PMU-RIF (PMU Research and Innovation Fund)

What you get

The PMU Research and Innovation Fund (PMU-RIF) is internal research money from the Paracelsus Medical University (PMU) in Salzburg. The Province of Salzburg and sponsors pay for it. It funds your research project, not your living costs. There are six tracks, and the amount depends on which one fits your plan:

• GROW (larger strategic projects): up to EUR 105,000 per project, running up to 24 months. Up to two projects a year.
• LAUNCH (small pilot or proof-of-concept studies): up to EUR 20,000 per project, up to 12 months. Up to 12 projects a year.
• FIZ Talent Pool (work in PMU's research centres): up to EUR 12,500 for junior researchers, up to EUR 20,000 for senior researchers, up to 12 months.
• Salzburg-Nuremberg bridge (cooperation between PMU sites): EUR 100,000 a year in total, split evenly between the two sites.
• Open Access: up to EUR 20,000 a year to help pay for publishing in high-ranking open-access journals.
• RFA (for newly appointed clinic or institute heads): covers a postdoc post for up to 24 months, or up to 48 months at 20 hours a week.

The money can cover staff, materials, travel, software, publication and, in some tracks, further training.

Who can apply

• Where you work: You must be employed (more than marginally) at PMU's Salzburg site, one of its Salzburg subsidiaries or institutes, or the associated University Hospital Salzburg (UKS). The general public cannot apply.
• Career stage: Some tracks are open to junior researchers. In LAUNCH and the FIZ Talent Pool, junior means from master's level and PhD students up to finishing the PhD. Everyone past that counts as a senior researcher.
• Field: Your research fits PMU's areas, such as biomedical research, public health, health-services research or psychosocial health.
• Project: You have a concrete research idea with a clear work plan. GROW also expects earlier results or pilot data and the potential to attract outside funding.

How to apply

You apply through an online form (in English for GROW). For the 2026 call the deadline is 15 October for the Salzburg-Nuremberg bridge and 15 November for GROW, LAUNCH and the FIZ Talent Pool. From 2027 the yearly deadlines are 15 April and 15 October, depending on the track. You can submit Open Access and RFA at any time. Internal and external experts review the applications, and PMU's Research and Innovation Board makes the final decision.

How realistic are your chances?

This is a closed internal fund. Only PMU and UKS staff in Salzburg can apply, so the pool is limited to people already inside the institution. If you are eligible and bring a well-built project with a clear work plan (and, for GROW, prior data), your prospects are reasonable, since each track funds several projects a year. The larger GROW grants are the most contested, while the smaller LAUNCH and FIZ tracks fund more projects.