2014 Infosession fellowships Agenda 1.Mission and key facts 2.Selection procedure and how to apply 3.Funding schemes of the FWO Pre-doctoral fellowships

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Infosession fellowships

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Agenda1. Mission and key facts2. Selection procedure and how to apply3. Funding schemes of the FWO

• Pre-doctoral fellowships (a.o. Aspiranten)• Postdoctoral fellows• Pegasus • Research and travel grants

4. Varia

2014 Infosession fellowships FWO

Infosession fellowships FWO 4

1. Mission and key facts• Mission of the FWO

• Funds fundamental scientific research (‘frontier research’)

• Bottom-up funding in all disciplines• Strong selection based on scientific excellence

and interuniversity competition (Flemish universities and, to a lesser extent, research institutes)

• Transparent and equal opportunities2014


1. Mission and key factsOur partners Universities (Leuven, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Hasselt)

Main (Strategic) Research Centers:

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1. Mission and key facts

• Label awarded in december 2010• Implementation of Charter & Code• Focus on transparent recruitment procedures and

family/gender friendly measures

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• Target groups of the FWO• Young researchers• Postdoctoral researchers• Established researchers• Research teams• Top-researchers and high-potential researchers

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1. Mission and key facts• Funding schemes of the FWO

• Funding for individual researchers• Pre- and postdoctoral fellowships, bench fees and grants

• Funding for research teams• Research projects, Big Science, Bilateral agreements, …

• Supporting mobility, international contacts and collaborations• travel grants, visiting postdoctoral fellowships, sabbatical leaves, scientific research

communities, organisation of conferences in belgium, international coordination actions, collaboration agreements, …

• Attracting excellent researchers, active abroad, to Flanders• Odysseus , Pegasus

• Awarding scientific prizes

www.fwo.be/en/fellowships-funding/2014


1. Mission and key facts• Budget 2014: 226 million EUR, ca. 80%

from Flemish Government

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1. Mission and key facts• Allocation 2014

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45%

2%1%

50%

3%

Mandaten

Wetenschappelijke contacten

Kredieten aan navorsers

Onderzoeksprojecten

Administratief beheer

14%

7%

15%

3%34%

28%

Biologische wetenschappenCultuurwetenschappenGedrags- en maatschappij-wetenschappenInterdisciplinairMedische wetenschappenWetenschap en technologie

• Distribution of the allocation

11

Evolution number researchers in function (1st Oct.)

Total 2014 : 2859 researchers funded by FWO

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

867

892

1100

AspirantenPostdoctorale onderzoekersOnderzoekers op onder-zoeksprojecten




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2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Predocs

VrouwMan

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Postdocs

VrouwMan


1. Mission and key facts• % foreign researchers (excl. Projects)

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1. Mission and key facts• Evolution success rate

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2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

23

25

15

AspirantenPostdoctorale onderzoekersOnderzoeksprojecten

Goal : 33%

Information session FWO 15

1. Mission and key facts• Events

February 2014

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http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2899423&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

http://www.researchgate.net/group/Research_Foundation-Flanders_FWO/

http://twitter.com/

2. Selection procedure and how to apply



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Call

Submission/eligibility

check

ExpertPanels(30+1)

(CIS)Board of Trustees

External referees (online)

1 February1 April

February/MarchApril/May

2 meetings/year in Brussels

25 June 201419 November 2014

Duration workflow fellowships: < 5 monthsDuration workflow projects: < 7 months



• FWO E-Portal (ww.fwo.be)(register at least 24 hours in advance)

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• Some important changes in the forms

• Project outline

• A standard template is presented with questions and instructions (Font Calibri 11 - max 10 pages).

• The applicant will be able to download it, fill it in and upload it again. (You can include lay-out, formulas, graphs, pictures, etc.)

• The FWO administration can reject the PDF if it doesn’t comply with the instructions and ask to adapt it.

