Mertz Fellowship for polar and high-altitude research collaboration between Switzerland and Australia

The call is open until 26 October 2026, 23:00 CET

About the Mertz Fellowship

The Mertz Fellowship programme is named after Dr Xavier Mertz, the first Swiss polar explorer to set foot in Antarctica and the only non-Australian/British member of the first Australian scientific expedition in Antarctica (1911-1914). The fellowship aims to intensify collaboration and networking between the polar and high-altitude science communities of Switzerland and Australia.

"The ice cliff at Land's End. Mertz on ski." © Xavier Mertz (1913), from the collections of the State Library of New South Wales
"The ice cliff at Land's End. Mertz on ski." © Xavier Mertz (1913), from the collections of the State Library of New South Wales

The programme is aimed at early-career researchers from the polar and high-altitude science communities in both countries. The Mertz Fellowship programme is managed by the Embassy of Switzerland in Australia and implemented and funded in collaboration with the Swiss Polar Institute, the Antarctic Science Foundation, and the Swissnex network, part of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).