Return grant ‘ComeBack: Return to Science’
IOCB Prague provides return grants, aimed at ensuring that career interruptions due to maternity or parental leave, long-term illness, or long-term care for a close person do not result in the termination or significant slowdown of the professional development of researchers with high potential for qualified employment.
Return grants support 1–2-year projects carried out in IOCB Prague research groups.
Call for proposals
Project proposals are evaluated regularly, with deadlines on 1 February, 1 June, and 1 October each year. (Due to the time-limited nature of the program, the call for proposals will close on 1 February 2028.)
Eligibility
Applicants must be PhD students or holders of a PhD (or equivalent) who are currently on a career break or have returned from one within the last 12 months.
The ComeBack return grants are also open to researchers who have not been previously employed at IOCB Prague, provided they are nearing the end of a career break for caring reasons and wish to apply for a return grant with an IOCB group. However, they must first contact the appropriate group leader to agree on the project in advance.
Career break
Minimum duration of 180 calendar days, during which the researcher was not fully able to carry out research activities (short-term interruptions are possible for up to 30 days in total).
Eligible use of funds in a proposal
- Salary of the applicant
- Salary of a small support team
- Mentoring opportunity
- Optional research visit abroad
- Personal development (technical and soft skills)
Contact
For more information about the grant and how to apply, please contact the project manager Blanka Collis at comeback@uochb.cas.cz.
Project administration will be conducted entirely in English.
The program is financed by the project ComeBack: Return to Science, No. CZ.02.01.01/00/24_037/0013784.
