Biopolis 2022 Call for Proposals – European Teaming Project
This call for proposals is part of a European project funded by the H2020 Teaming program (“Biopolis”). The Biopolis project aims to support the development in Portugal of a center of excellence in research, development, and innovation in the fields of biodiversity, agro-biodiversity, and ecosystem services.
This center will be based at an existing laboratory, CIBIO. The University of Montpellier— UM and its affiliated governing bodies) is a partner in this capacity-building project. The project funds mobility initiatives and events that contribute to the center’s development, but also—and primarily—human resources, including doctoral students and early-career researchers, who are the focus of this call for proposals.
Objectives
This call for proposals aims to hire doctoral students and early-career researchers using funds from the Teaming project managed byUM and thus with employment contracts issued byUM).
This initiative is part of Work Package 5 (WP5) of the Teaming project. We are targeting situations in which these young researchers can receive training in Montpellier (under the supervision of one or more researchers from Montpellier) as part of projects developed jointly with one or more researchers from CIBIO (joint supervision). These early-career researchers (doctoral candidates and young researchers) will thus contribute to the transfer of knowledge from Montpellier to CIBIO and to the development of the project at CIBIO (which could ideally lead to future hiring at CIBIO).
This first call for proposals will support projects stemming from existing collaborations between Montpellier and CIBIO. Future calls will allow time for new collaborations to be established (bearing in mind that the Teaming project ends in September 2027).
In total (across all calls for proposals),UM fund at least 5 doctoral degrees and 10 years of young researcher contracts. Biopolis Montpellier funding will also cover the travel expenses of new recruits, their advisors, and Montpellier-based collaborators traveling from France to Portugal. Travel expenses for partners traveling from Portugal to France will be covered by Portuguese funding and are not included in this call for proposals. A limited budget will also be allocated to each recruit to cover research expenses and personal computer equipment.
Project Eligibility
The 10 UMRs involved in Biopolis (AGAP, AMAP, CEFE, CEEM, CBGP, DIADE, IHPE, IPSIM, ISEM, and MIVEGEC) are eligible to apply. The scientific project must align with one of Biopolis’s main focus areas (biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, and ecosystem services). All scientific disciplines are welcome.
Submission Guidelines
Projects from each unit must be submitted exclusively by the Unit Directors (DU). Applications must be submitted in PDF format using the attached template and sent via email.
Available Amount
This call for proposals may fund the salaries of one to three doctoral researchers for three years each) and one to three early-career researchers (for up to two years each). The funding amount will be adjusted based on the number of projects that are already well-developed, bearing in mind that a similar call for proposals will follow in the spring of 2023. Each recipient will receive a research grant and a separate grant for travel to the Portuguese laboratory (see eligible expenses below).
Calendar
- Official opening: December 14, 2022 (Reminder – A preliminary announcement was sent to Biopolis liaisons in the UMRs on November 28, 2022)
- Submission of proposals by Unit Directors: by 12:00 p.m. on January 30, 2023
- Final decisions: Scheduled for February 2023
- Start of the recruitment process: April 2023, in coordination with doctoral schools (for doctoral researchers)
Eligible Expenses
Salary for a doctoral student (calculated according to theUM pay scale; currently 125.5 k€ for the 3-year period) or a early-career researcher (calculated according to theUM pay scale, currently between 51k€ and 55k€ per year, depending on the level of appointment and experience) for a maximum duration of 24 months; a budget for research expenses expressly justified by the project, which may include consumables, services, the purchase of a personal computer, and business trips other than to the Portuguese
laboratory, for a maximum amount of 10 k€ per year; a budget for travel expenses to the Portuguese laboratory (short- and long-term stays) for the recruits and their supervisors in Montpellier, specifically justified and not exceeding 9 k€ per year. These two
budgets are not interchangeable and may be allocated over the duration of the project as needed.
Selection Criteria
Resources will be allocated based on the following criteria:
- Alignment of the project with the overarching scientific objectives of the Teaming project.
- Effectiveness of the existing collaboration.
- Contribution of the UM partner UM the project's development at CIBIO (scientific or technical expertise, financial or material resources, etc.).
- Prospects for the project's development at CIBIO, within this collaboration and/or more broadly.
- Clarity and relevance of the objectives and expected outcomes.
- Feasibility (logistical and financial) of the new recruit’s project: An evaluation committee will review the eligible applications and rank them for final selection.
Download the call for proposals in PDF format – Download the form (.docx)