The selections of the 5th call are now finalised and all Candidates, who applied for the Eurolife Short-term Research Exchange grants in this call have been directly notified on the results.

Based on the 5^th call selections and the final decision of the Eurolife Network, we have the pleasure to announce that in this call we award 5 grants for the short-term Eurolife exchanges. The selections were based on the internal academic evaluation with the consideration of applicant’s achievements, the quality of the proposed research to be carried out and the benefits of the short-term exchange for the researcher, and his/her Home and Host Institutions. Following are the details on the Home and Host universities of the awarded researchers:

Home University                                                     Host University

University Medical Center Göttingen         –      Medical University of Innsbruck

Semmelweis University                                 –      Leiden University Medical Center

University of Barcelona                                 –      Karolinska Institutet

University of Edinburgh                                –      Karolinska Institutet

Semmelweis University                                 –      Karolinska Institutet

Each selected researcher will receive a grant of 1500 EUR to support his/her travel and living expenses for the short-term research at the indicated Eurolife Host Institution. The expenses need to be directly related to the research exchange. The duration of the exchange is minimum 2 weeks and it should take place between 1 February and 31 December 2020.

Congratulations on behalf of Eurolife!

1. Eligibility criteria

The call was open to researchers employed in any of the 9 institutions of Eurolife (at the time of application and exchange). These researchers must hold a PhD degree (completed within the last 8 years, considering the application’s submission deadline as the reference). Also senior technicians, who are crucial to the analytical work in their research group were encouraged to apply.

2. Duration and amount of the grant

The grant should be used towards travel, accommodation and subsistence costs (during the research exchange) for a period equal to or longer than 2 weeks (10 working days). Proposals can be made for exchanges taking place during the funding period 1 February – 31 December 2020. The amount of the grant is 1,500€ (the number of grants is limited to 9).

The Eurolife coordinating institution (University Medical Center Göttingen) will reimburse the grants to the home university of the researcher. After the grant period ends, unspent funds should be returned to University Medical Center Göttingen.

*Please note that the University Medical Center Göttingen is unable to host researchers for a period shorter than a month.

3. Staff Exchange

The staff exchange should be focused on research, innovation or knowledge transfer in biomedicine or medicine. The exchange should be undertaken in any of the 9 institutions of Eurolife.

4. Applications

Submissions must include the application form. This application must contain personal details from the researcher applying for the grant, as well as information about the research project. Further requested information must be attached as an annex:

4.1. Proposal outlining (1) the research to be performed and (2) the benefits of the exchange (not exceeding 1 page in length). This document must include a clearly recognizable working title and an indication of keywords.

4.2. Curriculum vitae of the applicant, including a publications list.

4.3. Certificate of the PhD degree (copy). The date of completion must appear on the document.

4.4. Invitation letter / letter of acceptance from the Eurolife hosting research group. This letter must detail why the institution is particularly suitable for the execution of the research project, the support to be provided and the name(s) of the mentor/scientific host.

Applications should be sent by email to the local Eurolife Administrator¹ (Network Liaison Officers). Documents should be signed and sent in a pdf format.

5. Call (deadlines)

5.1. Deadline for submission of the application form for the grants: 31 October 2019.

5.2. Announcement of selection results: 1 December 2019.

5.3. Exchange period: from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020.

5.4. Deadline for delivering a supporting report of the funded costs: one month following the completion of the exchange.

6. Evaluation

Each Eurolife institution conducts its own selection procedure and provides a list of ranked candidates in order of merit to the Eurolife coordinator institution (University Medical Center Göttingen). The first-ranked candidate from each institution is automatically accepted. Second places (and any further places, should they be available) are decided by the Eurolife representatives of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Eurolife Steering Committee group after consideration of all applications, with the aim to achieve a balanced representation with regard to topics, gender and university affiliation with due consideration of rank order and merit.

The following criteria will be prioritised:

6.1. The achievements of the applicant to date (scientific and other qualifications, and particular conditions which have influenced the academic progress).

6.2. The quality of the proposed research to be carried out.

6.3. The benefits of the short term exchange for the applicant, host institution and sending institution.

All points will be judged separately and all scores will contribute to the final rating.
The name of the granted researchers will be published on the Eurolife website (www.eurolifeuniversities.org). Moreover, final decision will be communicated via e-mail to all applicants.

7. Supporting report

Within the maximum period specified in the Section 5.4., the grant holder must deliver:

7.1. A supporting report (not exceeding 1 page in length) outlining the research performed and the key outcome of the exchange.

7.2. A duly signed declaration which clearly states the dates of arrival and departure of the foreign researcher to and from the host institution where the research has taken place.

7.3. Supporting travel documents (transport and accommodation invoices).
This documentation must be sent to the local Eurolife Administrator1 (Network Liaison Officers) in order to determine if some funds should be returned to the Eurolife coordinator institution.

The granted researchers are also required to submit the supporting report (document 7.1.) to the General Eurolife Administrator (Eurolife@med.uni-goettingen.de).

8. Publication and publicity

The grant holder must acknowledge the support of the Eurolife network in reports or other published materials that arise from the research performed during the exchange. The General Eurolife Administrator (Eurolife@med.uni-goettingen.de) should be notified when research papers associated with the grant are published.

¹Network Liaison Officers

Universitat de Barcelona                         Francesca Gallego (eurolife@ub.edu)

Trinity College Dublin                               Bridget Gavin (research.medicine@tcd.ie)

University of Edinburgh                           Paul McGuire (Paul.McGuire@ed.ac.uk)

University Medical Center Göttingen    Agnieszka Buelens (Eurolife@med.uni-goettingen.de)

Medical University of Innsbruck            Peter Josten (peter.josten@i-med.ac.at)

Leiden University Medical Center          Pieter de Koning (P.J.A.de_Koning@lumc.nl)

Karolinska Institutet                                 Anna Dahlerus (Anna.Dahlerus@ki.se)

University of Strasbourg                          Sandrine Schott (sschott@unistra.fr)

Semmelweis University                         Krisztina Bagyinszki (bagyinszki.krisztina@semmelweis-univ.hu)