What is InterACT?
InterACT is an international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral postdoctoral research and training programme, designed to help researchers translate scientific knowledge into meaningful societal and policy-relevant impact. The programme is co-funded by the EU Commission and by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)’s Industrial Research Funds. VUB will launch the programme in September 2026 and will recruit 14 international postdoctoral researchers through two competitive open calls. Applications from all fields of science will be welcome.
What is the role of Belgian non-academic organisations in InterACT?
Each selected researcher will carry out a 3-year project at VUB. As part of their project, the researcher will be required to spend 3-5 months at a Belgian non-academic organisation (e.g., company, NGO, etc.) in order to gain hands-on experience in a field related to their research. A mentor at the Belgian non-academic organisations will supervise the researcher, assign them tasks, provide input on their project.
Why should non-academic organisations get involved with InterACT?
As a non-academic organisation, you will benefit from the state-of-the-art scientific knowledge of an excellent researcher. You will be able to choose the researcher whose expertise matches your activities and strategy best. Furthermore, the hosting period will be at no cost for your organisation. VUB will continue to pay the researcher’s salary and transportation.
Why are we seeking expressions of interest?
Researchers who apply for the InterACT programme will be encouraged to provide a letter of support from a Belgian non-academic organisation. In order to help researchers find organisations who are interested in hosting a researcher, we will put the organizations’ details on the InterACT website.
What is the timeline for the host period?
Selected researchers will start their projects in the summer of 2027. They will be expected to carry out their host period in year 1 of their project, so ideally you would host the researcher in the period between autumn of 2027 and summer of 2028.
How can you express your interest?
This preliminary registration does not imply any obligation to host. You might be contacted from different researchers after the InterACT call opens (in September 2026), but you are free to decide which researcher you would like to host.
Questions? Feel free to contact Alessandra Rossetti (Alessandra.Rossetti@vub.be).