COST Action CA17133 is offering financial support to eligible applicants to carry out a Short Term Scientific Mission that will specifically contribute to the scientific objectives of this COST Action. STSMs facilitate scientists going to an institution or laboratory in another country to foster collaboration, to learn a new technique or to take measurements using instruments and/or methods not available in their own institution/laboratory. Eligible are PhD students and early Career Investigators (ECI, up to 8 years after award of a PhD).
The deadline for this calls is 1 December 2019.
The successful applicants will be informed after 15 December 2019.
The STSMs should be completed by 31 March 2020.
General information can be found in the COST Vademecum
General rules
- Are described in the COST Vademecum
- STSMs have a maximum duration of three months, all STSMs have to be finalised prior to 31 March 2020.
- STSM grants are a fixed contribution based on the budget requested by the applicant and the evaluation of the application by the Action Chair/STSM Coordinator and/or Committee. This grant will not necessarily cover all expenses; it is intended only as a contribution to the travel and subsistence costs of the participant.
- The calculation of this contribution for a STSM is based on the following rules:
- The maximal reimbursement rate per day is EUR 160 ;
- Up to EUR 500 may be attributed for travel expenses;
- A maximum EUR 1,700 in total can be afforded to the grantee for two months.
- Please note the grant will only be paid to the grantee after the STSM has been completed and the STSM report, which is submitted by the grantee, has been approved by Chair and the STSM coordinator.
Application procedures for an STSM
- Obtain the written agreement of the host scientist before submitting his/her application. It is essential that the applicant outlines in detail to the host scientist what they would like to do for the STSM, provide a CV, provide the host scientist with the Action web site , and agree with the host scientist about the details of the proposed STSM that should of course fit into the Action goals.
- Complete the online application form till 1 December 2019. For this you have to log in into e-COST and click on the STSM application tab. Note that the on-line system only has room for abbreviated CVs and work plans. The on-line registration tool will create a formal STSM application file, which the applicant can download.
- Send the application file till 1 December 2019 as an e-mail attachment to the STSM Coordinator Ranka Junge (ranka.junge(at)zhaw.ch (in cc to ca17133(at)boku.ac.at) together with the following supporting documents:
- CV (max 2 pages)
- Full work plan (between 2-5 pages)
- List of publications
- Letter of motivation by the applicant with a detailed explanation about how the STSM will contribute to the Action CA17133 aims
- Letter of agreement by the host scientist to accept and supervise the applicant to the STSM host institution.
After the STSM
The grantee is required to submit a short scientific report to the host scientist, the Action Chair and the STSM coordinator for approval within 30 days after the end date of the STSM. The report (a template is provided in the eCOST system) contains:
- Cover page with applicant’s name, affiliation address, e-mail, name of the host scientist and institute
- Purpose of the STSM
- Description of the work carried out during the STSM
- Description of the main results obtained
- Future collaboration with the host institution (if applicable)
- Foreseen publications/articles resulting from the STSM
- A letter of confirmation by the host scientist of the successful execution of the STSM
- Other comments (if any)
In addition, the grantee should send the following information directly to the STSM coordinator:
- Abstract of the STSM (max 300 words)
- A picture of herself (for example during the field work)
- 5 lines describing why this STSM was beneficial for the Action
- This information will be used to publish the results of the STSM on the Action Website
The Action Chair and STSM coordinator are responsible for approving the scientific report. The failure to submit the scientific report PLUS additional information within 30 days will effectively cancel the grant. Once approved, payment of the STSM grant will be made by bank-to-bank transfer to the grantee.
The application will be reviewed till 15 December 2019 and, if approved, an acceptance letter containing the level of financial support will be e-mailed to the applicant. The most important criterion of assessment is how effectively the STSM will contribute to the scientific aims of Action CA17133.
NOTE: For the period of the STSM, neither the Grant Holder of the Action, Management Committee of the Action, etc., nor the COST Office may be considered as the employer of the grantee, and grantees must make their own arrangements for all health insurance, travel insurance, social security, personal security and pension matters as may be needed and appropriate to the grantee.