Eurolife aims to promote collaborative research and education, as well as further research opportunities in the field of biomedicine and medicine. The participating Eurolife institutions are:

• Leiden University Medical Center (The Netherlands),
• Karolinska Institutet (Sweden),
• Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria),
• Universitat de Barcelona (Spain),
• University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom),
• University Medical Center Göttingen (Germany),
• University of Strasbourg (France),
• Trinity College of Dublin (Ireland) and
• Semmelweis university (Hungary).

The goal of this call is to facilitate further research collaboration between Eurolife member institutions. The grants will support travel and living expenses for junior scientist to travel to another Eurolife institution and perform research for a period equal to or longer than 2 weeks*.

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

1. Who can apply?

Researchers employed in any of the 9 institutions of Eurolife (at least when applying and during the exchange period) can apply. These researchers must hold a PhD degree (completed within the last 8 years*). Nevertheless, other employees as senior technicians who are pivotal in analytical work in their research group are not excluded.

*considering the applications submission deadline as the reference.

2. Duration and amount of the grant

The grant has to be used for covering 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 the funding period 1 May  – 31 December 2017. The amount of the grant is 1,500€ (the number of grants is limited to 9).

The Eurolife coordinator institution (Universitat de Barcelona) will reimburse the grants to the home university. After the grant period ends, unspent funds should be returned to the Universitat de Barcelona.

Supporting documents should be sent to the local Eurolife Administrator¹ (Network Liaison Officers) by one month after completion of the research exchange. For more details, see Section 7.

The local Eurolife Administrator (Network Liaison Officer) will assist the researchers to find accommodation; however, it is the responsibility of the visiting researcher to secure their accommodation.

*University Medical Center Göttingen is unable to host researchers for a shorter period 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 done in any of the 9 institutions of Eurolife.

4. Applications

Submissions must include the application form (available in the appended document). This application must contain personal details from the researcher applying for the grant, as well as information about the research project. Further appropriate information must be attached as an annex:

4.1. Submit a 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. An invitation letter of acceptance of 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.

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

5. Call (deadlines)

5.1. Deadline for submission of the application form for the grants: 31 March 2017.

5.2. Deadline for resolution: 20 April 2017.

5.3. Exchange period: from 1 May 2017 to 31 December 2017.

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

6. Evaluation

Each Eurolife institution conducts its own internal selection process on candidates from that institution who wish to travel to another partner institution for this short term exchange.

The home institution of each applicant intending to travel subsequently provides a list of all candidates ranked in order of merit to the Eurolife Coordinator institution (Universitat de Barcelona). The first-ranked candidate from each Eurolife institution is automatically accepted. Second places and subsequent places, should they be available, are decided upon by the Eurolife Coordinator institution (Universitat de Barcelona) primarily and then approved by the Eurolife Steering Committee group with the aim to achieve a balanced representation with regard to topics, gender and institution affiliation with due consideration of rank order and merit.

The following criteria will be considered to prioritise:

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 contribute equally to the final rating.

The name of the granted researchers will be published at this website. 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 must also send to the General Eurolife Administrator (eurolife@ub.edu) the supporting report (document 7.1.).

8. Publication and publicity

The grant holder must acknowledge the support of the Eurolife network in reports or other published materials that arises from the research done during the exchange. The General Eurolife Administrator (eurolife@ub.edu) should be notified when research papers associated with the grant are published.

¹Network Liaison Officers

Universitat de Barcelona                             Amanda Fillat (eurolife@ub.edu)

Trinity College Dublin                                 Noelle Costelloe (research.medicine@tcd.ie)

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

University Medical Center Göttingen       Annika Merk (eu-office5@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                            Agnes Fesus (fesus.agnes@semmelweis-univ.hu)

Documents:

Call / Application form