European ARISE2 Fellowships 2026 Open at EMBL With MSCA-Funded 3-Year Contracts
Europe’s major life-science research laboratory is opening a route for postdoctoral researchers who do not want a conventional “publish-and-move-on” postdoc, but a three-year role building the technologies, services, data systems, and infrastructure that modern biology increasingly depends on.
The ARISE2 Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2026 is an MSCA-funded fellowship at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, better known as EMBL. It is for PhD-level STEM researchers from around the world who have experience in technology or method development for life-science research. Selected fellows receive a three-year EMBL employment contract, structured training, research-infrastructure career support, and secondment opportunities across partner organisations.
A Fellowship Built for Technology Developers, Not Only Paper Writers
ARISE2, formally known as Career Accelerator for Research Infrastructure Scientists, sits in a different lane from many postdoctoral schemes. Its focus is not only on producing academic papers, but on developing new methods, scientific services, instruments, software, data tools, AI systems, imaging workflows, omics platforms, and other technologies that can be used by wider research communities.
For the 2026 call, this makes the programme especially relevant for researchers working across biology, biotechnology, physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, computer science, bioinformatics, data science, imaging, structural biology, genomics, proteomics, automation, and AI-driven life-science technologies. The strongest applicants will be those who can show that their work can move beyond a single lab and become useful as a service, platform, or transferable research infrastructure.
What the Funding Actually Covers?
The ARISE2 Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2026 is funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND framework and provides fellows with a three-year employment contract at EMBL. This means selected researchers are hired as postdoctoral fellows rather than treated as short-term scholarship recipients.
The official call confirms a competitive EMBL postdoctoral employment package with social security benefits, access to EMBL research facilities, professional training, career development support, and secondment opportunities. Fellows also receive structured support for research training, service provision exposure, research-infrastructure competencies, leadership, communication, project management, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and career planning.
The available public call information does not advertise a fixed monthly stipend figure, tuition coverage, book allowance, visa-cost reimbursement, or accommodation package. Applicants should therefore treat this as a salaried postdoctoral employment opportunity with institutional benefits, not as a student scholarship promising itemised tuition, housing, and travel coverage.
Who Can Apply for ARISE2 in 2026?
The fellowship is open to experienced researchers from around the world who hold a PhD by the application deadline. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have not yet formally received the degree may also be eligible, which is useful for candidates caught in the familiar university paperwork limbo.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate prior experience in technology or method development, either in academic or non-academic settings, and that experience must connect with EMBL research infrastructures or services. A key restriction concerns prior EMBL association: applicants may have had previous links with EMBL, but that association must not exceed 12 months within the three years before the application deadline. Any previous EMBL connection must be declared.
This is not a fellowship for applicants who only want a broad research stay with no infrastructure angle. The proposed project should develop or improve methods or technologies that can serve other researchers, ideally with attention to FAIR data management, automation, user needs, and wider international transfer.
Why EMBL Makes This Call Competitive?
EMBL is one of Europe’s central molecular biology institutions, operating across six sites and supporting a broad research ecosystem that connects experimental biology, computational science, imaging, structural biology, data resources, and advanced technology platforms. That institutional context matters because ARISE2 fellows are expected to work close to the machinery of modern research: facilities, services, scientific users, and cross-border infrastructure.
The programme is merit-based and competitive. Eligible applications are reviewed by external experts and assessed on excellence, impact, and implementation. Shortlisted candidates are expected to interact with the relevant labs before interview and present both their research proposal and career achievements during the online interview stage.
Application Documents and 2026 Deadline
Applicants need to complete the ARISE2 application form and prepare a project proposal using the official template, including the Horizon Europe ethics self-assessment. The application should include a proposed project connected to an EMBL supervisor, and candidates are encouraged to contact participating EMBL group leaders before submission to discuss project fit. At least one reference is required by the deadline, although up to three references may be submitted.
The last date to apply for the ARISE2 Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2026 is September 30, 2026.