COST Action IS1306 – Call for STSMs (Short Term Scientific Missions)

COST Action IS1306 (New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe – Opportunities and Challenges), to which CIDLeS belongs, is pleased to announce a call for STSMs (Short Term Scientific Missions). The call is now open for STSMs taking place from 15th October 2015 to 15 December 2015. You can apply online by 15th October 2015.

STSMs aim to:

• promote exchange and mobility within the scientific objectives of the Action;
• allow Action members (especially early stage researchers) to visit universities and institutions of another Party of the COST Action to learn new techniques or methodologies, or to work on joint publications.

The visits funded by COST can last from 5 to 10 days, but the money from COST helps to co-finance (not fully finance) the travel and stay. Please, note that the STSM participants do not obtain money before their trip, but are reimbursed afterwards. Notification of whether your proposed STSM will be funded and, if so, for what amount, will be sent out on or around 23rd October 2015.In order to apply you will have to complete several documents. 

1. The on-line application form (e-COST website).
   In this way a formal STSM application will be generated, which you have to download and send as an e-mail attachment to:
   – the proposed Host institution of the STSM
   – the STSM Coordinator (Michael Hornsby): mhornsby@wa.amu.edu.pl

You also need to send the STSM Coordinator the following documents: 

1. A letter from the host confirming the intention to host you. Please make sure that that host can confirm that your STSM fits broadly within or across one or more of the workgroups (see http://www.nspk.org.uk/upcoming-event-details/galway-meeting.html for the focus of the workgroups and this attachment).
2. A letter of support from the home institute. 
3. A motivation letter, which includes the work plan of the proposed STSM as well as a paragraph (1/2 page maximum) making explicit how the proposed STSM is relevant to the goals of Action IS1306 at this time. You should also closely relate your application to one or more of the current work groups (http://www.nspk.org.uk/upcoming-event-details/galway-meeting.html). If necessary, you are encouraged to contact the workgroup leaders with your proposal to check your STSM proposal fits within the broad framework of their focus, and to see whether it is an area that the workgroup could benefit from at the present time.
4. Your CV. 
5. Your budget for travel and subsistence. This must be well prepared (you need to look up ticket and hotel prices, and quote them; prices will be checked).

Please note that STSM grants are not designed to cover all expenses, but to contribute to the financing of your visits. STSM applications should follow the general guidelines of this Action: we recommend finding the cheapest transportation and the cheapest accommodation available. As voted at the Barcelona MC meeting, travel money should not exceed €300 (up to €500 if really necessary). Daily allowance (accommodation €65-100; subsistence and/or meals €30 euro per diem) will be granted for a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 working days. Your STSM can be longer, but the Action will not fund more than 10 days of the proposed stay. Please be sure to read the official COST guidelines for STSM (www.cost.eu/Vademecum). Practical information on STSMs, including example budgets, are available on the Action website http://www.nspk.org.uk/

All STSM proposals will be evaluated and ranked according to the following criteria: priority to early stage researchers, priority to projects most directly related to furthering the goals of the Action and only projects whose host is a member of the Action. If there are more applications than the budget of the call, you may obtain only partial funding because we will try to fund as many priority projects as possible.

After the completion of your STSM, you are expected to submit a short scientific report, the template of which will be forwarded to you once your application has been evaluated. This should be sent to the host institution, the MC Chair and the STSM coordinator within two weeks of completing the STSM. Please note that all paperwork must be received on time, otherwise it may not prove possible to issue a reimbursement. A confirmation by the host institution of the successful execution of your STSM is also needed. Finally, you are expected to write a blog post for our Action website (http://www.nspk.org.uk/) as a way of sharing your experiences with other Action members.