International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): Young Scientists Summer Program, call for invited applicants
- intended for doctoral candidates selected by IIASA to the Young Scientists Summer Program; grant awarded towards travel and accommodation costs
- grant comes to 5,400 euros
Each year, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) hosts doctoral candidates from around the world in the Young Scientist Summer Program (YSSP). The Research Council of Finland (RCF) awards grants towards the travel and accommodation costs of up to three doctoral candidates selected to the programme. The aim is to support their opportunities for collaborative research in an international research environment and to advance their research careers.
The application period for the YSSP 2025 was from 16 October 2024 to 13 January 2025.
Before you fill in your application in the online services (SARA), carefully read the call text and the funding terms and conditions.
If the call text is in conflict with the funding terms and conditions, the terms and conditions should always be considered primary. If the translated English or Swedish version of the call text is in conflict with the Finnish call text, the Finnish version should always be considered primary.
Read the full call text on this page.
At the core of the Research Council of Finland’s activities is to provide funding for excellent scientific research. The research we fund is also expected to have high scientific and societal impact and follow the principles of responsible science.
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) hosts doctoral candidates from around the world in the Young Scientist Summer Program (YSSP). The 2025 YSSP will run on-site in Austria from 2 June to 29 August 2025, and participants will have the opportunity to work on their own scientific projects. The YSSP includes up to 50 doctoral candidates each year.
The selections are made by IIASA. The Research Council of Finland can award grants towards the travel and accommodation costs of up to three doctoral candidates based at a Finnish host institution. The aim is to support their opportunities for collaborative research in an international research environment and to advance their research careers.
Applications are invited from two doctoral candidates selected to the YSSP 2025.
Special terms and restrictions
You must immediately notify us if you receive funding from other sources for the same purpose after you have submitted your application to us.
We will not consider (process) an application by a person who has participated in the planning of the call to an extent likely to give them a comparative advantage over other applicants.
We will not consider (process) a funding application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.
If the application includes cooperation with Russia or Belarus, you must take into account our policies.
If you have not submitted a final report on a completed or ongoing RCF-funded project by the set deadline, we may decide not to consider (process) your application.
An application will not be considered (processed) if the applicant or the application does not meet the competence requirements or other key requirements set for the call, or if there are otherwise no conditions for processing the case.
A scientific council or another decision-making body may decide not to fund an application based on science policy objectives, or if it is apparent for some other reason that the applicant cannot receive funding with the submitted application. Read more: eligibility.
We will not consider (process) an application if the applicant is a member of the RCF Board or scientific councils or the Strategic Research Council.
The RCF Board decides the criteria for the RCF's funding decisions.
When the call opens
- Sign up or log in to our online services. Check and update your personal details. Your up-to-date email address is important when we are in contact with you.
- Instructions on how to fill in the application form are available in the online services.
Application parts in the online services
The different parts of the application are listed below. A comprehensive A–Z index of application guidelines is available on our website. Instructions for filling in the application form are also on the tabs of the form.
- Personal details
- General information: topic, keywords and scientific disciplines of the project, details on the site of research
- Abstract
- Collaborators
- Funding for the project
- Public project description
Appendices
- Acceptance letter by IIASA
Submitting the application in the online services
You can submit the application when you have filled in or attached all the necessary information. A red warning triangle tells you that there is an error or information missing.
Submit your application in good time. You can supplement and edit the application and change appendices until the call deadline.
Fill in the grant amount under ‘Other costs’.
How to submit and supplement the application
The non-negotiable call deadline also applies to consortia. We will not consider (process) an application that has not been submitted by deadline. The deadline for applications is 11 April 2025 at 16.15 Finnish time.
Make sure to submit the application in good time before the deadline. The system will only accept applications that contain all obligatory information. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the content of the application appendices is correct.
You can edit and supplement the application until the deadline. For example, you can change the appendices to the application. If you notice that your application lacks important information after the deadline, immediately get in touch with us via our helpdesk, so that the application can be reopened for supplementation.
We may ask you to supplement the application. In that case, you will receive a supplementation request by email. If you do not supplement the application by the given deadline, or if the application is substantially incomplete even after a request for supplementary information, we may declare it inadmissible (i.e. it will not be processed). Make sure that your email address is up to date.
How the application becomes pending
According to section 17 of the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act and section 8 of the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector, the sender is responsible for the application arriving by the set deadline. An application becomes pending when the online application and the obligatory appendices have been submitted in the online services. The system will confirm a successful submission by sending an email to the address you have provided.
Publicity and data protection
Except for the research plan, plan of intent, abstract and progress report, which are primarily confidential, the application and its appendices are public documents. For example, the CV is a public document and as such must not include any secret information. This publicity is based on the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities.
We are committed to following regulations on data protection. The applicant is responsible for the disclosure of the personal data contained in the application and, where appropriate, for requesting the consent of the parties concerned.
The GDPR-compliant privacy notice concerning the research funding process is available on our website under Data protection.
A subcommittee appointed by the RCF Board will make the funding decisions on 6 May 2025.
You will receive an email notification after the funding decision has been made. After receiving the email, you can log in to the online services with your user ID to view the decision and its justifications. In the online services, you will also have access to the review report(s), which may include the panel ranking (panels rank the best applications).
How to receive the funding
A positive funding decision is accompanied by the funding terms and conditions. They include instructions on how to receive the funding (section 3.5).
