Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators 2027
AI/ML for Vienna
The 18th Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators call 2027 "AI/ML for Vienna" can fund up to four group leader positions, with up to € 1.8 million per research group over a period of six to eight years. The Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators (VRG) programme is designed to attract outstanding early-career researchers from abroad to Vienna who seek to advance their research career by establishing an independent research group.
Scope of the call:
This call is issued within the WWTF Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators programme, in the area of Information and Communication Technology, under the theme “AI/ML for Vienna”. The focus is on two parallel tracks:
- “Foundational AI/ML Research” track: candidates who advance the theoretical or methodological foundations of AI/ML in their own right
- “Advancing discipline(s) with AI/ML” track: candidates from any other discipline (e.g. life sciences, physics, environmental sciences, social sciences and humanitites…) who develop or advance AI/ML concepts or methods to address open questions in their own field.
In both cases, the proposed research is expected to make genuine methodological contributions to AI/ML or to the respective discipline via the development or advancement of AI/ML tools and concepts, rather than merely applying existing tools, and to demonstrate the ambition to advance the state of the art. Engagement with Vienna's broader AI/ML research community is encouraged.
Applicants will be asked to select their evaluation track. Positions are allocated separately to each track, and applications are evaluated and ranked only against other applications within the same track. Please note that "For Vienna" in the call title refers to the location of the future research group, the topics chosen to be researched do not have to be specifically based on the Vienna region.
Who can apply:
- The call is aimed at Vienna-based universities and research institutions that intend to hire an excellent young researcher from abroad to establish and lead an independent research group. Active recruitment procedures are mandatory.
- Applications are prepared in tandem: the proposed VRG leader (candidate) applies together with the proponent, who represents a research institution in Vienna. The proponent is an established scientist based at a university or non-profit non-university research institution in Vienna.
- Candidates are up to eight years after PhD (care duties may extend this period up to four years).
- Candidates must be recruited from institutions outside of Austria (for the detailed criteria, please check the “Call Specifications”).
- WWTF especially encourages Vienna-based research institutions to propose female group leaders.
- WWTF takes unconventional research careers into consideration.
How to apply:
- Submission of proposals via the WWTF Funding Portal
- Please find all details regarding the call in the WWTF Wiki:
- All details regarding the call, eligbility criteria, scope, evaluation criteria etc., are specified in the VRG27 Call Specifications.
- The Submission Guideline specifies how to submit a proposal via the WWTF Funding Portal.
- Future Vienna host institutions and universities are required to publish job announcements for the positions. Please browse institutional websites if you are looking for potential host institutions. WWTF publishes job announcements sent to us here.
- An online information session will take place on 21 January 2027, 2pm-4pm CET online via this zoom link
Important dates:
- Submission deadline: 2 March 2027, 14:00 CET
- Hearing Dates: Will be communicated here in due time. Participation in the hearings is mandatory to be considered for funding (candidates will participate online).
- Please check this page regularly for updates.
Do not hesitate to contact the call managers for more information:
Petra Steinkogler | petra.steinkogler@wwtf.at | Tel.: + 43 1 402 31 43 14
Grace Liu | grace.liu@wwtf.at | Tel.: + 43 1 402 31 43 12