Call for Proposals: BIOPOLIS 2023 – 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 are partners 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 is intended to hire doctoral students and early-career researchers using funds from the Teaming project managed by UM (i.e., with appointments made by UM).
This initiative is part of Work Package 5 (WP5) of the Teaming project. We are targeting situations in which these early-career researchers can receive training in Montpellier (under the supervision of one or more researchers from Montpellier) as part of projects developed in collaboration with one or more researchers from CIBIO (joint supervision). These young researchers (doctoral candidates and early-career 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 recruitment at CIBIO).
While the first call for proposals supported projects stemming from existing collaborations between Montpellier and CIBIO, this second call for proposals paves the way for new collaborations, as the BIOPOLIS project is set to conclude in September 2027.
In total (across all calls for proposals), the UM will be able to fund at least 5 doctoral degrees and 10 years of early-career researcher contracts.BiopolisMontpellier funding will also cover the travel expenses of new recruits, their supervisors, 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 for research expenses and personal computer equipment.
Project Eligibility
The 10 joint research units (UMRs) involved inBiopolis(AGAP, AMAP, CEFE, CEEM, CBGP, DIADE, IHPE, IPSIM, ISEM, and MIVEGEC) are eligible to apply. The scientific project must align with one ofBiopolis’smain areas of focus (biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, and ecosystem services). All scientific disciplines are welcome.
Submission Guidelines
Projects from each unit must be submitted exclusively by the Unit Directors (UD). Applications must be submitted in PDF format according to the template available for download and sent by email.
Available amount
This call for proposals may fund the salaries of one to three doctoral researchers for three years each) and one to five early-career researchers (for up to two years each). Each recipient will receive a research grant and a separate grant for travel to the Portuguese laboratory (see eligible expenses below).
Calendar
- Official opening: April 17, 2023 (Reminder – A preliminary announcement was sent toBiopolisliaisons in the UMRs on April 12, 2023)
- Submission of proposals by Unit Directors: by 12:00 p.m. on June 12, 2023
- Final decisions: late June 2023
- Recruitment process begins: July 2023, in coordination with doctoral schools (for doctoral researchers)
Eligible expenses
Salary for a doctoral student (calculated according to the UM pay scale, currently €125,500 for the 3-year period) or a junior researcher (calculated according to the UM pay scale, currently between €51,000 and €55,000 per year, depending on the level of recruitment 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 travel other than to the Portuguese research
, for a maximum amount of €10,000 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 amounting to a maximum of €9,000 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 collaboration
- Contribution of the UM partner to 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 objectives and expectations
- Feasibility (logistical and financial) of the recruit's project
An evaluation committee will review the eligible applications and rank them for final selection.