No Danish PhD? No postdoc grant — Danish researchers punished for going abroad

Danish research foundations want young Danish researchers to go abroad to gain experience — but then reject those who have already done so.

This is how historian Andreas Nabil Younan sees it, just as he is about to launch his research career.

He is currently working on his PhD at the University of Cambridge, but the Carlsberg Foundation and the Independent Research Fund Denmark only offer individual postdoc grants to applicants with a Danish PhD degree.

»I never thought I’d be worse off with a PhD from Cambridge than from Denmark — but here we are,« he says to the University Post.

Cambridge a block to progress

When Andreas Nabil Younan was admitted to the University of Cambridge in 2021, he was given the opportunity to research modern Egyptian history with the support of the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. He has been working at the university since then — and he expects to submit his dissertation next summer.

I did exactly what they say they want — and still I’m being punished for it

Andreas Nabil Younan, PhD student

The plan was to then return to Denmark and apply for a postdoc position. His project is on Danish judges stationed in Egypt between 1875 and 1949 and requires extensive work at the Danish National Archives.

But Danish research foundation rules are stopping him. Without a Danish PhD, he is excluded from individual postdoc grants from the Carlsberg Foundation and the Independent Research Fund Denmark — which, according to Andreas Nabil Younan, are the most natural choice for young humanities researchers.

»I just want to be allowed to apply on equal terms with my Danish colleagues,« he says.

Research Fund wants internationalisation

Chair of the Board of Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF) Søren Serritzlew explains that the requirement was introduced in 2017, after the fund’s budget was cut by approximately DKK 200 million.

The former ‘individual postdoc’ grant was discontinued, and DFF launched a new scheme instead: the International Postdoc, which requires researchers to spend a minimum of 12 months at a foreign research institution.

»The purpose is to strengthen the internationalisation of Danish research. That’s why it makes sense to target the scheme at PhD graduates in Denmark. If you already have a foreign PhD, you’ve already gained that international experience,« he says to the University Post.

DFF currently awards around 15 international postdoc grants each year. According to the fund, broadening the scheme would be unrealistic, as this would reduce the success rate below the 10–20 per cent that DFF considers a reasonable lower limit.

Researchers with foreign degrees are not completely excluded, Søren Serritzlew stresses — they can take part in postdoc positions within larger research projects where the funding is applied for by a lead applicant.

New rules at the Carlsberg Foundation

At the Carlsberg Foundation, the change is more recent. From the beginning of 2025, the foundation introduced a requirement that applicants for both internationalisation and reintegration fellowships must have a PhD degree from a Danish research institution.

Previously, it was sufficient to have a »strong connection« to Danish research. For the reintegration fellowship, it was also required that applicants had spent an extended period abroad conducting research. A non-Danish PhD does not count however.

That’s why Andreas Nabil Younan had planned to apply for the internationalisation fellowship, which he could do immediately after completing his PhD at Cambridge.

»I went abroad with the expectation that I could apply for the internationalisation fellowship once I was finished. That opportunity disappeared when they changed the rules at the start of the year,« he says.

Ties to Danish research can manifest in various ways, but one of the most significant is that the applicant obtained their PhD from a Danish research institution

Lars Egstrøm Kristensen, Chief Scientific Officer at the Carlsberg Foundation

The Carlsberg Foundation declined to be interviewed. But in a written statement to the University Post, the foundation’s Chief Scientific Officer, Lars Egstrøm Kristensen, writes that the individual postdoc fellowships are meant to send young researchers out into the world — and bring them back to Denmark.

»This is why it is important to demonstrate at the time of application that researchers will also return to Danish research later in their careers. For this reason, it is a requirement that applicants have a strong connection to Danish research. Ties to Danish research can manifest in various ways, but one of the most significant is that the applicant obtained their PhD from a Danish research institution,« he writes.

According to the foundation, a foreign PhD »can be presumed to reflect a lower degree of connection to Danish research.«

The Carlsberg Foundation also points out that it supports many postdocs via its Semper Ardens projects, where there are no requirements regarding where the PhD was obtained. In 2024, these accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the postdoc work years funded.

For individual fellowships, there are no plans to change the rules however.

Did as required

To Andreas Nabil Younan, there is an inherent contradiction in the logic.

He deliberately pursued his PhD abroad to gain international experience early in his career.

But while the foundations view this as having fulfilled the goal of internationalisation, he sees it as a barrier:

»I did exactly what they say they want — and I’m still being punished for it.«

He believes the rules could end up weakening Danish research.

»Quality suffers when you exclude applicants. Many of us who do PhDs abroad get into elite universities. These are exactly the kind of people you should want to attract home again.«

Brain drain risk

Danish universities have limited means to support postdocs without outside funding, and grants from foundations therefore play a central role. According to a study by the Confederation of Danish Industry from January 2025, three out of four newly hired postdocs at Danish universities were non-Danish citizens.

The question is whether the rules are reinforcing this trend, pushing young Danes with non-Danish PhDs away — and keeping them there.

At DFF, Søren Serritzlew rejects the claim that the scheme itself is the cause of brain drain of Danish researchers. But he acknowledges that some researchers are excluded from individual postdoc grants.

For Andreas Nabil Younan, the consequence is that he now has to apply for postdocs abroad — even though his project requires him to work in the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen.

»It just doesn’t add up,« he says:

»I actually want to come home and do research in Denmark — but the system is blocking my way.«

This article was first written in Danish and published on 11 September 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.