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• Some important changes in the forms

• Postdoc renewal

• A subdivision for ‘career breaks’ is provided

• Templates of the application forms are online available (www.fwo.be)

2014 Infosession fellowships FWO

http://www.fwo.be/


• Publication lists within the E-portal• Based on FWO classification (A1.1, A1.2, A2, B1,

etc.)• Copy/paste of publications within each category is

possible• Automatic upload from Academic Bibliography

available (UAntwerpen, UGent, Uhasselt and KU Leuven). Only for the publication categories A1.1, A1.2, A2, B1, B2, B3 and C1.

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2. Selection procedure and how to apply• Ethical advice

• The applicant has to indicate whether an advice is necessary if human beings or animals are involved.

• The panel can also ask for an advice.• The advice has to be provided by the local ethical

commission (host institution).• The advice has to be submitted to FWO before the start of

the fellowship/work package concerned.• No advice no bench fee / termination of fellowship

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3. Funding schemes of the FWO

• Pre-doctoral fellowships• Postdoctoral fellows• Research and travel grants

• Deadline fellowships: 1 February – 17h00 (2/2/2015)• Start date: 1 October 2015• Applications in English

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• Fellowships: general remarks

• There is a maximum of 2 attempts to apply for a specific grant

• Evaluation and ranking (Pre- and Postdoctoral fellows)• Each panel can rank at most 2x the average of the number of grants awarded within that panel

the previous 3 years (with a minimum of 10).

• Applications for the Interdisciplinary Panel which are inadmissible based on the interdisciplinarity of the research proposal, can be redirected towards a monodisciplinary panel (after consultation of the applicant).

• Selection of the correct Expertpanel is very important

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• Predoctoral fellowships

• PhD Fellowships• Special PhD Fellowships• Clinical PhD Fellowships• ICM/FWO-PhD Fellowships

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• What?• 2 year, 1x renewable (2x2)• Full time research• In preparation of a PhD• Fellowship• Social security is paid (by FWO)• No personal taxes• Fiscally dependent on parents / partner (marriage or legally cohabiting)• Same pension rights as employees

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• Who can apply?• Nationality requirements:

– European Economic Area-citizen (or Swiss) and degree which allows you to obtain a PhD

– Non-EEA: basic degree awarded in an EEA-country (or Switzerland)

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• Who can apply?• Age limitations:

– < 31 years: no restrictions– ≥ 31 years: five years after awarding master degree (1 Oct.)

» In case more than one master degree, only degree in field of planned PhD is taken into account

» In any case: 1st degree no longer than 10 years ago (1 Oct.)» +1 year for pregnancy or parental leave

• Scientific seniority: ≤ 3 years (1 Oct.)– Training as Medical Doctor – or pharmacologist – counts for 50%

• Never before be appointed as FWO-fellow

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• Who can act as supervisor/promotor?1. a ZAP-member with an appointment of more than 10% at a Flemish university;2. a ZAP-member with an appointment of 10% at a Flemish university, with a specific research

mandate;3. a ZAP-member with an appointment of 5% at a Flemish university AND at the same time

appointed as (assistant) head of the clinic or in a similar function at an Academic Hospital in Flanders;

4. Academic personnel appointed at the Evangelische Protestantse Faculteit in Leuven or at the Faculteit voor Protestantse Godgeleerdheid in Brussels;

5. A research director of FWO;6. A nominative beneficiant of an ERC grant (Starting/Consolidator/Advanced) or an Odysseus II

grant. > only ERC Grants at Flemish universities

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• Who can act as co-supervisor (copromotor)? All co-supervisors should be

• researchers of at least postdoctoral level; • appointed at a Flemish university or the Transnational University of Limburg, a

Flemish research institution, a Flemish Academic hospital, or a Federal research institution.

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• Recommendation letter• Supervisor• Where applicable: co-supervisor

• Personal statement• Important element in evaluation • Each applicant should write his/her own letter

• No external referees => international Expert Panel

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• Personal statement

• The personal statement is your opportunity to discuss personal motivations, your (research) interests, your experience and activities, and your future goals. The Personal Statement should focus on your personal background or experiences that have significantly influenced you or your goals. It should be a document that describes your abilities, skills, and accomplishments as evidence of your aspirations for pursuing a career in research

• If you have interrupted your academic career at any given point for at least three months, you may provide details about this in your Personal Statement (optional).

