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Excellent scientists from around the world have an open door to Slovakia. On June 2, 2025, the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) opened the call for applications for the IMPULZ 2025 grant program. Internationally recognized scientists and highly talented young researchers once again have the opportunity to pursue their scientific goals in Slovakia under conditions comparable to those of prestigious European grants. Selected projects can apply for funding of up to €160,000 per year. The call is open until September 2, 2025, and the anticipated project start date is April 2026.

This is the fifth time the Slovak Academy of Sciences has launched the IMPULZ grant scheme. Its goal is to attract a new generation of top scientific leaders to SAS research institutes, increase their internationalization and competitiveness, enhance the excellence of their research, and ultimately improve their success rate in obtaining prestigious European grants.

"The Academy needs to invest more in cultivating leaders and the overall personal development of our human capital. IMPULZ is our flagship program in this respect. It is intended for truly mature scientific personalities from whom we expect innovative new research topics," said Martin Venhart, President of SAS.

The task of the researchers will be to establish and lead their own research groups. The scheme will provide motivating conditions for their work and will help improve the research environment and scientific output at SAS organizations.

Eligible applicants are scientists holding a PhD or an equivalent degree, who regularly publish in high-impact scientific journals, have been repeatedly invited to present their results at prominent international conferences, and have been principal investigators of scientific projects. Applicants must also demonstrate sufficient research experience gained at a foreign research institution.

Successful applicants may receive funding of up to €160,000 per year. Eligible project costs include personnel, travel, materials, research infrastructure, publication costs, and more. Selected candidates will be employed at specific SAS institutes, which will also cover the project’s indirect costs.

SAS currently provides specific support to researchers through several programs, such as the Compensation Allowance, the Štefan Schwarz Fund, and SASPRO2/MoRePro.

The IMPULZ grant scheme was first launched in 2021. Since then, 106 applicants from around the world have submitted proposals. So far, SAS has supported 12 projects with a total of €3,080,270. The projects from the first call in 2021 are now halfway through their implementation. This year, all three projects successfully defended their progress and were approved for continued funding.

More information about the IMPULZ scheme and the full text of the call can be found HERE.

Edited by Monika Tináková