SKERIC long-term mobility programme

SKERIC Long-term mobility programme

The SKERIC universities seek to promote mobility of early career researchers and the development of a strong international network between the SKERIC universities. Early career researchers at all SKERIC universities are therefore invited to apply for a mobility grant to spend between 5 and 6 months at one of the SKERIC universities. The grants will enable the researchers to continue their education, pursuing their own research project during the mobility period, parallel to joining a research group at the host university. The stay abroad must be for a sustained period and cannot be divided into shorter stays.

Eligibility
This Call for applications is open to Ph.D. students and for post-docs, who gained their PhD in 2020 or later. The applicants need to study at and/or be employed at one of the SKERIC universities (Korea University, Seoul National University, POSTECH, KTH Royal institute of Technology, Lund University, Umeå University, University of Gothenburg and Uppsala University), at the time of application and during the mobility. Applicants from the Korean universities apply for mobility at one of the Swedish universities and applicants from the Swedish universities apply for mobility at one of the Korean universities. Applicants who have already been accepted to the SKERIC long-term mobility programme are not eligible for a second mobility.

Why should you apply?

The SKERIC long-term mobility scheme will help you by:

• Broadening and deepening your skills and research interes

• Facilitating mobility and sharing of ideas

• Stimulating new research ideas

• Building your network amongst researchers at SKERIC universities

Application
To apply for the SKERIC long term mobility scheme, you need to fill out the application form (link will be provided when the call opens), and submit the following documents:

·         Invitation letter to a research group at one of the SKERIC universities. If you are from one of the Swedish universities, an invitation letter to a research group at one of the Korean SKERIC universities should be submitted, if you are from one of the Korean universities, an invitation letter to a research group at one of the Swedish SKERIC universities should be submitted. If you apply for two different universities, you need to submit an invitation letter to each one of the universities.

·         Recommendation letter from your supervisor/mentor/PI/line manager

·         CV (maximum 4 pages)

·         A letter describing your motivation and commitment to participate in the programme and how well the mobility is expected to develop your skills and research interests, and/or to stimulate new research ideas (maximum 5000 characters).

When applying, you will be asked to confirm that you have the permission of your supervisor/mentor/PI/line manager to undertake the mobility alongside your research/studies. PhD students are not expected to interrupt their studies for this scheme, rather the mobility is expected to be part of the PhD studies. Post-docs are expected to continue with their research and keep their position at their home university. You are expected to follow the local guidance from your home university in this respect.

Each applicant is expected to contact relevant research groups individually to discuss the opportunities to undertake the long-term mobility period at that university. The contact persons below can be used to establish contact with research groups.

Applications to the scheme should be submitted by December 3, 2025. Selection results will be communicated to applicants in February 2026. The mobility applied for should be a minimum of 5 months and a maximum of 6 months. The mobility should be completed by 31 December 2026 at the latest.

Selection
The selection will be based on the following criteria:

·         Motivation and commitment to participate in the programme

·         How well the mobility is expected to develop the skills and research interests, and/or to stimulate new research ideas 

·         Balanced participation between the SKERIC universities

·         Balanced participation between Swedish and Korean participants

·         When applications have a similar level of excellence, priority will be given to eligible participants in SKERIC WP 1, 2 and 3.

Financing
The funding for the mobility is expected to cover additional costs, rather than salary, during the mobility, including travel, accommodation, and subsistence costs. The recipients are expected to maintain their salary or other financial support from the home university, during the mobility period.

The amount is:

Maximum 25 000 SEK (appr. 3,6 M KRW) per full month and maximum 20 000 SEK (appr. 2,9 M KRW) for travel. Example: Total amount for 6 full months is maximum 170 000 SEK (appr. 24,5 M KRW).

The funding will be paid out by the home university, in accordance with local routines and regulations. It is expected to cover:
• Travel for the recipients
• Accommodation and subsistence allowance
• Other costs, such as visas

All the recipients will be insured through Kammarkollegiet (Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Service Agency).

The host university is not expected to charge anything for the mobility.

An interrupted stay entails a repayment obligation.

A total of around 2,8 M SEK (appr. 405 M KRW) is available for the upcoming call for applications.

Other information
Please refer questions to the relevant SKERIC contact person or to SKERIC project management:

SKERIC project management: Elisabeth Axell

Lund University: Henrik Hofvendahl
University of Gothenburg: Linn Holm
Uppsala University: Fanny Lagerberg
Umeå University: Helena Gradin
KTH Royal Institute of Technology: Charlotte Almqvist
Korea University: Pureun Kim
Seoul National University: Jaeyeon Shin
Pohang University of Science and Technology: Tae Eun Kim


The mobility scheme is financed by STINT, The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education.