Dutch Tulip Fund opens doors to top international scientists

News item | 10-07-2025 | 16:30

Top research in the Netherlands

Freedom of science is coming under threat in several parts of the world. Scientists across the globe are looking around for the best place to conduct their research. The education minister and NWO previously announced a scheme to offer several dozen leading scientists the opportunity to continue their research in the Netherlands. From this summer, knowledge institutions, including universities and selected research institutes, can contact NWO to nominate outstanding scientists with their own line of research. With a view to strengthening the competitive position of both the Netherlands and Europe, the Tulip Fund is geared towards top-flight scientists currently working outside the European Union. Nationality is not a criterion: scientists with Dutch nationality currently working outside the EU are also eligible for the fund.

The primary selection criterion is that the researcher’s qualities should be clearly regarded as outstanding at international level. For each researcher, the relevant knowledge institution will receive a maximum of one million euros in funding, to be spent in the coming years. The nature of the research can be fundamental, applied or practice-oriented. Science at the highest level, as practised by these researchers, has the potential to solve major problems affecting key areas of society, from healthcare and housing to the energy transition, agriculture and water management.

Giant step forward

The education minister is delighted that the Tulip Fund is now a reality. “We have a wealth of scientific talent here in the Netherlands and are therefore keenly aware of how a single top scientist with their own line of research can represent a giant step forward for an entire field,” Bruins explains. “Fifty such scientists can bring about major advances for the country as a whole. Science provides solutions to major societal problems in areas such as healthcare, and can help secure our independence from other countries now and in the future. That is why, even in times when we are cutting back across the board on research and science, I believe it is vital to make this happen. It is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.”

Urgent need for talent

NWO president Marcel Levi underlines the pressing need for the Tulip Fund: “Knowledge is the Netherlands’ greatest economic asset. Research is a profoundly human endeavour and the Netherlands is fortunate to have a continuous flow of highly talented and well-educated young people with creative ideas and remarkable ambitions in the field of research. Yet for years there has been a brain drain from Europe to other countries, while we so urgently need talented people who want to work here, especially in light of future labour market and productivity forecasts. With this in mind, top-flight researchers who want to come here are more than welcome. And by welcoming them, we can maintain and build upon the leading position of Dutch science.”

NWO Tulip Fund

The Tulip Fund is named after the tulip. Though not an indigenous flower, the tulip has gone on to become a national symbol of the Netherlands. The fund that bears its name will open for applications this summer. Research institutes have six months to nominate researchers, after which NWO will make a selection and scientists will be welcome to start work.