Portuguese sunshine, Atlantic breeze, and exceptional opportunities for scientific growth — these are just some of the experiences offered by the SEA-EU research secondments.
As part of the Early Career Researcher programme, early-stage researchers — including academic staff who have obtained their PhD within the last seven years as well as doctoral candidates — have the opportunity to undertake a several-week research secondment within one of the research groups at the universities belonging to the SEA-EU alliance.
The period following the completion of a PhD, as well as the doctoral stage itself, represents a crucial phase in an academic career — a time for gaining independence, developing research interests, and building a scientific identity. The Early Career Researcher initiative provides an opportunity to make the most of this stage by developing competencies in an international environment.
Early Career Researcher is a funding programme supporting international research secondments at one of the SEA-EU partner universities. Participants may receive support for stays lasting from 10 to 60 days, to be completed by 31 August 2026. The initiative is addressed to academic staff of the University of Gdańsk who obtained their doctoral degree within the last seven years, as well as to doctoral candidates of the University of Gdańsk, including both those employed by the University and those who are not employed by UG.
Participation in the initiative offers not only a chance to gain new skills but also to broaden one’s perspective through the experience of working within an international research group. Collaboration with researchers from SEA-EU universities is an investment in the future — in the development of professional networks, research projects, and academic careers. For the past six years, the alliance has supported various forms of cooperation among the staff and researchers of nine coastal universities, and its continuation as a strategic project has been secured regardless of external funding.
List of available secondments
🌍 EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Secondment: Paleoclimate Modeling (Kiel)
Secondment at the Arctic Research Group: Environment and Societies (Bodo)
⚖️LEGAL STUDIES
Secondment: International Law of the Sea and Climate Change (Kiel)
💻COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Secondment: Machine Learning and/or Remote sensing applications in Agricultural Economics (Kiel)
Secondment: Computer Science Education Research (Kiel)
⚗️CHEMICAL SCIENCES
Secondment: Photochemical Tools for the Selective Skeletal Editing of Organic (Kiel)
🧠BIOMEDICAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES
Secondment: The neural mechanisms of speech production (Algarve)
💼 ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
Secondment: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Circular Economy in Business Development (Bodo)
🧮MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES AND DIDACTICS
Secondment at the Research group „Mathematics teaching and learning” (Bodo)
🏃♀️SPORT AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Secondment: Research collaboration in Sports science (Bodo)
Secondment: Sport and Society (Bodo)
📰SOCIAL AND HUMANISTIC SCIENCES
Secondment: Collaboration in Journalism and Communication Research (Bodo)
Secondment: Research Collaboration in Sociology (Bodo)
⚠️Participation requires the use of research infrastructure at a university registered in the Research Potential Database. The database also allows you to independently search for a collaboration partner for the secondment.
About the Program
Secondment duration: from 10 to 60 calendar days
Secondment period: until 25 September 2026
Application deadline: 31 August 2026 or until all positions are filled
The secondment can be carried out on-site only at one of the SEA-EU partner universities:
University of Cádiz (Spain), University of Western Brittany (France), Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (Germany), University of Split (Croatia), University of Malta (Malta), as well as at universities that joined the alliance in 2023: University of Algarve (Portugal), Parthenope University of Naples (Italy), and Nord University (Norway).
Participation requires the use of research infrastructure at a university registered in the Research Potential Database. The database also allows you to independently search for a collaboration partner for the secondment.
Who can apply
The programme is open to three groups of participants:
- Academic staff of the University of Gdańsk employed in research and teaching or research positions who obtained their doctoral degree no more than seven years before the date of application;
- Doctoral candidates of the University of Gdańsk who are simultaneously employed by the University;
- Doctoral candidates of the University of Gdańsk who are not employed by the University.
Application Procedure
- Selection of the secondment offer and contact with its supervisor (email address is provided in the announcement).
- In consultation with the supervisor, complete the application form, which will be evaluated. Applications must be submitted at least 4 weeks before the planned start date of the secondment.
- Send the completed form to seaenergy@ug.edu.pl with the note “Secondments” in the subject line.
The evaluation result will be communicated within 7 days of submitting the documents.
Recruitment is conducted in accordance with the horizontal principles described in the Project Regulations §2, point 8.
If support is needed during the recruitment process for persons with disabilities or special needs, please contact the project coordinator at seaenergy@ug.edu.pl.
Formalities before and after the mobility
Before the mobility period, selected participants are required to:
- sign a traineeship agreement with the host institution;
- complete the electronic pre-mobility self-assessment questionnaire;
- complete the NAWA online form confirming the participant’s eligibility;
- submit a travel authorization request (via the Employee Portal for participants employed by the University of Gdańsk, or in paper form for doctoral candidates who are not employed by the University).
Additionally:
- all doctoral candidates are required to sign an agreement authorising the international mobility within the framework of their doctoral studies/doctoral school.
For mobility periods exceeding 30 days:
- academic staff members and doctoral candidates employed by the University of Gdańsk are required to initiate the procedure in accordance with the regulations governing paid research leave at the University of Gdańsk.
Upon completion of the mobility period, each participant is required to:
- complete the post-mobility self-assessment questionnaire;
- settle the mobility with the SEA-nergy coordinator;
- complete the traineeship report required under the traineeship agreement;
- submit the documentation related to paid research leave, if applicable.
Financial suport
The funds are provided in the form of a lump sum, which covers travel, accommodation, and daily allowances. A detailed list of the funding rates is provided below.
| Living and accommodation expenses | Per diem |
| Croatia, Germany, France, Malta, Italy, Spain, Portugal | PLN 400.00 |
| Norway | PLN 500.00 |
| Travel expenses | Lump sum |
| Croatia, Germany | PLN 1,500.00 |
| France, Malta, Italy, Norway | PLN 2,000.00 |
| Spain, Portugal | PLN 3,000.00 |
The initiative is implemented as part of the project “Support for synergistic and complementary activities of the SEA-EU 2.0 project – SEA-nergy”, which is part of the NAWA program “Support for European University Alliances”, funded by the European Funds for Social Development.
