Go Abroad with the ECIU Researcher Mobility Fund

‍Status: long-term open call for applications

Submission Deadline: please check with your local contact person if there is a deadline for application at your institution

Grant Size: up to 5,000 Euros per grant

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The Aim of the ECIU Researcher Mobility Fund:

• Promote interactions and strengthen research collaboration among researchers across all member institutions of the ECIU.
• Catalysing international research excellence and improving high-quality research outputs within ECIU, for example towards joint research funding applications, publications, and research projects.
• Support professional development on research career through acquiring specific know-how from experience and good practice at another member institution.
• Provide access to the excellent research facilities at member institutions of ECIU.
• Enable researchers to join conferences organized by the ECIU to network and start working on new proposals.

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Who can apply

Any researcher, Ph.D. candidate for research based at a member institution of ECIU are welcome to apply. The RMF is open to all disciplines.

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Funding available

Applicant may apply for up to €5,000 with a grant through the member institution which the applicant is based at.

Each member institution of ECIU makes €20,000 per year in 2026, 2027 and 2028 for the ECIU Researcher Mobility Fund dedicated to the researchers of the member institution.

In case an ECIU institution has available funds and does not have own candidates, this institution can decide to use the funds to host incoming researchers from other ECIU Institutions, provided that the visits are aiming at promoting future joint applications to any funding scheme.

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What can the funding be spent on

The RMF in general is used for outgoing travels and associated subsistence costs to visit member or associate member institutions of the ECIU. The applicant remains an employee of the home institution, which is responsible for awarding grants to applicants from the same institution and paying the usual salaries according to its own financing rules and regulations.

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The funding in principle covers following types of costs and expenditure:

• Costs for travels (e.g., tickets of bus, train and flights) and associated subsistence costs (e.g., accommodation and travel allowance).
• If experiments are planned, coverage of lab costs (including access) needs to be agreed between participating member institutions before the mobility.

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The funding in principle does not cover following types of costs and expenditure:

• Attendance fees for conference or symposium, as well as costs for consultancy work for research proposals (except for ECIU research conferences).
• Bench fees charged by a hosting member institution.
• All personal expenses of participants.

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Duration of stay at a member institution

Applicants are encouraged to stay preferably a minimum of 5 days, but shorter stays are possible.

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Insurance

The applicant must make sure that he or she has sufficient insurance coverage at all necessary levels while traveling abroad.

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How to apply for RMF

Contact the RMF Contact Person at your member institution where you are based to receive information on how to apply for a grant.

Each member institution of ECIU publishes regulations on RMF, including details of criteria on application, assessment, data protection provisions, the general rights and obligations of grant providers and grant holders etc., on its own website.

The application will be sent to and further assessed by the member institution where the applicant is based.

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Evaluation of your applications

Decision to award a RMF grant is made by the member institution where the applicant is based. Criteria used to assess and select applications in principle include, but not limited to following aspects whether

• purpose and clarity of outcomes from proposed collaboration are clearly articulated.
• research goals behind the collaboration are clearly identified.
• resulting research and/or knowledge exchange benefits to collaborating parties and universities are evident.
• longer-term mechanisms for supporting collaboration beyond ECIU fund are considered.
• application is economically budgeted.

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Final Report

Participants need to provide a report after their stay indicating potential calls they have scouted together with the hosting researcher for potential follow-up projects.