YOUNG RESEARCHERS┋Supporting postdoctoral researchers in the early stage of their career

The call "Young Researchers - Supporting postdoctoral researchers in the early stage of their career" is a two-phase programme that fits within Fondazione Cariplo’s mandate "Creating enabling conditions to strengthen our communities".

BACKGROUND

The PhD represents the highest level of education in the Italian academic system. Typically, it requires an investment of at least three years and is meant to foster scholars’ academic independence, creativity and methodological knowledge.

According to AlmaLaurea Interuniversity Consortium* , one year after obtaining the degree, 40.1% of PhD holders wish to pursue an academic career, either in Italy or abroad. However, in Italy at least, there are currently only a few funding programs dedicated to postdoctoral researchers in the early stage of their careers. Undoubtedly, our country registers important weaknesses in terms of instruments to strengthen and promote the independence of young researchers.

It is therefore crucial to close this gap for both the researchers and the scientific community. Research is not an individual activity, but rather the result of teamwork that combines different expertise, knowledge, skills and abilities. In that respect it is important to create a good balance between the experience, network and management skills, often possessed by established researchers, and the originality and innovativeness typical of the younger ones**.

AIMS

Through this call, Fondazione Cariplo intends to support young researchers in the early stages of their careers. The call is aimed to researchers who have obtained their PhD no more than two years before the call deadline and have not yet reached the age of 33. The call is intended to support research projects aiming to enhance the profile of the young researchers and the development of their research identity***. 

With this call Fondazione Cariplo offers young researchers the opportunity to develop independent projects, explore new methods, conceptual frameworks, innovative tools or techniques, and acquire or consolidate managerial skills. The call encourages the submission of proposals characterized by contamination between different disciplinary areas, methodologies or approaches, considering this an opportunity to respond to complex problems and to foster scientific progress.

Proposals can include training courses, to consolidate or improve both technical and soft skills. The call requires the identification of a mentor who will support the applicant in her/his academic progress. It encourages internationalization, the development of collaborative networks and research experiences at organizations or groups different from those where the PhD was obtained. Should the proponents decide to take advantage of this opportunity, they are required to detail their work plan and provide adequate letters of support. It should be noted that all proposals’ activities and experiences need to be consistent with the research project and represent an added value in terms of construction of the research identity.

Finally, young researchers are required to represent the potential impact of their research on society and describe communication and dissemination activities.

* AlmaLaurea Report 2025 “Profilo dei Dottori di ricerca 2024”. **https://www.dsu.cnr.it/wpcontent/uploads/2024/01/Relazione_sulla_ricerca_e_innovazio ne_in_Italia_2023.pdf.
***The term research identity refers to a set of elements which define the profile of a researcher. These include affiliation to one or more organizations, publications - with related citations - articipation in congresses, methodologies and techniques usually used in studies, collaborations, teaching, peer review, editorial and third party activities mission. For a scientific treatment of the topic, see, among others Castelló (2021) What perspectives underlie ‘researcher identity’? A review of two decades of empirical studies. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-020-00557-8

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