ITC Conference grants

ITC CONFERENCE GRANTS

The aim of ITC Conference Grants, as defined in the COST Annotated Rules, is to support PhD students and Early Career Investigators (ECI) from INTERACT institutions located in Inclusive Target Countries (ITC) to attend international science and technology related conferences not specifically organized by the COST Action.

Inclusive Target Countries (as of March’22): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia and Turkey (See here for the most updated list).

APPLICATION

Applications should be submitted according to the procedure detailed below:

Step 1: Formal registration of the ITC Conference Grant request via the e-COST platform.

An eligible applicant submits a request for a Conference Grant by logging into e-COST and clicking on ‘Grant Applications’ and then on the ‘ITC Conference Grants’ button. Alternatively, click here.

The ‘ITC Conference Grants’ tab will not be available in the following cases:

  • If the applicant’s e-COST profile is incomplete. If so, (s)he will first have to fill in the missing information (affiliation, education details, CV)
  • If the primary affiliation of the applicant is not in an ITC country
  • If the Education details of the applicant do not demonstrate that (s)he is a PhD student or an ECI.

To submit a new application, the applicant clicks on the ‘Create Conference Grant Request’ button.

Next, the applicants need to supply the required administrative/financial information and, also, upload the following supporting documents:

  • ITC Conference Grant application: This form includes details on the (i) conference and accepted contribution; (ii) relevance of the conference topic to the COST Action; and (iii) motivation and expected impact. The template can be downloaded from the eCOST platform (see ‘Download Grant Application template’ in the figure below) and also from here.
  • A copy of the abstract of the accepted oral/poster presentation.
  • A copy of the accepted contribution (oral or poster).
  • Acceptance letter from the conference organizers, confirming either your speaking slot or your poster presentation.
  • Applicant’s CV: A full CV including a list of academic publications, if applicable.
  • A short description of your involvement in the CA20120 (INTERACT) Action.
  • Proof of enrolment in an official PhD programme or post-doc condition.

When uploading supporting documents, please, select the following options in the dropdown menu ’Document Type’ (see figure below):

Supporting document
Menu option
ITC Conference Grant application.
Grant application.
A copy of the abstract of the accepted oral/poster presentation.
Copy of the abstract of the accepted oral/poster presentation.
A copy of the accepted contribution (oral/poster).
Copy of the accepted contribution.
Acceptance letter from the conference organizers.
Acceptance letter from the conference organizers.
Applicant’s CV.
Other.
A short description of your involvement in the CA20120 (INTERACT) Action.
Other.
Proof of enrolment in an official PhD programme or post-doc condition.
Other.

Step 2: Evaluation of the ITC Conference Grant application.
The Grant Awarding coordinator organizes the evaluation of your ITC Conference Grant application.

Step 3: Approval by the Core Group.

The Action Chair or the Grant Awarding coordinator informs the Grant Holder that the proposed ITC Conference grant has been approved. Based on the available budget, a maximum grant of 1000,00 EUR will be attributed per grant.

Step 4: Activation by the Grant Holder.
The Grant Holder activates the ITC Conference Grant on e-COST.

Step 5: Start of the Mission.
After the reception of the approval, you can start your mission.

Note:

  • All ITC Conference Grants activities must occur in their entirety within a single Grant Period and always within the action lifetime. Grant Periods run from November 1st of year n to October 31st of year n+1.

AFTER THE CONFERENCE

After completing your mission, it is required to upload the following documents to the on-line tool in the eCOST platform, for approval:

  • Scientific Report: Following this template.
  • Certificate of attendance.
  • Programme of the conference or book of abstracts / proceedings, indicating the presentation (oral or poster).
  • Copy of the given presentation (oral or poster).

Notes:

  • 1 day and 15 days after the end of the participation in the conference, the grantee receives a reminder to upload the scientific report. The deadline to submit the last supporting document is 30 calendar days from the end of the participation in the conference (and always within 15 calendar days from the end date of the Grant Period). The submission of the report is mandatory. Otherwise the Grant is cancelled. Late submission, beyond the deadline, can also lead to the cancellation of the Grant.
  • If the application is rejected, the MC Chair must provide a justification to guide the grantee in her/his resubmission. If the MC Chair approves the report, the GH is notified that the grant can be paid.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND RULES

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the detailed information provided by COST.

  1. Full details on COST Annotated Rules  – Annex 2 (Networking Activities Organised through a Grant Awarding Process). Please read the COST Annotated Rules carefully!
  1. In addition, for further information we recommended to visit the COST website: Conference grants: a new COST networking tool

 

LIST OF COMPLETED ITC CONFERENCE GRANTS 2021/2022

Personal information:

<Name and Family name>, <Affiliation>, <Country>

Photo:

<Insert Photo>

Period:

From <start date> to <end date>

STSM Title:

<Insert Title>

Host Institution:

<Institution Name> <City> <Country>