Writing Retreats for Postdocs

Looking to clear space in your schedule for major publication projects? The Academic Career Development provides funding for Postdoc Writing Retreats (3–5 participants). Connect with fellow researchers to evaluate your writing practices—from AI tools to submission strategies—and make substantial progress on your manuscripts.

Funding
You can apply for up to 5’000 CHF. Funds may be used for:

• Rental costs/accommodation (up to 150 CHF/person and night)
• Meals and groceries
• Travel expenses (2nd class train travel)

Requirements

• You apply as a group of three to five Postdocs
• You organize travel, accommodation and daily arrangements yourself 
• You dedicate the time exclusively to writing 
• You meet as a group with a writing coach (organized by the Academic Career Development) before and/or dur-ing your retreat
• The retreat takes place between Octo-ber 2026 and February 2027.

Application

Please submit your application in one single PDF file:

• An application letter that contains: 
  • Your names and affiliation(s)
  • Short statement of interest indicating the current state of your research and target output during your stay (scope of paper(s)/chapters, grant applications etc.)
  • duration of stay (min. 3, max. 7 nights)
  • destination and accommodation plans
  • a rough description of how you will organize the retreat
• CVs of each member of the group

Applications will be assessed on the basis of the composition of the group, with preference given to groups comprising postdocs from different fields/disciplines; the coherence and feasibility of the proposed retreat; and the appropriateness of the planned use of funds.

Expenses will be refunded upon completion of your writing retreat and submission of a summary of all expenses and supporting receipts. Participants are expected to hand in a short report (max one page about the progress during the retreat) no later than three weeks after completion of the retreat. 

Please submit your application no later than September 27, 2026 to susanne.toensmann@unisg.ch.