• This Personal Statement should be written in English, and is limited to 3.000 characters, including spaces (ca. 500 words).

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• Evaluation and selection criteria (cfr. Evaluation template)

• Track record• Scientific independence • Research capability and potential• Originality and innovative nature of the project • Feasibility of the project • Purposefulness of the project • Methodology • Quality of coaching and assistance

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• Predoctoral fellowships and other schemes

• Publications

• The classification in the publication list does not imply a qualitative ranking order.

• The Expert panel evaluates the quality of the publications.

• The FWO does not put forward qualitative or quantitative norms.

(cf. publication list)2014



• Predoctoral fellowships and other schemes

• The criteria are scored by the Expert panel as follows:

• A+ marks for the top 5% of the proposals; • A marks for the top 10% of the proposals; • A- marks for the top 20% of the proposals; • B range only for the top 50% of the proposals; • C or D for the lower half of the proposals.

(Cf. Assessment Form)

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• Accountability

• Progress report / end report• Evaluated by FWO Expert Panels• FWO should be mentioned on each publication

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• Extra activities• Supervision of practica: max. 4 hours / week• Administrative / clinical tasks: max. 8 hours / week

Important: Progress of the PhD-research may not be jeopardised

NO other teaching activities are allowed2014




• Additional courses

• Registration for PhD-courses / doctoral school is allowed• Additional courses are possibleBUT• Progress of the PhD-research may not be jeopardised• ≤ 8 hours /week

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• Bench fee

• Each year € 3.720• Common responsibility of aspirant and supervisor• May be cumulated with other working allowances• Credit balances may be used the next year

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• Bench fee can be used for:• Travel and accommodation costs (congress, research stays, …)• Consumables used for the approved research project (computer, literature, …)• Publication costs• To buy chemicals or lab animals

• Bench fee cannot be used for:• Commuting expenses• Admission fee for (inter)national universities• Personal expenditures of the PhD• Overhead university• Costs made by other members of the research team

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3. Funding schemes of the FWO• Predoctoral fellowships

• Fellowships with an external partner: SCK.CEN, VITO and L’Oréal

• SCK.CEN• Each year 2 fellowships + bench fee• SCK Jury• Ranked FWO-applicants• FWO funds renewal

• VITO (also 2 postdoc)• Each year 2 fellowships + bench fee• VITO-Jury• Ranked FWO-applicants• FWO funds renewal

• L’Oréal

• Every 2 year 1 -2 (Life Sciences)

• Biomedical research

• Women in Science

• FWO funds renewal

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• Special PhD Fellowships

• What?• Intended to enable persons not employed in a research group to complete a PhD

within a year and to obtain study leave from their current employer for this purpose• Subject to social security• The stipend covers the net salary that is renounced by the candidate

• Advice, selection, evaluation• Cfr. PhD Fellowships

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• Special PhD Fellowships

• Who can apply?• Applicants need to have a permanent position (private sector, administration,

etc.)• Applicants may not be appointed as researcher

(Hogescholen: personel group 1 may apply, group 2 and 3 not)

• No clinicians• Never before awarded with a PhD fellowship• It must be possible to finish the PhD in 1 year

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• Clinical PhD Fellowships

• What?• PhD for medical doctors, veterinarians, dentists and pharmacists, who, no later than 1 October preceding the

fellowship, are recognized as medical specialists, veterinary specialists, dental specialists, general practitioner or pharmacist specialists in Belgium.

