International mobility is a cornerstone of academic and professional development—especially for young scientists eager to shape the future of sustainable innovation and AI through applied research or collaboration within the industry sector. The ELIAS Mobility Program offers PhD students and postdoctoral researchers across Europe the opportunity to expand their networks, gain new perspectives, and collaborate with leading institutions in the ELLIS and ELIAS networks.

Whether through academic or industry exchanges, the program supports short- and long-term research stays that advance both individual careers and collaborative breakthroughs in sustainable AI.

Programme Overview

What the Programme Offers

Financial support for Europe-based PhD students and postdocs
Year-round applications accepted
Research visits up to 6 months in academia
Research visits up to 3 months in industry or startups
Grants of up to €2,400 per year
Access to a Europe-wide network of AI researchers and institutions
Opportunities to attend workshops supporting diversity and women in AI/ML

⚠️ Please note: Mobility grants are not available for attending conferences or workshops, except for diversity and inclusion events supporting women in machine learning (e.g., WiML, WiCV) held alongside top-tier conferences (ICLR, NeurIPS, CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, ICML, AAAI, IJCAI). Only applicants affiliated with an ELIAS Beneficiary are eligible for this exception.

Eligibility

Please read the Terms and Conditions carefully before submitting your application.

PhD students or postdocs in Europe
Applicants must demonstrate that the research visit contributes to ELIAS objectives
Clear mobility plan and host institution confirmation required
Applications accepted year-round

Additional Conditions

For ELIAS/ELLIS-external participants:

The research visit must directly support the objectives of the ELIAS project
If employed at an ELIAS Beneficiary: both advisors must be ELLIS members
If NOT employed at an ELIAS Beneficiary: at least one advisor must be an ELLIS Fellow/Scholar or ELLIS Unit Faculty

For applicants employed at an ELIAS Beneficiary/partner, the programme also supports:

Attendance at the annual ELLIS Doctoral Symposium
Diversity-focused workshops (WiML, WiCV) held alongside top-tier conferences

For events not linked to these conferences, applicants must justify the relevance to ELIAS. Support is granted only with prior approval from the Mobility Committee.

Impact Snapshot

6,402 Mobility days funded
(≈17.53 years)

73 Applications supported

16 Participating countries

68 PhD students

5 Postdocs

10 Interdisciplinary applications

2 Industry‑linked applications

Diversity (non‑ELIAS): 36%

Interdisciplinary collaborations: 15%

Applicant Breakdown

47 ELIAS

36 ELLIS

26 Non‑ELIAS

21 ELLIS/ELIAS

9 Other

Geographic reach: 31 applicants in Italy, 18 in the UK, 11 in Spain, and others across Germany, France, Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland, Israel, US, Poland, and Belgium.

How to apply

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and must be submitted at least one month prior to the planned start date of the visit to allow processing by the ELIAS PhD & Postdoc Mobility Committee.

Submission Instructions: