The Carlsberg Foundation offers Semper Ardens grants for three levels of researchers respectively relevant to specific career levels. The three instruments share evaluation criteria, which are:

1. Ground-breaking nature and potential impact of the research project
2. Scientific approach of the project
3. Intellectual capacity, creativity and leadership skills of the applicant

The expected level of ambition, scale, and breakthrough potential, however, differs among the instruments.

Accelerate: Three- to five-year grants for newly appointed tenured associate professors to consolidate an independent research group or research environment.

Accomplish: Five-year grants for recently tenured internationally recognised professors to pursue innovative and ambitious research projects.

Advance: Five-year grants for internationally recognised professors as well as research groups to support visionary research projects at the highest international level aiming at scientific breakthroughs.

For more information, please visit the relevant call website:

Semper Ardens: Accelerate

Semper Ardens: Accomplish

Semper Ardens: Advance

Please consult the PlanDisc calendar or the support overview document listed below:

• Your local funding advisor is your first point of contact for support.
• Find more information on which instruments and what type of support F&P offers here (support overview)
• Find our annual wheel of funding here (PlanDisc)
• IMPORTANT: Register your wish for support for this instrument here.

AAU Seed Money can be used to support the preparation of an application, including activities such as proposal writing, meetings with potential consortium partners, and involvement of an external consultant.

AAU Seed Money is available both at faculty level and through AAU’s missions. For details on available funding amounts, application deadlines, and specific faculty requirements, please contact your local funding advisor.

Accelerate: PI must be a tenured associate professor, appointed for a maximum of two years at the date of the application deadline.

Accomplish: PI must be a recently tenured internationally recognised professor, appointed for a maximum of four years at the date of the application deadline.  

Advance: The main applicant, whether a single PI or member of a PI team, must be a tenured internationally recognised professor. Other members of a PI team must be tenured associate professors or professors employed at a Danish research institution.  

Yearly information meeting about the three Semper Ardens instruments.

Please keep an eye on the events on our website

We do not offer a course for Semper Ardens

Meetings

• Get Started meeting
• Feedback meetings as agreed upon

Tools

Fundraising & Project Management offers preparation of a timeline to ensure a smooth application process. 

Tools for Semper Ardens Accelerate, Advance and Accomplish are available in the Funding Toolbox, and includes ‘do´s and don´ts’ when applying, annotated template and budget guide.

Review of application 

Fundraising & Project Management offers structured proposal feedback at least twice during the application process, supplemented by continuous advice throughout the writing phase. This includes:

• Two in‑depth reviews of the application, each providing concrete suggestions for changes, additions, clarifications, or strategic considerations.
• Feedback aimed at strengthening coherence, alignment with call expectations, clarity of narrative, and overall competitiveness.

These reviews support the applicant in refining the proposal and ensuring a high quality final submission.

Applicants also receive an access to relevant successful applicants, an annotated template, practical tools and access to a TEAMS channel with other applicants for the same instruments.

Submission

Fundraising & Project Management offers administrative support regarding questions about submission in the submission portal.

Budget

The budget is managed at the department level, with Fundraising & Project Management providing guidance, recommendations, and alignment support as needed. For further information, please contact your local funding advisor

Interview support

If an applicant proceeds in the evaluation and is invited to an interview, F&P helps with the preparations. This includes feedback on presentation slides, discussion of interview questions, and organization of internal mock interviews.

The application support process is evaluated after end of each call round, by means of an online survey sent to PI/applicant.

No project management is offered from F&P