Apply for ITC Conference Grant

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What is an “Inclusiveness Target Countries” (ITC) Conference Grant?

ITC conference grants provide financial support for students and Early Career Investigators based in ITC countries to travel and present at conferences relevant to the BioBrillouin COST Action.

Am I eligible?

-You must be a PhD Student or an Early Career Investigator (ECI) (no more than 8 years from the date you obtained your PhD/doctorate).

-The institution you are affiliated with/employed by is based in an ITC country. The following countries are considered ITC: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Serbia and Turkey.

Other Criteria/Information

-You must have an oral or poster presentation at the conference in question and must be listed in the official event/conference program. In the case of a poster presentation, it is acceptable if the applicant is acknowledged on the website of the conference or in the book of abstracts.

-The main subject of the oral or poster presentation at the approved conference must be within the scope of the Action (see MoU)

-You must acknowledge the”BioBrillouin COST Action CA16124″ for support in your presentation

-The conference must take place before the 1st April 2019

-COST/BioBrillouin sponsored events are not eligible

How do I apply?

Applications must be submitted via the eCOST website. You can access the application page by loging into your eCOST account and clicking on the ITC Conference Grants tab. Further information on how to apply can be found here: [How to apply to ITC conference grants].

You will also be required to upload the following supporting documentation as described in the application form: CV; short description of the involvement in “BioBrillouin”, acceptance letter from the conference organizers, and a copy of the abstract or poster submitted to the conference. After the conference, the successful applicants must submit a scientific report (template available and mandatory), travel documentation, and fee invoice (if applicable) within 15 days in order to claim the grant. The grant is only paid after the conference implementation and the submission of the requested information.

[eCOST login page]

How much and what does the grant fund?

A Conference Grant is a fixed financial contribution which takes into consideration the budget request of the applicant and the outcome of the evaluation by the review panel.

Conference Grants do not necessarily cover all of the expenses related to participating in a given conference and should be considered as a contribution to the overall travel, accommodation and meal expenses of the selected Grantee.

The calculation of the financial contribution for each Conference Grant must respect the following criteria:

-Up to a maximum of EUR 2500 in total can be afforded to each successful applicant;
-Up to a maximum of EUR 160 per day can be afforded for accommodation and meal expenses.
-Up to a maximum of EUR 500 can be claimed for the conference fees to be incurred by the selected Grantee.

In addition when meal and accommodation expenses are supported by the hosting institution as part of the provisions offered in their conference package, the amount for subsistence afforded to each eligible participant must be deducted from the Grant. Documentary evidence of the conference fee amount must be provided by the applicant and will be archived by the Grant Holder along with the relevant administrative documents.

Further information can be found here: [How to apply to ITC conference grants].

How is the grant reviewed and when will I know if my application has been granted?

the grant will be reviewed by the Action Chair together with a review panel (see below), for eligibility according to the above stated criteria, relevance of the presented topic and meeting to the Action, and on whether the estimates of the expected cost provided by the applicant is considered reasonable. Applications will be accepted subject to the availability of remaining budget assigned for ITC Conference Grants.

Applications will be reviewed and granted on a running basis with applicants being informed within 2 working weeks of submitting their applications on the success of their application via the email they provide in the application and their eCOST account.

Review Panel:

Francesca Palombo (Univ. of Exeter, UK)

Stephan Malin (Karolinska Institute, SE)

Celia Sousa (Porto Univ., PT)

Kareem Elsayad (VBCF, AT)