A) Promotion of young academics by Swiss universities
The promotion of young academics is a central task of Swiss universities. Swiss universities offer young academics a great number of employment opportunities in teaching and research. They have also developed a variety of measures aiming at promoting young academics.
An example is a model introduced in 2001 by the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology: assistant professor with tenure track. This model allows young and talented researchers to become professors by the age of about 30. Assistant professors with tenure track are equipped with funds and rights comparable to those of professors holding permanent positions. After a probation period of six years at most, and provided their performance is assessed positively by an expert committee, assistant professors are offered permanent positions as associate professors.
B) Promotion of young academics by the Swiss National Science Foundation
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) fosters the careers of outstanding young researchers by offering them a wide range of fellowships and grants. These are usually open to candidates from abroad, but further requirements may apply (the conditions published on the SNSF Web site shall prevail):
The instrument of SNSF Professorships, introduced in 2000, aims at the promotion of outstanding young talent. SNSF Professorships allow junior researchers with a doctoral degree and several years of recognized research experience to establish an independent team to implement a research project (the duration of the subsidy is four years and can be extended by a maximum of two years).
In 2008, the SNSF introduced the Ambizione programme, which aims at the promotion of junior researchers on an advanced postdoctoral level who would like to conduct, manage, and lead an independently planned project at a Swiss university (the duration of the subsidy is a maximum of three years; it can be extended by one year). Ambizione is open to qualified researchers holding a doctoral degree from abroad.
Finally, in order to promote women in research, the SNSF awards a limited number of Marie Heim-Vögtlin (MHV) subsidies annually (the duration of the subsidy is based on the application, up to a maximum of two years, extendable for one year). The instrument is aimed at qualified women scientists (doctoral and postdoctoral students) within all disciplines who want to continue their research at a Swiss university and whose scientific career was or is delayed or interrupted due to family obligations or a change of residence as a result of their partner's career development.
Information and financial resources
The Researcher's Mobility Portal EURAXESS Switzerland provides young researchers from abroad with information on open positions at Swiss universities and on conditions of entry and residence.
The Swiss Government grants scholarships to foreign students holding a first university degree through the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS).
With its ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grants (ERC Starting Grants), the European Research Council supports up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish or consolidate a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe.