Opening words

Dr. Marc Zbinden (Head of the Section Careers from the SNSF) opened the day by highlighting how important fellows’ careers are to the SNSF and underscoring the successful and continued partnership between the SNSF and the GSFN.

Career Tracker Cohort (CTC) with Dr. Julia Jerke

Following the opening words by Dr. Marc Zbinden, Dr. Julia Jerke presented the Career Tracker Cohort Tracker (CTC), a longitudinal study that tracks the career paths of SNSF applicants to better understand the impact of SNSF funding and to inform policies to support early career researchers more effectively. 

The study is completely anonymous, and the data is available for research use via SwissUbase (Project #13610) directly from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). One challenge of this longitudinal study is the decreasing response rates over the years. The first cohort started in 2018 with a 90% response rate, overtime, the response rate is closer to 50%. Unsuccessful applicants and researchers who have left academia were less likely to respond. Results from the CTC-18 (2018 cohort) showed that most researchers did not return to Switzerland (64%) and those who returned were more likely to work outside academia. On the other hand, researchers who did not return to Switzerland were more likely to stay in academia. Finally, grantees were only slightly more likely to still work in academia than non-grantees (68.5% vs. 64.7%).

The survey also found that most grantees did not receive mentoring (54%, n=107) at their host institutions. When mentoring was received, it tended to be on an informal basis (26%, n=51).

The CTC-18 data has already been used to inform policies. A formal mentoring support letter is now required from the host institution to foster commitment to mentoring. Finally, Dr. Jerke shared some more insights from all cohorts (beyond CTC-18). Over time, the proportion of people who aspire to a professorship declined. It is not clear whether this is due to selective non-response bias or reflects a real decline over time.

Additional results highlighted by Dr. Jerke are presented in Figures 4–6, illustrating the time until professorship as well as career and family considerations.

During the discussion, the SNSF stressed that they are thinking deeply about career funding options, the barriers that exist for early career researchers to pursue an academic career, and possible solutions

Ambizione and Starting Grants with Dr. Julia Cahenzli

After a delicious lunch filled with small chats, networking, information stands and a group photo outside, we started the afternoon with the second information panel. Dr. Cahenzli shared more information about the two different grants for after the postdoc; the Ambizione Grant and the Starting Grant, their eligibility criteria and how applications are evaluated. Applicants should be aware of the different criteria, qualification, timelines, and special extension requests. The composition of the evaluation panels is always published on the website, and applicants will know which panel they are on, so they have an idea of who evaluates the applications. Sometimes, cross-panel expertise is required for interdisciplinary applications to complement the existing panels. Importantly, Dr. Cahenzli emphasized the importance of respecting the deadlines which are very strict and to ensure to contact the SNSF if there are any questions rather than to rely on word of mouth and rumors.

During the discussion the start date to establish the deadline for application of the 4 years (Ambizione) and 8 years (Starting Grant) after the PhD was clarified (it is the date of the PhD defense). The SNSF emphasized that it is particularly important to mention all forms of output and achievements in the application because the science CV is rather limited. 

For Ambizione, it is good to highlight achievements in your early career, and lack of teaching experience will not penalize the applicant. For Starting Grant, teaching experience may be more important. Experience supervising students and early career researchers is very desirable, but lack thereof is not a reason for losing points in the evaluation. 

For both grants it is very important to show that applicants have already taken first steps towards independence even if one stays in the same lab.

The SNSF is trying to move away from matrix evaluations and to account for non-linear career progressions. Physical mobility is not required per se, but rather it is a combination of academic mobility and networking with other research institutions in addition to change of state/or countries. The SNSF is looking for evidence that the candidate is able to work in different scientific environments. This also means that if the best place to do your research is where you are currently or where you did your PhD, then the applicant needs to describe that very clearly why the current institution is the best place for their research.

Afternoon Panels

1. Postdoc Years: Questions, Challenges & Reflections

The first panel was moderated by Dr. Jaiteh (former GSFN Board Member) and featured panelists from the SNSF (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Gurtner and Prof. Dr Kathryn Hess) and current postdoc.mobility (Dr. Sarah Spycher) and return grant holders (Dr. Melissa Rérat). Participants were asked to describe their current postdoctoral experience and the top four words that came up were: challenging, uncertainty, stimulating, and intellectual freedom. Challenges and solutions to common stressors were discussed including extending the postdoc period, or not requiring postdocs to fulfill their whole postdoc abroad given the administrative difficulties that come with settling into a new country – by the time one is settled, half the postdoc is over and this is time that could have been spent into developing one’s own research and career. It was clear that the tension between the positive and negative experiences (stimulating and intellectual freedom versus challenging and uncertainty) is a constant struggle that many Postdoc.Mobility fellows face.

2. What Comes After Postdoc.Mobility & Return Grants

The second panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Chui (GSFN Board Member) and featured panelists from the SNSF’s Programme Committee Careers (Prof. Dr. Monica Gotta and Prof. Dr. Verdon Taylor) as well as recipients of Starting Grant (Prof. Dr. Sarah Brüningk) and Ambizione grant (Dr. Martin Gjoreski and Dr. Sara Petrella). Panelists discussed life after the postdoc, more specifically the grantees’ personal experience applying for the Ambizione and Starting Grant, their successes and struggles, and what the SNSF could do to support early-career researchers overtime even better. One of the issues mentioned was,what happens after the grant ends because the host institution generally has no obligation to offer a position and facilitate transition towards a professorship. The possibility of the SNSF requiring host institutions to offer a path to professorship after the grant ends, or at least to provide additional funding (for a specific time period) for the applicant after the Ambizione or Starting Grants end to help researchers transition onto the next stage.

Conclusion and Networking Social

We concluded a very informative and lively day with some final words from the GSFN Board’s Chair, Dr. Tobias Scheider who presented all our panelists, guest speakers, and SNSF organizers with a small token of appreciation. Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak at our event and who made this day happen. We would like to give a special thank you Daniel Sebastiani and the rest of the team at the SNSF for supporting the event by managing all the logistics, food and beverages, and the IT involved that day! Finally, thank you to all the fellows who took the time to come out to our event and to support the Network!

As the event drew to a close, we proceeded to the garden area of the SNSF to make more connections, share stories and experiences, say our final farewells, and to cap off the day with some cool beverages. It was another successful Summer Meet for the GSFN, and we look forward to meeting you all again at the next one!