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Helmholtz Postdoc Programme

Information sheet for applicants

Applications must be submitted to the Helmholtz Centres no later than 19 April 2013

Prerequisites
o Applications are open to researchers who have completed a PhD programme at a
scientific institution in Germany or abroad up to one year prior to making the application
or who are just about to complete it. Candidates should have already officially submitted
their PhD thesis when applying. However, applications can be accepted up to three
months before the thesis is officially submitted if the applicant receives a favourable
recommendation from their host researcher. The reference date is the deadline by which
applications must be submitted to the Helmholtz Associations Bonn office (1 July 2013)
plus a tolerance period of max. two months. The stated time periods may be extended by
parental leave of up to two years per child.
o Candidates are expected to have an excellent record of scientific achievement during
their PhD studies and an outstanding PhD thesis (assuming it is already complete). In
addition, the assessment will consider things such as publications, distinctions, awards,
conference papers, and stays at other institutions in Germany or abroad.

Application process first stage
o The application is first processed at the relevant Helmholtz Centre. Candidates must
independently find Helmholtz researchers who would be willing to accept them at their
institution for the duration of the programme. Applications must be submitted to the
director of the respective Helmholtz Centre by the host researcher. Candidates may not
apply to Centres directly.
o The Centre director should be in possession of your application by 19 April 2013 to
provide enough time for the internal selection process.
o The involvement of university partners in research projects is explicitly encouraged. If
such a partnership is planned, the respective institutions should be included in the
selection process at an early stage. Evidence of university involvement must be
submitted along with the application in the form of a cooperation agreement or letter of
intent from the respective university.
o Contact persons at the Centres are happy to answer any questions you might have (see
Appendix.)

Subsequent steps
o Centres screen candidates in a pre-selection process.
o Centres nominate candidates and the Centre director forwards the applications of those
candidates to the Helmholtz Associations Bonn office by 1 July 2013.
o Applications are submitted by the hosting Helmholtz Centre. The complete applications
(including all enclosed documents) must be sent by the director of the respective Centre
in triplicate and additionally on a CD-ROM (one document, list of reviewers and
statistical overview of the pre-selection separate!) and have been received by the
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Helmholtz Association's Bonn office, Ahrstrasse 45, 53175 Bonn, Germany no later than
1 July 2013 (cut-off period).


The complete application must include:
A cover page with:
o The title of the research proposal
o The candidates name, current address, e-mail and telephone number
o Name and organisational unit of the host researcher
o Five or six keywords (to help select referees)

A letter of recommendation from the PhD supervisor

A letter of recommendation from the host researcher

A letter of motivation from the candidate (maximum two pages)

A short summary of the research project (up to ten lines) in German

Outline of the research proposal (maximum five pages) including:

o A description of the projects strategic relevance for the Helmholtz Association and of the
topics viability for the future
o An overview of clearly discernible work packages, important interim stages and
milestones, including a time plan
o A presentation of planned cooperation and communication structures (e.g. involvement
of a university)

Appendix
1. To be submitted by candidates:
o CV
o PhD certificate (if applicable)
o List of publications and distinctions/awards
o A rough financial plan (drawn up in consultation with the respective Centre)
o A statement on the candidates current employment situation and its duration
o A statement on whether the application has been submitted to another organisation for
funding. If so, please specify.
o Names of referees in consultation with the respective Centre (see below)

2. To be compiled by the Centre:
o A written statement from the Centres director
- of the partial funding
- confirming that the necessary facilities/infrastructure will be provided
- providing a description of the internal selection process including a statistical
overview (to be submitted as a separate document!)
o Financial plan of the direct project-related costs/expenses (see Appendix financial plan)
for three years showing the annual breakdown according to personnel costs, costs of
materials and supplies, and investments. Travel costs/expenses can be included in
costs/expenses of materials and supplies. Overheads are not eligible.
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o A list of up to six independent referees for the application. A separate sheet must be
submitted along with applications including complete contact details (incl. e-mail
addresses) for each proposed referee and a signed statement confirming that there is no
conflict of interest (and disclosing any overlaps that may exist).
Note: Examples of possible conflicts of interest are: the referee has published jointly with
the applicant within the past five years; the applicant and the referee have collaborated
intensively on research projects; the referee has served as a consultant for or worked on
committees at the respective Centre; the referee is or has been employed at the
respective Centre; the referee uses facilities at the respective Centre extensively; a
pending or unsuccessful appointment procedure. If one or several of these circumstances
apply, a potential referee will not necessarily be excluded, but these should be fully
disclosed in the interests of transparency.

Applications must be written in English.

Additional information:

Candidates must provide proof of having successfully completed their PhD programme to receive
funding; the Bonn office must have received the PhD certificate by the date of the selection meeting
in November. Candidates must start work at the latest six months after the funding decision has
been announced. In exceptional cases, they may start work at a later date after consultation with the
Bonn office and the respective Centre.

Within the postdoctoral programme, a maximum of 100,000 in funding is provided annually for a
period of up to three years.

Funding from the Presidents Initiative and Networking Fund amounts up to 50,000 per year; the
remaining costs have to covered by the host Helmholtz Centre.

Funding is granted on the basis of a funding agreement between the Helmholtz Association and the
Centre submitting the application.
In the case that candidates undertake a stay abroad or in the case of partnerships with researchers or
institutions in other countries, the funds provided may only be used for:

o Funding the candidates own post-doc position (costs for stay abroad)
o Covering the expense of equipment and materials and for events abroad that are directly
related to the activities of the project receiving funding.

As a general rule, funds may not be used for:

o Funding of personnel abroad, with the exception of the candidates own post-doc position
(see above);
o Investments in foreign countries