PEARL Program┋Attracting Leading Researchers from Abroad to Luxembourg
PEARL projects have a lifespan of five to seven years with a financial contribution of between 3-4 MEUR by the FNR. The financial contribution can be used flexibly to implement the research programme at the host institution.
New for 2027
Based upon the results of the external evaluation of the PEARL programme as well as an international benchmarking with other funding agencies, the FNR has revised and updated the PEARL programme to better serve the needs and goals of the Luxembourg research ecosystem as well as the foundational objectives of PEARL.
Starting from PEARL 2027, applicants can be currently active both within Luxembourgish research institutions as well as abroad, broadening PEARL from a pure attraction scheme to one that attracts and retains high-quality established researchers. Resubmissions are also now allowed, but there are lifetime caps of 2 submissions and 1 funded PEARL per candidate.
While the total funding amount and 5 year project length has not changed, we have extended the overall duration of the grant to 7 years in order to allow for more flexibility and reduce the administrative burden around project extensions. In addition, the institutional support requirements have increased to include a permanent staff position and a tenure-track position to better support the long-term perspective of a funded PEARL.
The evaluation process has been slightly modified to reduce the burden on both applicants and evaluators while at the same time anticipating a higher application load. The main evaluation criteria of PEARL have not changed, but are now sharpened and focused on a new FNR Framework for Scientific Excellence, and both the pre-proposal and full proposal template have been updated to better address the evaluation criteria.
As there are numerous changes throughout the different PEARL documents, we strongly recommend that you read everything in detail if considering a proposal submission. Please contact the FNR PEARL team if you have any questions.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Proposals must be submitted jointly by the candidate and the host institution.
All applications have to be submitted through the FNR online Grant Management System.
Related contacts
COORDINATION
Sean Sapcariu
+352 691 36 28 31
SUPPORT
Patricia Drimeyer
+352 691 36 28 13
Related documents
PEARL Documents
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