Doctoral schools mobility call for international and intersectoral mobility - call 2 - 2023
Research, Education
What?
Hasselt University encourages the international and intersectoral mobility of its junior researchers and wants to promote (international) contacts between research groups. Thanks to financial support from the Flemish Government, the doctoral schools of Hasselt University are able to award travel grants to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers for participation in an international summer school or a short research stay abroad1. Also, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers can be awarded intersectoral mobility grants for intersectoral summer schools or research projects conducted at and in collaboration with non-academic institutions (companies, hospitals, …).
This is the second call for 2023. Deadline of submission is 12/03/2023 and the activity (summer school or research stay) has to take place between 01/05/2023 and 31/12/2023. You will receive the result of your application by 28/03/2023. The proposals will be evaluated by the doctoral school council of Hasselt University.
Who?
All PhD students and postdoctoral researchers with a UHasselt supervisor.
Application?
What are the requirements for the international mobility grants?
● The event has to take place outside Flanders and has to be explicitly targeted at the training of PhD students/postdoctoral researchers, with active participation. Examples of such events are summer schools, a short stay at a foreign research institution or at an institution with excellent research accommodation (e.g. excellent libraries), etc. A summer school typically lasts at least three days2. There is no limit on the duration of the stay abroad but there is a limit on the budget that can be applied for (see ‘What financial support will be offered?’).
● The topic of the international mobility plan has to be highly relevant to the research project of the PhD student or postdoctoral researcher.
● The applicant is required to produce a letter of invitation from the host institution (in case of a research stay) or a letter of acceptance (or confirmation of participation) from the organizers of the summer school. This can be provided after the grant application, but needs to be submitted prior to reimbursement.
● The ‘Application form international & intersectoral mobility’ needs to be completed.
● A positive recommendation of the supervisor is required.
What are the requirements for the intersectoral mobility grants?
● The goal of the intersectoral mobility grants is to stimulate interaction and knowledge exchange between academic and non-academic parties. There are two options: an intersectoral summer school, or a prolonged visit of a non-academic host institution (either in Belgium or abroad). In case of a summer school, at least two thirds of the event needs to be oriented towards the non-academic sector. A summer school typically lasts at least three days3. The visit has to be explicitly targeted at the training of PhD students/postdoctoral researchers, e.g. an internship. Examples of potential non-academic host institutions are hospitals, courts of law, companies, government instances, etc. In case of doubt whether a proposed non-academic host institution qualifies for this call, the doctoral school council will decide on the eligibility. There is no limit on the duration of the intersectoral visit, but there is a limit on the budget that can be applied for.
● The topic of the intersectoral mobility plan needs to be highly relevant to the research project of the PhD student or postdoctoral researcher.
● The applicant is required to produce a letter of invitation from the host institution (in case of a research stay) or a letter of acceptance (or confirmation of participation) from the organizers of the summer school. This can be provided after the grant application, but needs to be submitted prior to reimbursement.
● The ‘Application form international & intersectoral mobility’ needs to be completed.
● A positive recommendation of the supervisor is required.
How to apply for this financial support?
You can submit your proposal by email to doctoralschools@uhasselt.be. Only proposals containing the following two parts will be taken into consideration:
● the application form,
● the recommendation form of the supervisor(s).
More information about financial arrangements will be communicated to the selected candidates.
The complete call document can be found here.
Regulations?
What are the regulations and selection criteria?The goal of the regulations is twofold: i) to stimulate young researchers to apply for external funding, e.g. FWO, and ii) to provide grants to young researchers, even if they are unable to apply for external funding. The mentioned FWO funding for mobility includes e.g. grants for participation in an international workshop or course and travel grants for a short stay abroad. More information is available on the FWO website (http://www.fwo.be/en/fellowships-funding/international mobility/).
● For international mobility, the young researcher – if eligible4 – is required to also apply for FWO mobility funding. In case of a positive evaluation of both the FWO application and the UHasselt application, the FWO grant will be retained. The UHasselt grant will be given to the first applicant on the waiting list. The same rule applies to postdocs who receive BOF funding5 for outgoing mobility.
● There is one exception to the above-mentioned rule: If the activity has a duration of less than 8 days and the funds provided by the FWO are lower than what would be provided by the UHasselt grant, both grants can be (partly) retained. The amount provided by the FWO will be round up to either 750 or 1.500 euros, depending on the destination.
● FWO researchers are welcome to apply for destinations both in and outside Europe.
● The supervisor is responsible for the correct use of the funding conform the aforementioned conditions.
● The following selection criteria will be taken into consideration (please mention these elements in your motivation – see application form):
- the excellence of the host institution and its relevance for the research project of the applicant,
- the publications of the applicant,
- the moment of application with respect to the duration of the research project and its progress.
What financial support will be offered?
For mobility within Europe, the financial support is limited to 750 euros. For mobility outside Europe, the financial support is limited to 1.500 euros. This financial support can be used for paying travel costs, accommodation costs and/or event registration fees. In accordance with the UHasselt travel policy6, which applies to this mobility call, hotel costs within Belgium are typically not reimbursed. The expenses need to be directly related to the event and can only be reimbursed on the basis of receipts. The financial support CANNOT be used to pay drinks and food. For researchers who also applied for FWO travel funding, reimbursement will only occur after sending in the outcome of their FWO application.
More information?
In case of questions, please contact Lia Van Hoef (8017) or send an email to doctoralschools@uhasselt.be.
More information can also be found via this link.
1 Applications involving conferences are not eligible.
2 Participation in an interactive course/summer school with an international audience that is organized online may also be financed, given that both the interactivity and the international character of the event are clearly shown.
3 Participation in an intersectoral summer school that is organized online may also be financed, given that both the interactivity and the intersectoral character of the event are clearly shown.
4 Please note that not having a peer-reviewed publication is no longer a reason for not being eligible for FWO mobility funding, as you can motivate why you cannot comply with this requirement in the FWO application form.
5 https://www.uhasselt.be/en/research/research-funding/funding-programmes/bof-programmes
6 Quicklinks personeel - intranet - UHasselt
Deadline
12.03.2023
Contact Hasselt University?
E-mail lia.vanhoef@uhasselt.be
Tel. +3211268017