Call for projects EXPLORE#8, support for international mobility

[Call for projects] - Published on November 7, 2025 in Mobility

As part of the I-SITE Excellence Program (P.E.I), the University of Montpellier (UM) is launching EXPLORE#8, the eighth edition of its call for projects to support international mobility.

Note: The positions mentioned in this call for applications are open to both women and men.

FUNDED ACTIVITIES

1. Support for incoming or outgoing individual mobility of teachers, Professors, researchers, engineers, technicians, or administrative staff ( tenured or on contract at the time of mobility) for the exploration of new international projects;
2. Support for outgoing collective mobility of teachers, Professors, researchers, engineers, technicians, or administrative staff from several departments or institutions within the P.E.I. ( tenured or contract employees at the time of mobility) for the exploration of new international projects;
3. NEW – Support for incoming or outgoing individual mobility of doctoral students for research stays that strengthen or develop strategic collaborations.

OBJECTIVES

This call for projects aims to promote international collaboration and contribute to new initiatives. Projects must demonstrate clear added value for the P.E.I. and go beyond the international activities usually carried out by each institution as part of its normal activities.

For staff mobility, priority will be given to projects that aim to create or expand student mobility programs or internationalized training courses, or to initiate the development of partnership research projects that are likely to receive further funding (Europe; funding agencies; etc.).

For doctoral student mobility, priority will be given to projects that can contribute to acquiring knowledge/expertise and strengthening/developing international collaboration between research units or institutions.

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 possible, up to a maximum of 25% of resources.

*(1) Any university with a profile similar to that of UM, i.e., a research-oriented institution open to bilateral student exchanges and interested in the three pillars of "Feeding, Caring, and Protecting."

ALLOCATED MEANS

The financial envelope allocated to the EXPLORE#8 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 7, 2025
• Application deadline: January 16, 2026 (11:59 p.m., Paris time)
• Results announced by email: starting at the end of March 2026
• Mobility commitment: May¹, 2026 to December 31, 2027

EVALUATION

After an administrative review of the applications by the UM's International Relations Department, the applications will be forwarded for evaluation to the EXPLORE#8 evaluation committee, chaired by the UM's Vice President for International Relations and composed of members of the UM's Academic Council (CAC), directors of the UM's 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 to successful and unsuccessful applicants from the end of March 2026.

DIAGRAMS 1 AND 2 – INCOMING AND OUTGOING MOBILITY FOR STAFF

1. Individual mobility

Create or expand student mobility programs or internationalized training courses; initiate the development of partnership-based research projects that are likely to receive subsequent funding (Europe; funding agencies; etc.).

2. Outgoing collective mobility

Develop or expand international collaborations (setting up training cycles, building institutional partnerships, developing structured research projects, etc.) for a group of two (or three) people from two (or three) different P.E.I. structures.

DETAILS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

The EXPLORE#8 call for projects (parts 1 and 2) funds grants consisting of:

• NEW – A daily allowance, depending on the destination country (Decree of July 3, 2006), capped at 7 daily allowances per beneficiary regardless of the total duration of the mobility period;
• 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#8 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:

• Potential in terms of submitting projects in the field of education (student mobility; internationalized training; ERASMUS+ projects; etc.) as well as in the field of research (European research projects; development aid projects; etc.).
• Commitment of host and sending institutions to the exchange, particularly in terms of human and financial resources mobilized where applicable;
• Collaborative effect generated within the P.E.I. through group mobility involving several P.E.I. training and/or research structures.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications must be submitted by January 16, 2026 (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.

DIAGRAM 3 – INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS

ELIGIBLE PUBLIC

EXPLORE#8 is open to doctoral students for incoming or outgoing individual mobility in the form of a research stay lasting at least two weeks. Students must be enrolled in a doctoral program at the time of their mobility.

DETAILS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

NEW The EXPLORE#8 call for projects provides a contribution towards travel and accommodation expenses of up to €3,500 (maximum) per doctoral student, which is supplemented by resources from the sending and/or host institutions.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following selection criteria will be taken into account:

• Learning content: acquisition of scientific techniques, conducting experiments, etc.. ;
• Collaborative effect : development of collaborations between researchers from foreign laboratories and researchers from P.E.I. laboratories thanks to the mobility of doctoral students;
• Commitment of the sending and receiving organizations to the exchange, particularly in terms of resources mobilized.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications must be submitted before January 16, 2026 (11:59 p.m., Paris time) using the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/Fb649d7L3a

You will need to provide: a brief description of the research project, including a simple provisional budget (using the dedicated form), a letter of support with approval from the director of your educational and/or research institution, a letter of invitation from the director of the host educational and/or research institution, and a detailed budget specifying co-financing.

Keywords: call for proposals, I-SITE, I-SITE Excellence Program