JYU Mobility funding for strengthening international networking 2026

The funding is intended to cover the costs of the applicant's research visit abroad. An applicant can be a researcher at the postdoctoral stage or at an Assistant Professor level at JYU who has completed the doctoral degree no more than 9 years at the end of the research visit. The applicant can either be employed by JYU or do research with a grant at JYU at the time of the visit. The grant researcher must have a valid grant researcher agreement with JYU.

Funding will not be granted to a person who receives mobility funding at the same time from a project of the Research Council of Finland, Business Finland, the European Commission or any other funder. If the applicant receives funding from a project that does not include mobility funding, she/he should mention this in her/his application.

The host organisation can be a foreign university or research organisation whose researcher is committed to hosting the research visit and where the visit is important for the implementation of the research plan described in the application.

The host organisation cannot be a university or research organisation where the applicant has completed one of their degrees or has been employed or a visiting researcher for more than 1 month.

The research visit should take place between 1.1.2026 and 31.12.2026.

Funding will be granted for a research visit abroad of 1 to 2 months, during which an applicant conducts high-quality research leading to a publication. In addition to the implementation of the research plan, the applicant, who is an Assistant Professor, must prepare a collaborative funding application, which will be submitted to an international funder.

As the funding is intended for a research visit, the visiting period may not include teaching. The researcher is encouraged to give a seminar presentation on their own research in the host organisation.

Depending on the duration of the visit, the costs of the research visit of applicants in an employment relationship will be reimbursed either in accordance with JYU travel instructions or the JYU instructions for working abroad (see the instructions). Recipients of the mobility funding make travel bookings in accordance with the university's travel instructions.

For grant researchers, the mobility funding will be paid as a travel grant.

At the application stage, the applicant must check the eligible costs and their amount with the International Staff Services team (ISS) (Sari Korkia-aho).

The funding does not cover potential bench fees or other fees charged by the host organisation, visa fees and other similar expenses. The applicant must agree on the reimbursement of these costs with the department, independent institute or faculty. The commitment of the department, independent institute or faculty to reimburse these expenses must be indicated in the Letter of Commitment, which is signed by the Head of Department, Director of the independent institute or the Dean.

Funding will not be granted for the preparation of MSCA-Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF) and ERC funding applications, for which JYU has other forms of support.

For recipients with employment relationship with the University of Jyväskylä, granted funding is paid against the travel claim.

For grant researchers, the mobility funding is paid as a travel grant. The amount of the travel grant depends on the country of destination and the duration of the research visit, ranging approximately from €2,000 to €9,000 (for more information, please contact: research-council@jyu.fi). Travel grant recipients should take care of their insurance coverage during the research visit.

Fill in the application form by 7.11.2025 at 23:59 (Finnish time). Incomplete applications will not be considered. One cannot supplement the application after the deadline.

The application documents that should be attached to the application in pdf format:

A research plan of no more than 3 pages, including an itemized estimate of the total cost with justifications, amount of costs applied from the mobility funding, a description of the significance of the visit for the applicant's own research and career, as well as the expected results and their impact. If the applicant is an Assistant Professor, they must also describe the funding application to be prepared during the visit: (i) the funding call from which they are applying for funding, (ii) the role of the applicant, the host and the other researchers involved in the project, and (iii) the planned content of the project. Name the attachment file as follows: Yoursurname_researchplan.pdf
Applicant’s CV, composed according to good scientific practice and considering the template for researcher´s curriculum vitae by the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity. Name the attachment file as follows: Yoursurname_cv.pdf
Applicant’s list of publications, in which published works and works accepted for publication are listed according to the classification of Ministry of Education and Culture (A–I). Name the attachment file as follows: Yoursurname_publ.pdf.
Letter of Commitment issued by the unit, including an estimate of the costs of the research visit that are not covered by the mobility funding (see the content of the funding) and to which the head of department, director of the independent institute or dean has committed. The unit writes the letter of commitment on the template. Name the attachment file as follows: Yoursurname_LOC.pdf
Letter of Invitation by the host organisation, which clearly describes what kind of collaboration the host (scientific contact person) is committed to, the duration and dates of the visit and the concrete objectives of the collaboration. If the scientific contact person's own organisation (host organisation) requires that the official invitation is issued by someone else than the scientific contact person, the scientific contact person's own invitation letter must also be appended, indicating the above-mentioned matters. Name the attachment file as follows: Yoursurname_LOI.pdf

The Research Council will evaluate the applications. The Vice-Rector responsible for research will make the funding decision by 28 November 2025, taking into account the views of the Research Council and the resources available. The total budget of the call 2026 is €200 000. Decision-making follows the principles of responsible assessment of research and researchers. The applicants will be notified on the funding decision during the first week of December.

Priority is given to applicants whose application clearly describes the research objectives and convincingly demonstrates the commitment of the host organization to collaboration.

