GAČR JUNIOR STAR

GAČR JUNIOR STAR

Funds five-year independent basic-research groups for early-career researchers within eight years of earning a doctorate.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

GAČR JUNIOR STAR is the Czech Science Foundation's five-year independence grant for early-career researchers, designed to enable scientists to build an independent research group at a single Czech institution. The programme was introduced in 2020 and targets researchers who have earned their PhD within the preceding 8 years (measured to 30 September of the submission year), have significant international research experience, and have published in prestigious international journals. The 2027-cycle tender was announced on 4 March 2026, with a submission window running from 5 March to 20 April 2026 through the GRITA online system. Results are expected in November 2026, and funded projects start January 2027.

Each JUNIOR STAR award is capped at CZK 25 million over five years (approximately €1 million at current exchange rates). In the comparable 2026-start cohort, 18 JUNIOR STAR projects were funded from a total pool of CZK 425 million. Unlike Standard Projects, JUNIOR STAR proposals are evaluated exclusively by external international peer reviewers — no domestic panel review is involved. Projects are hosted at a single Czech university or public research institution; consortium applications with multiple partner institutions are not permitted. Specific criteria for what constitutes significant international experience and publications in prestigious journals are detailed in the tender PDF document.

JUNIOR STAR is designed as a stepping stone toward full research independence and is considered a precursor to European Research Council (ERC) applications. Researchers targeting eventual ERC grants frequently use the programme to build the track record and team infrastructure needed for a competitive ERC bid. The programme runs on an annual cadence, with calls typically announced in early March and closing in mid- to late-April each year. Detailed scoring rubric, page limits, and budget rules are in the tender PDF, not the public announcement. Foreign researchers may apply for the Incoming track as PIF holders, but JUNIOR STAR itself is structured around a single Czech host institution with the PI resident in the Czech Republic.