Postdoctoral fellowships IRIS – Horizon Europe – MSCA

1 – Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research – in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central – and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 – Position description

IRIS is a postdoctoral programme cofunded by the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Horizon Europe). Running from 2025 to 2030, IRIS will recruit 36 international postdoctoral researchers—24 at ULB and 12 at VUB—through two open calls, each for a period of 30 months.

The first call is open from July 1 until October 31 2025 and will recruit 12 researchers at ULB and 6 at VUB.

IRIS has a bottom-up approach, welcoming applications from all research fields with a focus on interdisciplinarity and regional priorities, aligned with the Brussels-Capital Region’s six societal challenges.

The IRIS project launched its first call on July 1, 2025.

3 – Profile

Requirements

Research Field

All

Education Level

PhD 

Specific Requirements

• Applicants of any age and any nationality are eligible to apply.
• Eligible applicants are in possession of a doctoral degree or have successfully defended the doctoral thesis by the deadline of the call.
• Holders of a PhD degree with maximum 8 years of full-time research experience since obtaining the PhD (applicants can calculate research experience deducting periods of: maternity/parental leave, compulsory national military service, long term sick or family care leave, and procedures for obtaining refugee status)
• Eligible applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium for more than 12 months during the last 3 years before the call deadline.

Requirements for IRIS

Hold the confirmation of two supervisors who have the expertise, infrastructure, resources and capacity to supervise your fellowship.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone’s talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

5 – Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Where to apply

Website

https://iris-cofund.eu/

Additional Information

Website for additional job details

https://iris-cofund.eu/call-information

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.