Guidelines for applications

Alzheimer Forschung Initiative (AFI), Alzheimer Nederland (AN), and Fondation Vaincre Alzheimer (FVA) are dedicated to helping early career dementia researchers reach their full scientific potential. One of ways we try to help early career dementia researchers is by organizing the European Alzheimer Academy Workshop or EAAW, held in Bertinoro, Italy from 17-21 March 2024.

The European Alzheimer Academy Workshop aims to provide an overview of the latest developments in the Alzheimer's Disease research field. The workshop is especially targeted at ambitious early career dementia scientists. Over the course of 4 days the participants will hear a collection of talks by prominent Alzheimer's Disease scientists, combined with daily professional development sessions. In these sessions, the speakers, committee members, and staff will train the participants in skills such as successful grant writing, finding their research niche, and academic mentorship. We will end with a big scientific discussion together with the keynote speakers on the state of Alzheimer's Disease research and treatment with the arrival of the new anti-amyloid antibodies.

Applicants to the EAAW should meet the following criteria

• Possess an MSc or MD degree.
• Perform fundamental/basic, preclinical or clinical Alzheimer's Disease or related dementia research.
• Be either a Ph.D. student, a postdoctoral researcher (or equivalent), or a clinician with an MD but no Ph.D. younger than 40 years (France only) at a university or other public non-profit research institute/organisation.
  • For PhD students: only 3rd year or higher Ph.D. students by the time of the EAAW 2024, working at a university or other public non-profit research institute/organisation are eligible.
  • For postdoctoral researchers (or equivalent): only researchers within a maximum of 6 years^* after obtaining their Ph.D. by the time of the EAAW 2024, working at a university or other public non-profit research institute/organisation are eligible.
    ^*Please note: for taken maternity leave, the effective elapsed time since the award of the Ph.D. will be reduced by 1 year for each child before or after the Ph.D. award. For taken paternity leave or leave due to longterm illness, the effective elapsed time since the award of the Ph.D. will be reduced by the duration of the leave taken.

Applicants should provide the following information in their application:

• personal details (date of birth, affiliation, e-mail address, date of Ph.D. defence if applicable, etc)
• current academic position
• CV (max. 2 A4)
• list of publications (if applicable)
• motivation text (max. 300 words; highlight especially how this workshop might benefit your research project and your career)

Applications are in English and can be submitted exclusively through this website. The deadline is Monday 20 November at 23:59 CET. Candidates will be selected by the above mentioned organizations. For equally suitable candidates the date/time of registration will be considered.

In total, 40 students can participate in the workshop. We are aiming for the following distribution, based on participants' current affiliations, not their nationalities: 10 students from France, 10 from Germany, 10 from The Netherlands, and 10 from other countries.

Participation costs

Each applicant will be charged € 500 for their participation in the workshop. This contribution will be used for lodging (single rooms) and food costs. Travel costs are not included and students are responsible for their own travel itinerary.

This would entail either a flight to Bologna Airport or a train to Forlì, from where we will arrange several travel options for the last leg of your trip to the University Residential Centre of Bertinoro in Bertinoro, Italy. See also the venue page for more details.

Participants working in Germany, the Netherlands, and France have the possibility to apply to AFI, AN, or FVA, respectively, to receive travel grants once they have been accepted for the workshop. Travel grants for participants working in the Netherlands and France are € 500 and can be applied for by all participants working in the respective countries. Travel grants for participants working in Germany are up to € 1000 euro and can be used for both the registration costs and the remaining travel costs. They can only be applied to by eligible Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers up to 2 years after Ph.D. defence by the time of the EAAW 2024, who are working in Germany.

More information on how to apply for these will be provided after the participants have been selected.