Grant types

The RECRUIT programme comprises the following grants:

• RECRUIT: Up to DKK 25 – 50 million over up to 7 years
• RECRUIT Extension grants: Up to DKK 10 million over up to 5 years (the call and guidelines for RECRUIT Extension grants will be made available in due time)
• RECRUIT Sabbatical grants: Up to DKK 1 million over up to 1 year. This grant is both available for researchers in Denmark going abroad and international researchers coming to Denmark (the RECRUIT Sabbatical call can be found separately on NNF’s website)

A RECRUIT grant aims to make it more attractive for international top-researchers to relocate to establish their research group at a Danish university. To this end, NNF now also provides the possibility to apply for an extension of up to DKK 10 million following completion of a RECRUIT grant.

Application process

The application process consists of two phases, where the first phase is undertaken prior to submission deadline by the universities and the second phase by the NNF after submission deadline.

The university can nominate candidates according to a quota system, pre-set by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and detailed in the application guidelines. Prior to the application deadline, the recruiting university must have undertaken an internal evaluation and identified their top candidates to be nominated. By submission deadline a nomination list must be submitted to NNF by the university. Only candidates nominated by the recruiting university will be considered for funding and the university cannot prioritise among the nominated candidates.

The application must be completed and submitted using the Foundation’s application system NORMA that can be accessed via the link Apply now.  

For more detailed information, please read the Guidelines for applicants carefully. Additional essential information on the call and application process is found in these guidelines.