Postdoc Starter Kit

Eligible to apply are postdoctoral researchers who

• hold a full membership at the Graduate Academy according to the current version of the rules and regulations of the Graduate Academy and
• have at least 6 months of contract duration in the requested funding period.

Membership in the Graduate Academy is mandatory for all applicants.

Please note that even for the period of your requested funding, full membership status in the Graduate Academy is required.

Membership at the Graduate Academy:
Your GA-membership will be administered by Promovendus from September 2020 onwards. You can log in to Promovendus via your ZIH login. If you are already a member of the Graduate Academy, you can find the information related to your GA-membership directly on the start page of your Promovendus file. The reference number of your Graduate Academy membership is also listed here.

If you are not yet a member of the Graduate Academy, please follow the instructions of Promovendus for membership. Further information can be found on the website of the Graduate Academy. If you have any questions, we will be happy to support you!

Should you not hold full membership in the Graduate Academy and at least 6 months of contract duration in the requested funding period, you are not eligible to apply for the Postdoc Starter Kit funding program.

If you are already supported with a Postdoc Starter Kit grant, further funding under this program is excluded. You can only be supported with one Postdoc Starter Kit grant during your postdoctoral phase.

Please note that associated members of the Graduate Academy are not eligible to apply for GA funding opportunities. As an associate GA member, you are eligible to participate in the Graduate Academy's qualification, advising, and networking offers and activities.

In order to develop an independent scientific profile, postdocs are supported with a variety of measures. Eligible measures and activities are, for example:

•  Developing collaborations and participating in conferences
• Consumables and publication costs
• Invitation of international guest speakers
• Organization of scientific events
• Personnel funds for student assistants (SHK)
• Participation in demand-oriented professional and multi-disciplinary training

For your information:
An orientation guide for the calculation of SHK and WHK costs is offered by TU Dresden, Research & Transfer, Services for Researchers, Research Promotion, Roadmap (internal area of TU Dresden): Tutorial to calculate costs of student assistants and research support staff (in German only)

Projects up to a maximum of EUR 10,000 per application are eligible for funding.

The maximum funding period is 24 months, subject to the availability of the required financial means from the Federal Government and the Federal State of Saxony. The approved funds must be spent within the respective calendar years for which they were requested.

In the case of a positive funding decision, the settlement of the approved, eligible measures is carried out in accordance with the usage guidelines of the TU Dresden (e.g. travel expense regulations, procurement as well as representation and hospitality guidelines). Awardees will receive information and accounting support from the Graduate Academy.

A complete application consists of the following components:

1. Participation in a coaching session for professional assessment at the Graduate Academy prior to submission of the application, and

2. the submission of the following application documents by the announced application deadline:

• A signed and scanned copy of the online application form*       
  [Please note: Intermediate digital storage of data is not possible]
• Tabular resume (CV) incl. a list of publications, previous teaching activities and the   description of the scientific career (max. 5 pages)
• Copy of the doctoral certificate
• Outline of the academic development plan (max. 7 pages) for the requested funding period including:
  • the consideration and analysis of the academic development up to date and
  • the description of the planned measures and activities for the development and sharpening of the own academic profile.
• Cost calculation per requested funding year (overview)
• Letter of support from your superior
•   If applicable, evidence or information in support of individual life circumstances

Additional information:
*Online application form.
The application form is available in a WebCMS form on the program website. Please fill out the online application form and print it after sending it digitally. Please sign the printed application form, scan it and finally attach it to the application documents which have to be submitted as one PDF document to the Graduate Academy via e-mail.

Coaching is a professional counseling format that offers goal and solution-oriented support during career related change and development processes. The coaching is carried out by certified, systemically trained GA consultants and is based on the GA Consulting Principles. The GA consultants treat your coaching for professional assessment with the utmost confidentiality. No information or impressions from the coaching sessions are passed on to third parties. Therefore, no coaching impressions regarding your career assessment will be included in the grant application selection process.

Individual coaching sessions for the application deadline of 30^th September, 2022 are offered between 10^th January and 31^st August, 2022 by prior appointment at the e-mail , Subject: Postdoc Starter Kit - Professional Assessment Coaching.

A coaching session is usually 90 minutes. In accordance with the coaching regulations of the Graduate Academy, up to five individual appointments can generally be taken. However, only one 90-minute coaching session must have taken place in order to submit an application within the Postdoc Starter Kit funding program.

Important: The coaching for professional assessment is specifically related to the application. Previous coaching sessions or consultations at the Graduate Academy cannot be claimed in this context.

The academic development plan should cover the following contents (max. 7 pages):

• Detailed analysis of your academic development up to date and, taking into account your academic career goals.
• Detailed description of the planned measures and activities for the development and sharpening of your own scientific profile.
• Explanation of the added value and relevance of the proposed projects and measures for your scientific profile sharpening and academic career development.

The letter of support should have a formal, official character. This includes a formal letterhead of the issuer (name, position, institution, contact details) as well as the date of issue and the signature of the superior.

The content of the letter of support should be less a list of observed activities and more a personal assessment of the person to be recommended. The focus should be on the competencies and the potential as well as the personal suitability of the applicant for a further scientific career from the point of view of the author. The aspect of how the proposed measures and activities contribute to the development and sharpening of the applicant's scientific profile and have a career-supporting effect should also be addressed.

The selection process takes place by the Executive Committee of the Graduate Academy of TU Dresden on the basis of the application handed in. These are performance-based grants awarded through a competitive selection process. The selection criteria include:

Content criteria

• The qualification of the postdoctoral researcher to be funded (e.g. academic achievements, publications, prizes/awards), taking into account individual life circumstances (e.g. chronic illness, care of dependents in need of care, parental and care periods).
• The existence of a convincing concept for the development of one's own scientific profile, taking into account previous academic development.

Formal criteria

• Complete application documents and submission within the deadline including the  participation in a coaching session for professional assessment at the Graduate Academy prior to submission of the application.
• Timely submission of the application documents

The application deadlines are annually:

• 30^th September with funding start dates between 1^st March and 31^st May of the following year