Research in collaboration with business

An Industrial Research project is a business-oriented research project carried out in collaboration between a private or public organisation, an industrial PhD candidate or postdoc, and a university. The project must be clearly relevant to the private company’s business or provide value to the public organisation. The industrial PhD candidate or postdoc is employed by the company.

See whether Erhvervsforsker is right for you

Who can apply?

The Industrial Researcher program is aimed at companies and public organizations with activities in Denmark that want to collaborate with research environments on a specific project. At the same time, the program is for research institutions that want to enter into close collaboration with a company and contribute professional knowledge.

There are two options in the program:

  • Industrial PhD for candidates with a master’s degree, and
  • Industrial Postdoc for researchers who already have a PhD.

What can you get funding for?

Innovation Fund Denmark gives economic support to both companies and research institutions, this includes salary, travels and other activities relevant to the project.

The project can take up to three years for both Industrial PhD and Postdoc.

How much can you apply for?

For Industrial PhD:

  • The company’s grant is 712.000 DKK (of these 612.000 DKK is contribution to salary and 100.000 DKK is a contribution to travels).
  • The grant for the university is 360.000 DKK yearly (incl. overhead).

For Industrial Postdoc:

  • The company receives 22.000 DKK pr. month as a contribution for the salary and 2.500 DKK pr. month as contribution for travels.
  • The university receives up to 10.000 DKK pr. month.

Our investments in numbers

All figures are from 2025

252

Applications

Number of applications received for Erhvervsforsker in 2025

138

Grants

Number of grants awarded for Erhvervsforsker in 2025

55

Success rate in percent

What percentage of applications for Erhvervsforsker in 2025 were approved

147,4

Amount invested in DKK million

The total amount invested for the programme in 2025

From application to project

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Contact

Questions about the project

If you have questions about an ongoing project or an application already submitted, please contact Erhvervsforsker directly via e-grant.

Technical questions about e-grant

Contact e-grant support

T: +45 33 92 91 90

Email:
Support.e-grant@ufm.dk

Weekdays: 9:00–12:00

Telephone enquiries

Phone hours Thursday 9:00–12:00.

T: +45 61 90 50 00 (press “2” and then “1”

Email:
erhvervsforsker@innofond.dk

Enquiries by email will be answered as quickly as possible.

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