INTERACTIONS is a post-doctoral program co-funded by the European Union. It will offer both Junior Fellowships and Senior Fellowships in theoretical physics and related areas to be awarded and completed within the next five years. 

The INTERACTIONS program is based at the Niels Bohr International Academy (NBIA), a center for theoretical physics at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. The NBIA is part of the Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark's largest science research and education institution, covering a wide spectrum of research areas with 4,500 employees and 9,500 BSc and MSc students in 11 departments. At the NBIA we enjoy close collaboration with research groups at the Niels Bohr Institute as well as with groups at other departments, especially the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Biology. In the Life Sciences we also enjoy close collaboration with research groups at the Faculty of Medicine.

INTERACTIONS offers successful applicants the chance to become part of a cohort of exceptionally talented young researchers with the opportunity to fast-track their careers in science. To achieve this, INTERACTIONS offers a wide range of options, opportunities and benefits. These include:

• Becoming an essential part of a vibrant intellectual atmosphere at the NBIA with numerous possibilities for helping shape the NBIA by organizing workshops or PhD-schools, co-supervising students with a more senior partner, inviting collaboration partners or scientific visitors for seminars, colloquia, etc.
• The possibility to visit one of our top European partner institutions for periods of 3-6 months.
• An informal research environment with flat hierarchy and with support for young scientists wishing to define their own research directions.
• The possibility to apply for generous research funding from both private and public research foundations in Denmark with the aim to establish an independent research group.
• Employment under world leading working environments as all fellowships are fully funded in line with Danish employment conditions.

Below you can watch some of our current fellows talk about the research environment and work-life balance offered by the University of Copenhagen.

The INTERACTIONS program is fundamentally of bottom-up nature. This means that applicants are free to define their own research programs. The only prerequisite is that these research areas are broadly aligned with at least one of the main topics detailed below and that there are matching mentors and grant-holders who can supervise the fellow's work and their scientific development. The wide range of research in theoretical physics at the NBIA is divided into the following six research areas:

         1)  Astroparticle Physics

         2)  Biological Physics and Soft Condensed Matter Physics

         3)  Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics

         4)  Quantum Information and Quantum Mathematics

         5)  Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology

         6)  Theoretical Astrophysics

In order for applications to be considered for evaluation, applicants must choose at least on these research areas.

Below you can watch some of our researchers present their current projects

Below you can find information on our fellows and their projects based on the year they were granted the INTERACTIONS fellowship.

*The dates in the fourth and fifth columns are indicative.

Applicants are encouraged to keep an eye on this website for any future announcements of additional calls for applications.

Eligibility

The applicants for the INTERACTIONS post-doctoral program at NBIA span a wide range of nationalities whose primary research interests lie in theoretical particle physics and cosmology, either singly or in combination with other research areas. 

Total applicant statistics for previous calls:

Granted applicant statistics for previous calls:

The selected INTERACTIONS fellows will be offered an employment contract of between one and three years, depending on the call, seniority of the fellow, and matching funds available from the NBIA. The NBIA and the International Staff Mobility (ISM) office of Copenhagen University will help the chosen fellows in obtaining the required residence and work permits.

The contract will be based on the collective agreement with the Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) in accordance with the Danish labor laws. Foreign employees will be treated equally with Danish employees and are covered by the same rules and regulations. These include social security benefits such as public health care, sickness benefits, occupational injury allowance, pregnancy benefits, parental benefits and pension.

Furthermore, the contract will contain information about salary and pension structure, holiday rights (a minimum of 25 days a year) and working hours (37 hours pr. week). The salary will be based on the terms of the applying collective agreement including basic salary, plus supplement based on the employee’s seniority and qualifications (if applicable), plus pension contribution. The salary is susceptible to Danish taxes but foreign researchers may be eligible for a special foreign researcher tax scheme at a flat rate of around 32% if they have not been tax liable in Denmark in a 10-year period prior to the starting date of their contract. In general, salary will be highly competitive on an international scale.

A unifying theme for all research areas at the NBIA is that we seek the exceptionally talented, young researchers with the potential to become international leaders. At NBIA we nurture young talent by fostering the individual freedom of research, giving our young fellows the opportunity to develop their own research directions so they can aim at establishing their own young research groups.

A key focus point for INTERACTIONS program is to provide the opportunity to young scientists of pursuing academic research in the stimulating interdisciplinary environment of the NBIA. Subjects pursued range over a large set of key topics in modern theoretical physics and its bordering subjects such as mathematics and theoretical biology. The NBIA is also an integral part of the Niels Bohr Institute with its ten research groups and all NBIA members, including the co-funded fellows under this program, belong to at least one of these research groups. This provides almost unlimited possibilities for collaborations within and across research groups.

The optional opportunity to visit one of five partner institutions (see Top European Partners) in Europe provides yet another avenue for scientific collaboration across borders.

In addition to fostering young talent that aim towards careers in academia this fellowship program also includes stimuli towards acquiring transferrable skills of great value to society at large. To provide a foundation for such practical experience, fellows will have the chance to take the  “Introduction to University Pedagogy” course offered by the Faculty of Science. It provides a research-based introduction to teaching techniques, as well as hands-on exercises where all participants deliver a lecture and receive feedback from the other participants. Fellows will also have the opportunity to take a course in PhD student supervision, so they can acquire a strong conceptual basis for their own supervisory activities as they move towards establishing themselves as future group leaders. These opportunities will be supplemented by the chance to co-supervise PhD students during their fellowships whenever possible. In addition, there are a range of additional courses that can be taken to obtain transferrable skills, such as a generic course in “Project Management;” a more targeted course in “Research Project Management” as well as “IPR Management” for fellows where this makes sense in terms of their research focus. These courses may be of relevance to fellows as they progress towards leading larger scale projects after their fellowships, some of which involves industrial collaborations.

Watch our Fellows talk about future career pathways after their INTERACTIONS Fellowship at NBIA

The NBIA is defined through internationalization - a tradition dating back to the original institute Niels Bohr created on the premises of the Niels Bohr International Academy. NBIA will cover expenses related to every fellow wishing to visit our international partners for 3 to 6 months. We do this in order to further promote and ensure exposure of our fellows to other scientists within neighboring areas, as well as to encourage interactions among scientists with different cultural backgrounds and from different scientific traditions.

To this end, we have teamed up with five of the strongest theoretical physics institutes in Europe who are our partners in the INTERACTIONS program:

• Department of Theoretical Physics, Oxford
  
• Department of Applied Math & Theoretical Physics, Cambridge
• Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg
• Theoretical Physics Department, CERN
  
• Institut de Physique Theorique, Saclay
  

These top institutions have been chosen for their excellence in research, for their already existing strong ties to the NBIA, for their breadth in theoretical physics, and for their wide distribution both geographically and in terms of science culture.

In addition to administrative support from the NBIA and the Niels Bohr Institute, the International Staff Mobility Office (ISM) at the University of Copenhagen will assist recruited researchers prior to their arrival, upon their arrival and during their stay. In concrete terms, ISM will offer assistance with residence permits, finding housing, help dealing with tax issues, finding childcare as well as a range of other practical challenges related to moving to a new country.

The ISM also offers a mentor program for newly arrived international researchers and a range of social events throughout the year with a goal of helping to provide international employees with chances to develop a social network among fellow international researchers and Danes. Furthermore, the ISM offers a Dual Career service for spouses of international researchers with advice available for them to enter the Danish labor market as well as a range of courses, such as career development workshops.

Read more about moving to and living in Copenhagen, work-life balance and the Danish welfare state by visiting the websites of International Staff Mobility, International House Copenhagen and Copenhagen Capacity.