The funds are intended to cover childcare services so that the stipend holders can continue or return to their studies or research work. The money can be used, for example, to pay for preschool education in a private facility, stays in a child’s play area, or babysitting in situations where the services of state facilities are not accessible, or, for example, to travel with the child to a conference or internship abroad.
The grant is available for PhD students and early-career postdoctoral researchers who are the primary caregivers of a preschool-aged child and at the same time conduct competitive research in the natural sciences at universities or research institutions in the Czech Republic.
Only individuals, not couples, are eligible to apply.
Don't forget to read the FAQs.
Applications for the 2025 grant were open until 20 September 2024 (CEST) and now are closed.
Application must be submitted in English and should include:
Applications for the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship are evaluated by an expert committee, which considers the quality of the scientific project and the professional CV of the applicants, among other things. The commission also takes into account the family situation of the applicants and how effectively the funds would help combine scientific work with care for a preschool child or children.
On the basis of the committee's recommendation, the foundation’s managing board decides on the awarding of the grats. Its decision is final and cannot be appealed.
The stipend of CZK 150,000 is provided in two instalments. The first instalment of fifty percent is paid in January, and the second instalment is paid in July following submission of an interim report on the use of the funds. After the end of the year, the stipend holders submit a final report on the use of the funds and the results achieved.
Martina Roeselová (1965–2015) was a Czech scientist working in the field of physical chemistry. She graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, in 1990, earning a RNDr degree in biophysics and chemical physics. In 2003, she completed her doctoral studies in biophysical chemistry and chemical and macromolecular physics at the Jaroslav Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry and at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics under Prof. Pavel Jungwirth’s supervision.
Martina then completed a post-doctoral program at the University of California, Irvine, and a year later she joined the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague), where she worked till her untimely death.
In the course of her prolific scientific career, Martina and her husband Marek raised three children. In addition, she encouraged junior researchers and strived to create conditions in the academic environment to facilitate a reasonable balance between family life and scientific work.
Martina, who was not only an internationally acclaimed scientist but also a popular lecturer, mentor, and well-liked colleague, died of cancer in February 2015 shortly before her fiftieth birthday.
After Martina’s death, Pavel Jungwirth and a number of other friends and colleagues initiated the establishment of the Martina Roeselová Memorial Fellowship with IOCB Prague as a fellowship for PhD and post-doctorate students who look after young children while actively pursuing scientific research. The fellowship aims to provide financial support to students and junior researchers–parents to cover child care services. The first fellowship was awarded for 2016 and was financially supported by Martina Roeselová’s family and a number of other donors.
In February 2017, Martina’s husband Marek Roesel and IOCB Prague Director Zdeněk Hostomský established the Martina Roeselová Foundation to oversee the future development of the fellowship.
Beginning in 2022, the fellowship is organized and financed by IOCB Tech Foundation.