Themed grant call: The Impact of weather on common swift chicks admitted for care

Grant, schedule and theme

The Korkeasaari Zoo Foundation (Korkeasaaren eläintarhan säätiö) will award a € 1500 grant for a master’s theses. Application period is October 19, 2026 – November 8, 2026.

Theme for the 2026 call is the impact of weather on the number and development of common swift chicks admitted to the Korkeasaari Wildlife Hospital for care. The study will be conducted using patient records from the Wildlife hospital. A more detailed schedule will be agreed separately with the applicant.

Instructions for Applicants

Please read the application instructions carefully before preparing your grant application.

• This is a themed grant call.
• Grants are applied for via an electronic application form (see below). Only applications submitted via the application form by the deadline will be processed.

• The application system is bilingual. You can apply for the grant in either Finnish or English.
• Attachments to the application must be in PDF format. CV is a mandatory attachment. Recommendations are not required.
• The application form cannot be saved. Check the application sections in advance (see below) and prepare the materials before filling out the form.
• Receiving the grant requires that a qualified person from the applicant’s university commits to supervising the work. The second supervisor will be from Korkeasaari Zoo. The university supervisor does not need to be confirmed at the application stage, but it must be agreed upon no later than one month after a positive decision, otherwise the grant cannot be paid.

For any questions/ inquiries on the application process, please email: ulla.tuomainen@korkeasaari.fi.

The selected applicant will be notified of the positive decision, and the decision will be announced on the Korkeasaari website on November 16, 2026.

Grant evaluation criteria

• Motivation for the work
• Background education, skills and experience suitable for the theme of the call
• Ability to commit to the proposed schedule

Grant validity/use

The grant is a personal working grant and must be used during 2027. Any possible laboratory costs will be covered by Korkeasaari Zoo.

Communicating about the grant and thesis

It is good practice to acknowledge the grant in a scientific thesis or publication, and in other similar contexts. Please note that the name of the fund is “Korkeasaari Zoo Grant”.