In short: Pursue your postdoctoral research at Freie Universität Berlin

After the doctorate you might be interested in further pursuing a research career, for which there are different options. Generally speaking, this is the phase in which researchers finish defining their profile.

Three models of being a postdoc at FU Berlin

There are three basic models of being a postdoc researcher at Freie Universität Berlin.

1. You are hired as a university employee. Your job is to research, teach and assist a professor and/or group. Please, see the open vacancies at Freie Universität here. Please keep in mind that for most of these positions you will need to provide a high-level German certificate. For the English vacancies, please visit here.
2. You are hired for or receive a scholarship within a specific project within the university, for example an Excellence Cluster (EXC). In broad terms, same rules as in number 1 apply, except for the fact that the activities are project-focused and that the positions are only guaranteed as long as the project is funded. While English is extremely widely spoken and used, it is recommendable to be fluent or at least advanced in German. You can use the same links as in no. 1 for researching vacancies. For the postdoctoral scholarships please check the list of calls for applications as well as the website of the Liaison Office São Paulo.
3. You obtain individual funding and you can focus on your project. This allows for maximum freedom and independence, but also means that you have to organize it yourself, very similarly to the traditional "individual doctorate". Depending on your research field and/or topic, you might not even need to know German, but it is always recommended to be able to speak German.

Finding a supervisor

For paving the way to your individual postdoc research you will first need to find a professor who is willing to be the supervisor of your project. You can use the step-by-step guide to finding a supervisor for prospective doctoral candidates as a good basis and adapt it to your field and experience.

The Departments: their significance and why they are the main point of reference

Starting at the doctorate level, Freie Universität becomes de-centralized. Because postdoctoral research is about the details, almost every question will have to be properly and specifically analized, before an answer can be given. This means that in case of questions about application, admission, general procedure, formalities regarding documents and other criteria the best place to reach out to is always the department that hosts the discipline/field you are researching in. Do not be afraid to get specific and to look for the person directly responsible for internationalization or the specific research group, for example.

Funding

There are several options for postdoctoral funding, depending on the applicants seniority and other criteria. There is one area-focused funding instrument specific to Freie Universität Berlin: the Rising Star program. It funds early career scholars who are active in the field of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy for 24 months. 

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation offers a research fellowship for postdocs. The Georg Forster Research Fellowship provides funding for projects pertaining to sustainable development. There is also a specific variation for Brazilian scholars with bi-national funding including Capes. For the time being, researchers from Brazil can only apply for a Capes-Humboldt Research Fellowship. For the duration of the joint Capes-Humboldt Programme it is not possible to apply for a Humboldt or a Georg Forster Research Fellowship. These three fellowships provide funding for up to 24 months.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) offer various tools for postdoctoral funding within the framework of projects. Please visit their website for further reference.

The European Research Council (ERC) also provides funding for different stages within a researcher's career. Visit the website of EURAXESS for further information about European funding.

Questions?

In case of questions, do not hesitate to get in touch via saopaulo@fu-berlin.de.