Call for projects EXPLORE#7, support for international mobility

[Call for projects] - Published on November 15, 2024 in Mobility

As part of the I-SITE Excellence Program (P.E.I), the University of Montpellier (UM) is launching EXPLORE#7, the seventh edition of its call for projects to support international mobility.

FUNDED ACTIVITIES

This call for projects provides  three distinct schemes:

1. Support for incoming or outgoing individual mobility stays for the exploration of new international collaboration projects by : professors, researchers, research professors, PhD students, engineers, technicians or administrative staff;
2. Support for outgoing collective mobility stays to develop new international collaborations (pedagogical, academic and/or scientific) by : professors, researchers, research professors, PhD students,  engineers, technicians or administrative staff from various P.E.I institutions; such projects may involve students;
3. Support for incoming individual mobility stays of Master students for research internships to enable the development of new strategic collaborations.

OBJECTIVES

This call for projects aims to promote international collaboration, increase the attractiveness and visibility of the Montpellier site, and contribute to new initiatives. Within the framework outlined above, any project exploring new international collaborations or extending existing collaborations to new activities, and offering clear added value for the P.E.I., may be considered for funding.

PREFERRED PARTNERS

Priority is given to the list of partners below; 75% of resources are earmarked for this priority. Proposals outside this list are therefore still possible, up to a maximum of 25% of resources.

*(1)Universities with a similar profile to UM: institutions interested in the three pillars of Feeding, Caring, and Protecting, focused on research, and open to bilateral student exchanges.

*(2) Existing arrangements (if added value is demonstrated)

• Platforms in partnership for research and training (dP) of the CIRAD
• International cooperation tools of the CNRS
  
• Cooperation tools of the INSERM
  
• International Joint Laboratories (LMI) of the IRD

ALLOCATED MEANS

The financial envelope allocated to the EXPLORE#7 program is €300,000.

ECO-RESPONSIBILITY

The candidates are invited to reduce their impact and to favor, when possible, less polluting modes of transportation. When applying online, candidates must enter the amount of CO2e potentially emitted during the round trip, using the Ademe calculation tool.

CALENDAR

• Call for projects launched: November 15, 2024
• Application deadline: January 24, 2025 (11:59 p.m., Paris time)
• Results announced by email: mid-March 2025
• Mobility commitment: from April 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026

EVALUATION

After an administrative review of the applications by the UM's International Relations Department, applications will be forwarded for evaluation to the EXPLORE#7 evaluation committee, chaired by the UM Vice President for International Relations and composed of members of the UM Academic Council (CAC), directors of UM research centers, and representatives of COMIS member institutions.

The committee will evaluate eligible applications and propose a ranking to be submitted to the UM Strategic Investment Committee (COMIS). COMIS decisions will be communicated by email starting March 12, 2025, to both successful and unsuccessful applicants.

SCHEMES 1 AND 2

1. INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY

Develop or expand international collaborations for: Doctoral students, with a view to preparing a post-doctoral career plan; Professors, researchers (tenured or on contract at the time of the mobility period); Engineers, technicians, or administrative staff (tenured or on contract at the time of the mobility period).  

2. OUTGOING COLLECTIVE MOBILITY

Develop or expand international collaborations (setting up training cycles, building international institutional partnerships, developing structuring research projects, etc.) for a group of 2 to 4 people composed ofProfessors, researchers, doctoral students, support staff (tenured or on contract at the time of mobility) from P.E.I. structures. Such groups may also include students. The group must be composed of people from different departments or institutions.

DETAILS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

The EXPLORE#7 call for projects (parts 1 and 2) funds grants consisting of:

• A daily allowance, which varies according to the country of destination (see Order of July 3, 2006 setting the rates of mission allowances), for a minimum of 5 days when travelling in Europe and for a minimum of 10 days when travelling outside Europe (excluding travel days). The allowance is capped at 30 days per beneficiary regardless of the total duration of the mobility;
• The management of public transportation costs based on actual expenseswithin the limit of one round trip per beneficiary. This coverage is capped according to the distance between the departure and arrival points calculated using the tool developed by the European Commission :
  • From 0 to 999 km: €600 per beneficiary
  • From 1,000 to 7,999 km: €1,300 per beneficiary
  • Over 8,000 km: €2,000 per beneficiary

Intended to cover additional mobility-related costs, these allowances may not under any circumstances be used to finance payroll costs. Do not apply for AAP EXPLORE#7 if funding for the same topic is available within the P.E.I.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Funding for mobility for the sole purpose of attending a symposium or conference is excluded from the EXPLORE call for projects. In addition to the criteria of consistency (scientific vision: "Feed - Care - Protect" and all disciplines that can contribute to it) and quality of the project, the following selection criteria will be taken into account:

• Exploratory and structuring character of the application, and presenting an added value for the P.E.I (reinforcement of excellence, acquisition of new skills, innovation) including for requests for mobility of agents not directly related to these themes;
• Stimulating the openness of Montpellier's communities to international collaboration by enhancing the partnership networks of institutions dedicated to the international stage and by developing collaborations with public or private stakeholders in the fields of training, research and development, or for pedagogical and organizational innovation;
• Collaborative effect induced within the P.E.I. through outgoing collective mobility stays potentially involving several academic and/or research structures of the P.E.I;
• A commitment of the hosting and outgoing structures in the exchange, in particular in terms of human and financial resources mobilized, is expected. Collaborations between academic/research structures involved in the P.E.I will be particularly appreciated.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications must be submitted by January 24, 2025 (11:59 p.m., Paris time) using the following form. You will need to provide: a brief description of the project, a letter of support with approval from the director of your educational and/or research institution, or from your line manager for administrative staff, and a letter of invitation from the director of the host educational and/or research institution. For group mobility, the application is submitted only once, by the project leader.

SCHEME 3: INCOMING INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY STAYS OF MASTER STUDENTS

ELIGIBLE PUBLIC

EXPLORE#7 is open to students from foreign partner universities (see list above) for individual incoming mobility in the form of a research internship lasting up to six months in the P.E.I. laboratories. Students must be enrolled in a Master's program at the time of their mobility. Students are not subject to any nationality requirements, but may be subject to the usual checks for access to laboratories.

DETAILS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

A maximum lump sum of €5,000 is paid to the host laboratory. This support is reduced proportionally in the event of mobility lasting less than six months. This sum should enable the host institutions to welcome the student in good conditions: internship remuneration, financing of consumables, etc. A simple provisional budget must be provided at the time of application. In addition, the student's travel expenses will be covered for a round trip, depending on the distance between the departure and arrival points:  0-999 km: €600; 1,000-7,999 km: €1,300; over 8,000 km: €2,000.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following selection criteria will be taken into account:

• Introduction to research: discovery of a research problematic;
• Learning content: acquisition of scientific techniques, conducting experiments, etc.. ;
• Collaborative effect induced within the P.E.I. : development of collaborations between researchers from foreign laboratories and researchers from P.E.I., thanks to student mobility scheme;
• A commitment to the exchange is expected from both the sending and receiving institutions, particularly in terms of the resources mobilized.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications must be submitted before January 24, 2025 (11:59 p.m., Paris time) by the researcher from the host institution who will supervise the intern using the following form:  

You will have to provide a brief description of the project including an estimated budget, a letter of support with a visa of approval from the director of the student structure and a letter of invitation from the director of the hosting structure.