Spinoza Fund of the Amsterdam University Fund (AUF) will support eight talented scientists and one talented teacher of Amsterdam UMC in 2025 with €25.000 each to advance their professional careers. This grant is coordinated by the Research Policy Office.
The Spinoza fund is accommodated and managed by the Amsterdam University Fund (AUF) of the University of Amsterdam.
Find out more about the 2023 AUF Startstipendium laureates.
Find out more about the 2024 AUF Startstipendium laureates.
Available for research and education
Research and education are two of the core responsibilities of Amsterdam UMC. With this grant, the AUF enables us to support innovators in both fields. We specifically aim for researchers and teachers at the start of their careers in the respective fields.
Researchers are eligible for application if they received a PhD degree less than three years ago, have a temporary contract with Amsterdam UMC or Amsterdam UMC Research BV and are supported by their head of department. They must also be affiliated in PURE with the Amsterdam UMC research institute they are mentioning on their application.
Teachers are eligible for application if they are teaching in one of the programmes of the Faculty of Medicine of the UvA, have received their BKO or complete the BKO in 2025, have at least a temporary contract with Amsterdam UMC, and if their application is supported by both the managing board of the programme they are teaching in and the head of the department the teacher is working for.
Application
Research and education proposals are both accepted for this call, but please carefully read the differences in eligibility criteria in the Call Texts below. The Call Texts contain all detailed information on the eligibility criteria, expectations for the applications, and timeline. The files are separate for Research and Education. A copy of the respective application forms is attached at the end.
The Amsterdam University Fund and Amsterdam UMC take the perspectives of their respective Gender Equality Plans and Diversity & Inclusion policies into consideration during the selection procedure (GEP/D&I Amsterdam UMC–GEP/D&I University of Amsterdam).
The call opens on April 17th 2025 and the deadline for applying is Friday June 13th 2025 at 23:59h. Applications can be made using the buttons below, which lead to online application forms. Please consult the copy of the application form in the call text to prepare your complete application.
Application form Research Aanvraagformulier Onderwijs
Timeline (summary)
Your application should be sent in via this website.
- Mid-April: Call opens
- 23:59 on June 13th: Call closes
- July to mid-August: Review by Amsterdam UMC-AUF Review Committee
- Mid-August to mid-September: Selection of one nominee per research institute by research institute director(s) and one nominee by the Teaching and Learning Centre FdG UvA
- Mid-October: Decision on the laureates by the board of the Amsterdam University Fund, followed by communication of the results to the applicants
- November: Communication of Startstipendium laureates to the broader public
Conditions for application (summary)
Your application needs to meet the following conditions in order to be taken into consideration (for a full overview, read the Call Text):
- For researchers, the application must be complete and written in English. For teachers, the application must be complete and written in either English or Dutch;
- The application is submitted including the required additional documents via the
button on this webpage; - The applicant has a temporary contract with Amsterdam UMC (including the Research
BV) during which they will execute the proposed project; - Applicants of research projects should have received their PhD less than 3 years ago (or
be eligible for the extension scheme, find more details in the FAQ and call text). - Applicants of education projects should have received their BKO (or provide evidence that
they are close to receiving this certification). - The proposed project is embedded in/affiliated with one of the research institutes of Amsterdam UMC or one of the education programmes within the Faculty of Medicine UvA;
- The project proposal is submitted before the deadline on Friday June 13th 2025 at 23:59h.
FAQ
1. Can the funding be used to cover my own salary?
Both material as well as personnel expenses of third parties are eligible for funding. For example, proposals to spend the budget on the use of facilities, buying of equipment, buying or development of software, or hiring of other people who will perform part of the tasks of the applicant (lab technicians, student assistants, teaching assistants, etc.) are eligible. However, it isnot allowedto finance one’s own salary; proposed budgets that contain costs for the salary or contract extension of the applicant will be rejected before assessment.
2. I am employed by the Research BV on a permanent contract but with an expiry date, am I eligible?
Employees of the Research BV who have a permanent contract on temporary (project) money whose contract terminates when the funding ends, will be considered eligible. This will be checked by HR after their application.
3. I have obtained my PhD degree more than three years ago, but have had parental leave, long term sick leave, training for clinical specialization, reduced research time or a significant change in research subject. Can I still apply?
We adhere to the NWO Extension clause (Extensieregeling) that gives applicants for personal grants additional time on grounds of care responsibilities, medical training, or sick leave. In short:
- For parents: Maximum extension for the time limit after obtaining their PhD is 18 months for biological mothers and 6 months for the other parent per child. The maximum overall extension per parent is five years. Please provide proof of the leave period.
- In case of training to become a clinical specialist: extension on ground of a completed course or a course which will end before the expiry date of the start of the Startstipendium project can be applied for, see the list of courses on the NWO webpage. The total accumulated time after the PhD devoted to this training may be added to the period set for the grant. Please add evidence (training plan or specialist registration). The maximum extension is five years.
- In case of sickness leave: In the case of long-term illness after obtaining the PhD, the formal reduction in working hours is compensated, to be demonstrated by means of an HR overview of the leave registration.
Additionally, we allow researchers an extension
- For having switched to a significantly
different field of research after performing postdoctoral research in a certain field. - For having reduced research
time because of clinical or education duties. Please note that this only applies when only a certain part of your contracted hours with Amsterdam UMC or Amsterdam UMC Research BV is dedicated to research and your other hours are
spent providing care or education. This extension does not automatically apply to part-time staff.
The maximum possible extension is 5 years (meaning applicants with maximum extension have received their PhD less than 8 years ago). The extension form that can be downloaded from this website needs to be attached to your application if you want to claim your extension. In all cases, you are invited to check whether the extension applies to your specific case by sending an email explaining your situation to
rs-startstipendiumAUF@amsterdamumc.nl.
4. I have finished my PhD project, but not defended my thesis yet.
Similar to the NWO guidelines for a VENI application, the candidate for a Startstipendium must have defended their thesis already at the moment of application.
Contact
In case of questions, please contact
rs-startstipendiumAUF@amsterdamumc.nl