The evaluation criteria are

How does the visit contribute to the objectives of the mobility funding?
How does the visit contribute to implementing the research plan?
What results the visit aims to achieve and what is the impact of the results?
Scientific level and commitment to collaboration of the scientific contact person and, if applicable, the host organisation.
In addition, if the applicant is an Assistant Professor, the suitability of the funding application to be prepared during the visit to the planned funding call.

Recipients will be required to submit to the Research Council a written short report on their research visit within one month of the end of the visit. The report describes how the objectives set out in the application were achieved, what research and other results have been produced, as well as the status of the prepared funding application.

Link to the reporting form will be posted here.

Is parental leave taken into account when calculating the time elapsed since completing the doctoral degree?

Yes, parental leave and other special reasons will be taken into account for the period following the doctoral degree. Mention leaves of absence or career breaks with dates and duration in months in CV under title "Career breaks".

Where do I find information on the eligible costs and their amount?

Depending on the duration of the visit, the costs of the research visit of applicants in an employment relationship will be reimbursed either in accordance with JYU travel instructions (duration up to 31 days) or JYU instructions for working abroad (duration at least 32 days) (see the instructions). Sari Korkia-aho at the International Staff Service team (ISS) provides more information on the eligible costs and their amount.

If you are a grant researcher, the mobility funding will be paid as a travel grant, the amount of which depends on the country of destination and the duration of the research visit. You can use the same guidelines in estimating costs as applicants in an employment relationship.

May I split the visit into two periods?

No. Funding is granted for one research visit abroad of 1 to 2 months.

Do I have to attach a Letter of Commitment to the application, even though the research visits do not incur any costs for the unit?

Yes, you do. In the Commitment Letter, the unit (department, faculty, independent institution) also commits that you will be freed from any administrative or teaching duties during the mobility period. Furthermore, your unit will also be informed that you are applying for mobility funding. This way, the unit can prepare for your absence. If the mobility period does not incur any costs that are not covered by the mobility funding, please write €0 in the “Estimate of the costs of the mobility period to which [unit]" has committed

Grant researchers

Please take care of your insurance coverage during the research visit and make all travel arrangements yourself.

The research visit should take place between 1.1.2026 and 31.12.2026. Thus, the outward journey can be on 1 January 2026 at the earliest, and the return journey must be no later than 31 December 2026.

The mobility funding will be paid as a travel grant on the 15th or the last day of the month. The travel grant is paid using the electronic grant form in Mepco, which JYU sent to you to be completed with your personal and payment details. You will received an email, where E-mail sender is “mepco @ certia.fi”. Read more abou the payment of the travel grant.

Submit a report on your research visit by filling in the online form within one month of the end of the visit. See “Reporting” above where you find instruction for reporting and the link to the online form.

Remember to declare the grant received in your tax return. See the tax administration guidelines for more information on the taxation of grants

If you do not accept the grant, please notify the Research Council (research-council@jyu.fi) and HR Services (hr-palvelut@jyu.fi).

Further information: Information about the grants awarded by the University of Jyväskylä

Researchers with employment relationship

Read JYU'n instructions when you start planning your visit:

If the duration of the visit is up to 31 calendar days, see "JYU Travel guidelines"
If the duration of the visit is at least 32 calendar days, see "Instructions for the working abroad process"

Before booking the trip, make

If the duration of the visit is up to 31 calendar days, travel request
If the duration of the visit is at least 32 calendar days, travel proposal. Note: make at least 3months before the start of the visiting period.

As you are JYU's employee, you will be covered by the University’s travel insurance. If the host organisation does not accept JYU’s commissioned travel insurance, contact the International Staff Service team (ISS). Read more about the travel insurance web site, which provides information about the content of the travel insurance and what you should do before travelling abroad.

Make travel bookings in accordance with the university's travel instructions. Please note that you should book the flights through the University’s contracted travel agency, GBT, in order to be reimbursed for the cost of the tickets. See instruction how to book tickets from GBT. Travel secretaries provide assistance and advice through the HelpJYU portal.

The research visit should take place between 1.1.2026 and 31.12.2026. Thus, the outward journey can be on 1 January 2026 at the earliest, and the return journey must be no later than 31 December 2026.

Granted funding will be paid against a travel claim, which you must make within 2 months of completing the journey. The travel secretary of your unit will help you with the travel claim if needed.

Depending on the duration of the visit, the costs of the research visit will be reimbursed either in accordance with JYU travel instructions or the JYU instructions for working abroad (see the instructions). The funding does not cover potential bench fees or other fees charged by the host organisation, visa fees and other similar expenses. If needed, check the eligible costs and their amount with the International Staff Service team (ISS).

Submit a report on your research visit by filling in the online form within one month of the end of the visit. See “Reporting” above where you find instruction for reporting and the link to the online form.

Further information:

The travel instructions and the instructions for working abroad

Travel insurance