PE&RC Visiting Scientist Grant 2026

The PE&RC Visiting Scientist Grant is meant to finance the hosting of a scientist from abroad to visit a PE&RC group for a period of up to 6 months (e.g. as part of a sabbatical). The objective of the grant is to stimulate scientific quality of research within PE&RC and strengthen international collaboration. 

The focus is on new initiatives that have the potential to develop into long(er) term collaboration. Dutch scientists, employed abroad and who pay taxes in that country, are also eligible. Joint applications of Wageningen University groups with one or more other PE&RC member institutes (Wageningen Research, NIOO, UU, UVA, VU, LU, RU) are possible, and even encouraged. Do note that in this situation the first applicant must be a WU PE&RC staff member and that, when granted, the funding will be arranged via the chair group of this staff member. The available budget for the PE&RC Visiting Scientist Grants is approximately € 30 000. 

For all applications, it is a prerequisite that the proposed research has to fit within the mission of PE&RC. Funding is available for grants with a duration of 1-6 months of € 1 500 per month plus a contribution to travel costs of max € 1 000 (based on real costs, so in total a max of € 10 000) .The candidate should have a PhD title plus at least 3 years postdoctoral experience or must have long-term experience as senior scientist. The € 1 500 per month is meant to cover expenses in the Netherlands (such as housing). Actual funding of fellowships is based on actual costs for travel and housing up to the maximum awarded. 

Criteria used for the assessment of the proposals are: 

• The quality of the candidate as shown in the application and the Curriculum Vitae and the publication list of the candidate that have to be enclosed with the application (weight 40%). 
• The strategic importance of collaboration with the candidate and the research institute / university of the candidate which must be specified in the application (weight 20%). 
• The innovative aspects of the research activities (20%). 
• The contribution to PE&RC education (e.g. master class, workshop, course, seminar) (weight 20%; the contribution will be considered in relation to the duration of the stay). 
• The degree to which the intended activities as described in the application fit within the PE&RC mission and themes (has to pass the threshold). 

Conditions: 

• With respect to each of the five criteria, proposals must pass a threshold of 3 (= acceptable) on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Therefore, if one of the criteria is not well elaborated the proposal will not be funded. 
• Only one candidate per foreign institute will be eligible for funding. 
• It is not possible for a candidate to receive a research grant two times within a period of 5 years. 
• If granted PE&RC expects: 
  • That the candidate meets with the PE&RC office on arrival to discuss and plan the training/education activity that was proposed in the application. 
  • A report from the applicants after the fellowship has ended, in which activities of the candidate in Wageningen, results of the stay and the additional value of the fellowship to the research group(s) involved as well as PE&RC are described. 
• When granted, the budget for the candidate will become available in 2026 and will be transferred to the group concerned. The visit should start at latest March 2027.

The application form can be downloaded here. 

The application form, the Curriculum Vitae and the publication list of the candidate should be e-mailed to the PE&RC Office (Office.PE@wur.nl) before June 1, 2026 (9.00 a.m.). 

In case funds remain after the selection, the call will be extended until December 1 2026 (9.00 a.m.) and the applications submitted after June 1, 2026 will be dealt with in order of arrival until the available budget is spent.