELF funds available at the University of Bern are insufficient to support all applications, priority will be given to those candidates whose MSCA-PF evaluation score is closest to the panel-specific funding threshold. The institute or department must designate the third-party funding account on which the SELF Fellow will be employed, and the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Innovation transfers the lump-sum payment to this account. If employment does not begin within one year of the MSCA-PF results being announced, the allocated amount expires, and in cases of early termination, unused funds must be refunded proportionally.