Call Information

The Guide for Applicants for the first call will guide you step by step to submit your application. The Guide also provides detailed information about the evaluation and selection procedure.

Download the guide

Timeline

Call opening: 1 July 2025 at 14.00 CET 
Call closing: 31 October 2025 at 17.00 CET 
Eligibility check: 1 November 2025 to 14 November 2025 
Evaluation by external international experts:  between November 2025 and March 2026
Results to applicants: 6 to 10 April 2026 
Start of projects: 15 July 2026 (earliest) to 15 November 2026 (latest) 

Eligibility criteria

  • Applicants of any age and any nationality are eligible to apply. 
  • Eligible applicants are in possession of a doctoral degree or have successfully defended the doctoral thesis by the deadline of the call.
  • Holders of a PhD degree with maximum 8 years of full-time research experience since obtaining the PhD (applicants can calculate research experience deducting periods of: maternity/parental leave, compulsory national military service, long term sick or family care leave, and procedures for obtaining refugee status)
  • Eligible applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium for more than 12 months during the last 3 years before the call deadline.

Requirements for IRIS

Confirmation of two supervisors who have the expertise, infrastructure, resources and capacity to supervise your fellowship.

Required documents

To apply for IRIS postdoctoral fellowship, you will need to prepare and upload the following documents in PDF format:

  • Research proposal 
  • Narrative CV
  • Ethics self-assessment
  • Reference letter
  • Research experience and Mobility Calculator 
  • Evidence of PhD (scanned document)
  • Passport/Identification document (scanned document)

Please use the following mandatory templates in your application file:

Research proposals are developed and written by the applicant.

Guide for evaluators

Please, find here the Guide for Evaluators

Rebuttal procedure

According to section 5.2 from the Guide for Applicants. Following the eligibility check and after the selection process, the applicant will have the opportunity to submit a written appeal , within five (5) working days of receiving the notification if procedural shortcomings are suspected.

The email must use the subject line “Redress_IRISCALL1_Surname_Firstname” and clearly state the grounds for the appeal using the redress template. The request for appeal will be evaluated by the IRIS Management Committee and the final decision will be communicated to the applicant within twenty (20) working days.

The scientific assessments made by expert evaluators cannot be contested. The appeal procedure will assess whether the administrative procedures during the selection process have been followed as described in this Guide for Applicants

Submission Platform

Please, check the step by step procedure in the Guide for Applicants.

Apply

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