KNAW Trailblazers Fund for early-career first-generation academics – deadline 29 April 2026

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has launched a call for applications for the KNAW Trailblazers Fund.

The purpose of the Fund is to support early-career first-generation academics (PhD candidates in the final 2 years, assistant professors without a permanent position, and postdoc researchers within the first three years after their promotion) in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and retain them for academia. It does so by funding promising well-designed project proposals from first-generation academics that will advance their scientific/scholarly career.

Researchers are considered to be first-generation academics if neither of the parents of the academic hold a university degree or the researcher has a refugee background and has to rebuild their scientific/scholarly career in the Netherlands from scratch. The grants form part of the Adriana Hoogerbrugge legacy and consist of a sum of 3,000-5,000 euros (for PhDs) or 5,000-10,000 euros (assistant professors and postdocs).

Applications for either of these grants should be submitted ultimately 29 April 2026. Conditions and the dedicated application form are to be found on the KNAW website via the button below.