Funding programs
The NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials offered the following programs to promote equal opportunities, foster the career of young women in science, and support female and male researchers with family care duties:
Research Fellowship Program for Women in Science
The fellowship sought to support the professional development of outstanding female researchers who had already demonstrated excellence early in their careers and wished to pursue an academic career. The fellowships supported the residency of researchers in the laboratory of one of the NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials research groups. The program funded original research ideas of the applicants. Further information can be found here.
Pregnancy support grant
This grant supported PhD students and postdocs from the NCCR Bio-inspired Materials who could not work in laboratories during pregnancy. PhD students could use it to extend their contract beyond the usually anticipated end date by at most half of the time of their pregnancy during which they were not allowed to carry out experimental work. Postdocs could use the grant to hire support staff to perform their lab work for a portion of their pregnancy during which they were not allowed to carry out experimental work.
Flexibility grants for NCCR participants
The grant provided more flexibility to PhD students and postdocs of the NCCR Bio-inspired Materials at a critical stage of their career and needing to take care of their children. It allowed researchers to reduce their work-time percentage and hire a support person for the same period to minimize delays in their research work. The grant could also be used to cover childcare costs.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) offers a range of funding schemes to contribute to gender equality in research that were also promoted by the NCCR: