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Career Pathways and Funding opportunities

This document has been created thanks to the participation of several members of the European Network of Ethnobiologists (ENE), which joins more than 100 scholars and students based in Europe or European researchers. 

We specifically thank the three main guest speakers, Irene Teixidor-Toneu, Alexandra Towns and Lucie Benoit, who contributed to the Session 4 of the European Network of Ethnobiology Webinar Series on March 18th, 2025 and all the participants who attended this session. 

This is an ongoing document, which is aimed to be extended and completed.

Regarding career pathways

Becoming an ethnobiologist is not a linear journey, but rather has turns and twists, being it in the academic world, out of it, or in between. 

To be able to keep going in your pathways, some tips were shared:

  • Attend conferences to maintain network, even if you do not have anything to present
  • Seek out ways to continue publishing
  • Serve as council members of professional societies
  • Reach out universities where you get your degrees to look for positions (e.g., lecturing opportunities)
  • Get involved in local groups, wherever you are based
  • Self-promote at work
  • Persistence is sometimes compensated (but not always)
  • Regarding position and funding: sometimes, in addition to the explicit criteria, there are also other non explicit criteria that are taken into account. It is better if we can know them in advance (and then, the following point):
  • Seeking support from experienced researchers
  • Being aware of our hybridity, when looking and applying for positions that are still mostly shaped around a particular discipline
  • Seek out specifically interdisciplinary calls (which are increasingly abundant)
  • Encouraging students and early career researchers to think on what they would like to be as “grown up”, either being a full researcher in academia, working out of it, or navigating in between. The earlier the better, in order to better orientate and take appropriate steps. 
  • Having a mentor who can help you, one you feel close to, who understands you, for not being misled. Mentor yourself if you are in a mid-career or senior position.
Regarding funding opportunities

When applying for grants, some comments and TIPS: 

ON THE CONTENT:
  • Focus on what the funding is aimed for (rather than writing your dream project if this doesn’t fit the call), and step back a bit the other parts of the project
  • There are a lot of funding opportunities that might be narrowed and thus it implies to shape the topic of the proposal you would like to develop to the funding goals.
  • Something the funding can be also given to you based on your expertise and your project might be designed around your skills.
  • Ask for help from people who have previously received these grants.
ELIGIBILITY:
  • Regarding eligibility: if you don’t have a permanent position and want to apply, make sure you are eligible! Collaborating and co-leading with someone who is eligible is also an option.
SUCCESS LIKELIHOOD:
  • Success rate is one of the factors to be considered when applying: Sometimes it is worth applying for smaller grants, with a higher likelihood of getting them (but beware of the administrative effort of any grant, regardless of the funding given).
  • Basic research funding vs practical research funding: Ethnobiology falls somewhere in between.
list of the funding opportunities
Europe :
By country :

Belgium

Finland

France

Germany

Netherland

  • Postdoc fellowships:
    • Rubicon Mobility Postdocs: https://www.nwo.nl/en/researchprogrammes/rubicon
  • Grants:
    • NWO Talent Programme (grants for different career stages) https://www.nwo.nl/en/calls/nwo-talent-programme

Spain

Switzerland

United Kingdom