Talent programme

The Faculty of Health Sciences strengthens talent development with a new integrated programme

SUND is launching a new integrated talent programme aimed at strengthening career pathways for early-career researchers. At the same time, the existing PhD funding pool will gradually be restructured to free up resources for the programme and to strengthen the ability to attract external funding.

By SUND Kommunikation, 3/12/2026

The Faculty of Health Sciences is now establishing an integrated talent programme for health science research. The programme aims to strengthen the development of early-career researchers and create clear and attractive career pathways from PhD level to postdoctoral and assistant professor positions.

The talent programme is part of SUND’s research strategy Health for all – for the individual and society and aims to contribute to excellent research, increased internationalisation and stronger recruitment.

A more strategic investment in research talent

With the talent programme, SUND brings together its efforts to support emerging research talent. The aim is to use faculty resources more strategically so that they increasingly support:

the development of research talent
the attraction of external funding and the long-term development of research environments
research quality and international competitiveness

The background includes changing expectations for the PhD programme and an increased national focus on the societal impact of doctoral education. At the same time, the agreement between Danish Universities and several private foundations on project supplements has created new financial frameworks and incentives to strengthen external funding.

SUND therefore aims to target its efforts so that more early-career researchers gain strong, coherent career pathways and better opportunities to develop within an international research environment.

– Talent development is crucial for SUND’s future position. With the new programme, we are taking a comprehensive approach to supporting emerging research talent and prioritising the investments that best strengthen quality, international competitiveness and external funding, says Uffe Holmskov, Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation at the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Gradual restructuring of the PhD funding pool

Funding for the talent programme will be provided through a gradual phasing-out and restructuring of the faculty-funded PhD funding pool.

The change will be implemented over a four-year period. The departments’ current faculty-funded PhD funding pool will be reduced by 25 per cent each year.

The phase-out will take place with due regard for commitments already made and ongoing obligations, and there will be no changes to PhD programmes that have already been awarded funding.

The funds released will be invested in the talent programme with the aim of creating more coherent career pathways and strengthening the attraction of external research funding.

From fixed quotas to a shared funding pool

Today: 82 faculty-funded PhD fellowships distributed across the departments.
From 2028: 20 fellowships gathered in one strategic shared funding pool.
In the future, departments will apply for funding from the shared pool instead of having fixed quotas.

Elements of the talent programme

The talent programme consists of the following initiatives:

A central faculty funding pool for strategic co-funding of PhD fellowships
Establishment of new DIAS assistant professorships
A programme for clinically translational two-year postdoctoral positions
Establishment of PhD and postdoctoral positions co-funded through the EU’s COFUND programme
A targeted initiative for Marie Curie fellowships
Postdoctoral and assistant professorships aimed at attracting Danish researchers back from abroad

The programme will be supported by SUND’s research support services and a strengthened PhD school with a focus on talent development and onboarding.

Ongoing evaluation

SUND will evaluate the talent programme annually to ensure progress and the desired impact. The evaluation will support the continuous adjustment of the programme so that it best strengthens research quality, talent development and the faculty’s national and international position.

The first initiatives in the talent programme will be launched during 2026, and specific calls and application opportunities will be published on SDUnet on an ongoing basis.

Information meeting

As a result of the restructuring of the PhD funding pool, an information meeting about the SUND Talent Programme will be held with Uffe Holmskov, Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation at the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Time and place: Thursday 26 March, 15.00–16.00 in U260.

The meeting is open to everyone but requires registration.

FAQ

Yes. The number of faculty-funded PhD fellowships will gradually be reduced as part of the restructuring.

The current scheme with 82 earmarked fellowships distributed across the departments will be replaced by a single faculty pool of 20 fellowships per year. This reduction means that fewer PhD programmes will in future be funded directly by the faculty.

However, the funds are not removed from the research area but reinvested in other elements of the talent programme, including co-funding of externally funded PhD programmes as well as new postdoctoral and assistant professor positions.
The total number of PhD programmes will increasingly depend on whether they can be carried out with external funding.

The ambition of maintaining a strong and active PhD environment at SUND remains unchanged, but a larger share of the programmes is expected to be fully funded through foundations and EU programmes.
The fellowships are being gathered into a single pool to ensure an overall strategic prioritisation rather than a fixed distribution per department.

In the future, funding will be prioritised based on academic quality, strategic relevance and the potential for external funding, with the aim of strengthening the faculty’s overall research profile.
PhD programmes that have already been awarded funding will continue unchanged.

The phase-out will be implemented gradually over four years and with due regard for existing commitments and ongoing obligations.
The funds will be invested in the initiatives of the talent programme, including:

co-funding of externally funded PhD fellowships

clinically translational postdoctoral positions

DIAS assistant professorships

EU COFUND programmes

Marie Curie initiatives

recruitment of Danish researchers from abroad

The aim is to create more coherent and competitive career pathways from PhD to assistant professor level.