“Thanks to the Cool Chemistry program, I have let my students see the mystery and beauty of chemistry, hidden in everyday parts of our lives.”
Mgr. Veronika Fialová
Start-up Grants
Each year, we award a maximum of one prestigious start-up grant to a young scientist with experience gained abroad so that they can establish their own research group back in the Czech Republic. The new research group is given 3 years of support worth a total of 6 million CZK.
These start-up grants motivate top young scientists who have been working abroad to return to the Czech Republic and establish their own research groups at a Czech research institute. Each research group receives CZK 2 million per year from the Foundation. Another CZK 0.7 million per year, as well as lab space and equipment, is provided to the research group by the host institution. Research groups supported by the Experientia Foundation start-up grant have already been established at the Faculty of Science of Charles University, the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague and the Faculty of Science of Palacký University in Olomouc. “We are delighted that these research groups are attracting other young scientists and generating new achievements for Czech science,” says Hana Dvořáková, founder of the Experientia Foundation.
How it works
You can apply for our start-up grant if you have at least one year of experience at a foreign institution, have completed your Ph.D. no more that seven years ago, and conduct research in organic, bioorganic, or medicinal chemistry.
Original project
Come up with an original project in organic, bioorganic or medicinal chemistry. (For an initial project idea, please consult with us at experientia@experientia.cz.)
Agreement with the Host Institution
After consulting with us, you will receive a draft of the Start-up Grant Agreement and contact the host institution where you plan to establish your research group.
Submitting your application
Submit your application for a grant no later than 15 March (see below for details).
The start-up grant application includes a presentation of your research project, your structured CV, details about your team members, approval from the host institution for establishing the research group, and the project budget.
Additionally, you must obtain two recommendation letters, preferably from two different institutions and, if possible, from two different countries. These letters are sent directly by your educational supervisor to the Experientia Foundation.
A detailed guide (Checklist), including all templates, can be found in the Downloads section.
Submit the complete written application, including all of the required attachments, by 15 March of the relevant year by email (as a PDF file) to the address experientia@experientia.cz. You will receive an email from us confirming receipt of your application and we will confirm receipt of the recommendation letters, too.
In addition to your previous achievements, we primarily assess the quality and scientific excellence of the project, its clearly defined research objectives, ambition, and high-risk, high-gain character. We also consider its originality, as well as your independence and autonomy.
Particular emphasis is placed on whether the proposed project is sufficiently distinct from your previous work, especially from your Ph.D. research and any postdoctoral projects. Your overall scientific track record, with a focus on outstanding results, also plays a role.
Each project will be evaluated by at least two independent international reviewers and the Experientia Foundation Grant Committee. Selected candidates will be invited to a joint meeting of the Grant Committee and the Board of Trustees, where they will have the opportunity to present their project in person.
If you are invited to present your project at a joint meeting of the Grant Committee and the Board of Trustees (usually held at the end of May), this means you have advanced to the second round of the competition. You can choose presenting in person or online. You should send your project presentations (in ppt/pdf format) to the email experientia@experientia.cz no later than 2 days prior to the date of the meeting, confirming at the same time whether you will be attending in person or online. The expected length of your presentation is 10 minutes max. You should also be prepared to discuss your project briefly with the members of the Grant Committee and the Board.
If our decision regarding your application is positive, we will conclude the (Experientia Start-up Grant Award) Agreement, setting out the rights and obligations of the contracting parties with you.
This agreement will be concluded by you, the host institution, and the Experientia Foundation by no later than 15 December of the relevant year.
- Each year by January 15, you must submit a progress report along with an overview of the funds spent.
- Within three months after the project ends, you must submit a final report.
(A detailed specification of both the progress and final reports can be found in the current guidelines available on the website in the Downloads section.) - As part of the start-up grant, the foundation may visit your institution to discuss project-related matters with you.
- We expect that during the course of the start-up grant, you will submit an application for an ERC grant from the European Research Council as the principal investigator, unless you have already done so before starting the grant.
- All publications resulting from the support of the start-up grant must acknowledge funding from the Experientia Foundation.
(The detailed wording is available in the current guidelines on the website in the Downloads section and in the grant agreement.) - In November of the final year of the start-up grant, you will prepare a lecture for the conference Advances in Organic, Bioorganic, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry – “Liblice”.
FAQ
We have received positive responses from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Palacký University in Olomouc, the Charles University Faculty of Science in Prague, Masaryk University in Brno, the Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové, and the University of Pardubice. It is, however, possible to contact other universities and research institutions as well.
Yes. Not only is it possible, it is also desirable. However, the teaching hours cannot exceed five hours per week.
Yes, you may. The only thing you may not use the grant for is the purchase of long-term assets, i.e. equipment (or other tangible assets) costing more than CZK 80,000 and software (or other intangible assets) costing more than CZK 60,000.
Yes, you may.
Downloads:
Our research groups:
2025–2027 Athanasios Markos:
Palacký University Olomouc
2024–2026 Ondřej Kováč:
Palacký University Olomouc
2021–2023 Petr Kovaříček:
University of Chemistry and Technology Prague
2019–2021 Ondřej Baszczyňski:
Charles University Faculty of Science in Prague
Our Partners:
What they said about us
“To me, Yale symbolizes prestige. It’s one of the world’s leading universities. And thanks to the Experientia Foundation, I will now be able to spend a whole year there.”
Ing. Karolína Vaňková, Ph.D.
“Thanks to the Experientia Foundation grant, I have been able to work in one of the most advanced workplaces in Japan, with a team from all over the world.”
Mgr. Dominik Madea, Ph.D.
“I am delighted to be able to fulfil the underlying aim of the Experientia Foundation – bringing back experience and interesting topics from abroad and using them within Czech science.”
Mgr. Ondřej Kováč, Ph.D.