The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has allocated a total of 17.8 million Swiss francs for the 2024 SNSF Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowships, a transitional measure supporting early-career researchers in Switzerland. Out of 738 applications received, 72 have been selected for funding, resulting in a competitive success rate of 9.8%. The high number of applications, combined with the limited available budget, contributed to the low acceptance rate.
The evaluation process involved panels of mainly international experts who reviewed proposals across three broad research domains. A total of 30 projects were approved in mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, and technology. In the life sciences, 25 projects received support, while 17 were selected in the social sciences and humanities, which had a comparatively lower number of submissions.
In terms of institutional distribution, around 57% of the awarded funds went to researchers affiliated with universities. The ETH Domain received 39% of the funding, and the remaining 4% was granted to researchers at other eligible institutions.
This call represents the final round of the SNSF Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowships. It was launched as a transitional measure after Switzerland was designated as a non-associated third country under Horizon Europe. The initiative aimed to support researchers who intended to apply for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA PF) by offering opportunities to work in non-profit research institutions in Switzerland for 12 to 24 months. Since early 2025, researchers can now directly apply for MSCA fellowships to conduct research in Switzerland, eliminating the need for a separate SNSF call.
Examples of funded projects include innovative and high-impact research across disciplines. In the social sciences and humanities, Laura Giglio from the University of Geneva is studying brain activity in stroke victims with severe aphasia using electroencephalography to improve personalized treatment strategies. In the natural sciences and technology, Francis Meloche at ETH Zurich is investigating how cracks in snow layers behave to better predict and mitigate snow slab avalanches. In the life sciences, Jan Elaine Soriano at EPFL is working on restoring upper limb function in people with cervical spinal cord injuries using a targeted cellular repair approach previously applied to walking rehabilitation.
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