The Young Investigator Programme (YIP), offered by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), is open to young investigators in the life sciences who have started their independent research groups within the last 4 years. YIP facilitates and supports the career advancement of these early-career scientists via opportunities to network and collaborate. Arun K. Shukla, Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) and an EMBO YI shares his 10 pointers for the last mile of the application process