Stockholm University researchers are among the five scientists selected to receive funding through the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) Pro Futura XX program, the organization announced on March 7, 2026. The program, a collaboration with the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), provides substantial support for promising early-career scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
The RJ Pro Futura program offers five years of research funding and development opportunities, with researchers spending one year at SCAS in Uppsala to foster networking and collaboration. Following the program, participants are eligible for tenure-track positions at their nominating universities. This initiative, running since 1999, aims to strengthen capacity building within the Swedish humanities and social sciences. The latest round of RJ Pro Futura saw 36 nominations from 15 higher education institutions, with ten candidates advancing to the interview stage.
Siska De Baerdemaeker
Siska De Baerdemaeker, from the Department of Philosophy at Stockholm University, has been awarded RJ Pro Futura XX funding for her project, “Deciding on the Pursuit of Large Scale Experiments.” The project investigates how researchers collectively determine which large-scale scientific experiments – such as space telescopes or particle experiments – to pursue, considering their significant costs and long-term impact on research. De Baerdemaeker will draw on new insights from the history and philosophy of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology to develop a comprehensive philosophical response. Learn more about Siska De Baerdemaeker’s research. De Baerdemaeker was too awarded an ERC Starting Grant in 2025. Read about Siska De Baerdemaeker’s ERC grant.
Fredrik Renard
Fredrik Renard, from the Department of Slavic and Baltic Languages, Finnish, Dutch and German at Stockholm University, will also receive RJ Pro Futura XX funding for his research project, “Falling Matters: On Weight and Gravity in and around the Modern German Novel.” Renard’s work explores the role of weight and gravity in literature, examining how fiction addresses the phenomenon of falling objects and bodies. The project will focus on novels written around the turn of the 20th century, hypothesizing that the human body gained new significance as a weight-bearing form during this period. Learn more about Fredrik Renard’s research.
The funding, totaling over 30 million Swedish krona, underscores the importance of supporting fundamental research in the humanities and social sciences. Read about all the researchers awarded RJ Pro Futura.
