Three positions. Five projects. One selection process that cuts across disciplines rather than within them.
Umeå University’s IceLab is offering three Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholarships for 2027, each running two years. What makes this unusual is the structure of the competition itself. Applicants aren’t ranked against other candidates in their own field. IceLab will select the three strongest project-and-candidate combinations from across all five available projects — meaning a computational biologist and a sports data scientist could be competing for the same slot.
If your research background sits at the intersection of biology, mathematics, and code, this is worth your full attention. The deadline to apply for the IceLab Postdoctoral Scholarships is September 17, 2026.
IceLab Postdoctoral Scholarships Overview
| University | Umeå University, Sweden |
| Program | IceLab Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholarships |
| Positions Available | 3 (selected from 5 competing projects) |
| Duration | 2 years |
| Personal Scholarship | SEK 720,000 tax-free (SEK 30,000/month) |
| Research Funding | SEK 75,000 additional |
| Who Can Apply | Any nationality; Swedish or equivalent doctorate |
| Application Deadline | 17 September 2026 |
Scholarship Benefits — And One Important Clarification
- Selected researchers receive SEK 720,000 as a tax-free scholarship over 2 years.
- This is equal to SEK 30,000 per month for 24 months.
- An additional SEK 75,000 is provided for research expenses, such as:
- Equipment
- Research materials
- Travel related to the project
- The scholarship is funded by Kempestiftelserna and is tax-free.
Important Information
This is a scholarship, not a full-time job. Scholarship holders do not automatically receive the same employee benefits as university staff, such as:
- Pension benefits
- Paid annual leave
- Unemployment benefits
Before accepting the scholarship, international applicants should ask the university about:
- Health insurance
- Sick leave
- Parental leave
- Payment schedule
Remember, a tax-free scholarship is different from an employment contract so the available benefits may not be the same.
Also See: Oxford Pershing Square Graduate Scholarships 2027 in UK (Fully Funded)
The Five Projects — Only Three Will Be Funded
This is where the competition gets interesting.
IceLab has published five research projects for this round. Three will receive funding. Applicants can apply to one or several, but the selection committee will choose the strongest three project-candidate combinations across all disciplines.
Choosing projects that genuinely match your research background is more important here than usual. Applying to all five without a clear methodological connection across your selections can read as unfocused.
| Project | Research Focus | Strongest Backgrounds |
|---|---|---|
| Microalgae Cell-Wall Integrity | How Chlorella vulgaris detects chemical and mechanical stress. Mathematical modelling combined with experimental design. | Computational biology, biophysics, mathematical biology, applied mathematics |
| Bacterial RNA Polymerase Under Stress | How bacteria allocate RNA polymerase under infection or antibiotic pressure. Time-series gene-expression data with computational modelling. | Computational biology, bioinformatics, physics, systems biology, mathematical modelling |
| Evolution of Adaptive Immunity | Why adaptive immunity evolved and how lifespan, pathogen diversity, immune memory, and biological costs shape it. | Mathematics, physics, theoretical biology, evolutionary biology, immunology, computational biology |
| Ecological Networks and Biodiversity Loss | How plant-microbe-pollinator-herbivore networks affect biodiversity across Mediterranean and Arctic environments. | Community ecology, network science, statistical modelling, Bayesian inference, applied mathematics |
| Resilience in Elite Female Athletes | Six-year dataset from 86 Swedish elite skiers and biathletes. Identifying stress responses, performance tipping points, and early maladaptation signals. | Statistics, machine learning, data science, mathematical modelling, computational biology |
A few notes on specific projects worth highlighting:
The microalgae project does not require prior knowledge of cell-wall biology. Strong modelling skills can compensate for limited biology background.
The athlete resilience project does not require a sports science background. The priority is quantitative and high-dimensional data analysis ability.
The adaptive immunity project is particularly suited to researchers interested in theoretical and computational host-pathogen questions, even without a conventional immunology background.
Eligibility — International Applicants Included
The call is open to any researcher holding a Swedish doctorate or a foreign qualification considered equivalent to a doctoral degree. No nationality restriction is stated.
Final-year doctoral students can apply, provided the doctorate is completed no later than the date on which scholarship recipients are formally selected. Documentation showing the expected award date should be included in the application.
On the three-year rule: Priority goes to applicants who completed their doctorate within the three years preceding the scholarship decision. Older doctorates can still be considered where there are recognized circumstances — parental leave, illness, military service, relevant clinical work, or comparable situations.
Non-EU and non-EEA researchers will need the appropriate Swedish residence permit for research. Family members may submit residence permit applications simultaneously with the researcher. The Swedish Migration Agency handles permit eligibility based on the hosting arrangements for each selected candidate.
Applying to More Than One Project
You can apply to more than one project — but strategy matters here.
A focused application to one primary project, with a genuine methodological argument for a second if applicable, is stronger than submitting identical materials to all five. The selection committee is evaluating project-candidate fit. A scattergun approach signals poor self-awareness about where your research background actually sits.
If two projects share the same core quantitative methods you’ve developed, making that connection explicit is a legitimate strategy. If the only connection is that you find both topics interesting, stick to the one that fits your background most closely.
What the Application Requires
All applications must be submitted in English or Swedish through Umeå University’s Varbi recruitment system.
Required documents:
- Cover letter (maximum two pages)
- CV with full publication list
- Doctoral certificate, or documentation of expected completion date
- Certified academic records
- Doctoral thesis
- Relevant publications
- Contact details for at least two referees
- Any additional supporting documents
The two-page cover letter limit is firm. Use it to explain your methodological fit with the project, not to summarize your CV. The committee can read your CV separately.