• Halftime exemption of clinical tasks for 2 years• Age limit: none • 50% of the salary costs (< 35.000 EUR)

• Advice, selection, evaluation • Director academic hospital/ head of the dep. of the animal clinic• Dean of the faculty

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• Clinical PhD Fellowships

• Who can apply?• Permanent position in an academic hospital / animal clinic of a Flemish

university / Flemish dep. of family medicine• Possible to complete your PhD in 2 years• Never been awarded before a PhD fellowship

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3. Funding schemes of the FWO• ICM PhD fellowships

• Current situation• Founded in 1970• Autonomous institution• Financial support: yearly FWO allowance

• The future of ICM• No participation anymore from French speaking part of Belgium• The Flemish participants go on• Adjusted to FWO-procedures• Continuation of exam and interview candidates

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3. Funding schemes of the FWO• ICM PhD fellowships

• 3 year stipend• Second year at foreign institution (management studies),

incl. tuition fee + travel expences• Possibility of applying for long stay abroad at FWO

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• Postdoctoral fellowships

• Postdoctoral Fellowships• Senior Clinical Investigator

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• What?• 3 years, 1x renewable (no longer 2nd renewal)• Full time research• Postdoctoral level (obtained PhD < 1 June 2015)• First step in academic career• No nationality requirements• No formal age limit:

• ≤ ix years after obtaining PhD in domain (1 Oct. 2014)• For other PhDs: no more than 12 years (1 Oct. 2014) • One extra year for each pregnancy or parental leave

(not applicable when < 36 on 1 Oct. 2014)

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3. Funding schemes of the FWO• Limitation postdoctoral seniority for application

• From call 2016-2017 (submission date: 1 Feb. 2016) on

• Max. 3 year postdoctoral seniority (on 1 june of submission year)

• Calculated from date of PhD diploma on • Limit extended with 1 year per pregnancy or parental leave

• 2015-2016 (submission date : 1 Feb. 2015) : transition period with current regulation

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3. Funding schemes of the FWO• Temporary suspension for research position abroad

• A FWO postdoctoral fellowship (1st or 2nd term) can be suspended during the period the postdoc occupies a full-time and paid research position (incl. stipend) at a foreign university/scientific institute/company.

• Why? Encouraging international mobility of researchers

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• In practice• Employment contract, 3 years• Renewable once

– Apply before 1 February of the last year• Salary is at the same level of doctor-assistant of a Flemish university• Seniority is taken into account• Disciplinary dependent of the host institution

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• Personal statement

• The personal statement is your opportunity to discuss personal motivations, your (research) interests, your experience and activities, and your future goals. The Personal Statement should focus on your personal background or experiences that have significantly influenced you or your goals. It should be a document that describes your abilities, skills, and accomplishments as evidence of your aspirations for pursuing a career in research.

• If you have interrupted your academic career at any given point for at least three months, you may provide details about this in your Personal Statement (optional).

• This Personal Statement should be written in English, and is limited to 3.000 characters, including spaces (ca. 500 words).

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• External advice• Head of the receiving research unit• At least 2 external referees

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• Selection procedure referees:• Applicant suggests 10 potential referees• APPLICANT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ELIGIBILITY OF THE REFEREES; IN CASE OF

ANY MISCONDUCT EACH APPLICATION WILL IMMEDIATELY BE INELIGIBLE • FWO-administration selects at random referees until at least 2 reports are

available

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• Postdoctoral fellowships• Not eligible as referee are:

• Members of the Board of FWO; • Members of an expert panel of FWO; • Those who are appointed at a Belgian university, research

institution or whatever other organization; • persons with a professional appointment to a foreign institute

where the applicant(s) had been enrolled as a student or professional after January 1st of the year n-3 (n=year of application);

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• Co-authors of the applicant(s) of a publication that has been submitted or published after 1 January of the year n-3 (n=year of application); Co-authorship is to be understood as follows:

– Co-authorship of a monograph of which the applicant is co-author as well;

– Co-authorship of an article or another type of contribution to a collection of which the applicant is co-author as well;

– Editors are not regarded as co-authors, insofar as they have not also acted as what is understood under ‘co-author’. Co-editors of the applicant are not accepted as external referees.

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• Partners of the applicant(s) in a research project that has been applied for or ongoing within the last three years prior to the final submission date for applications

• Applicants are responsible for the eligibility of the proposed referees! If the proposed referees do not comply with the eligibility criteria, the application will be declared ineligible!

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3. Funding schemes of the FWO• Postdoctoral fellowship

• Specification “research partners”:

• Art. 12, § 4: “partners of the applicant(s) in a research cooperation ,whether formalised in a research project or not, that has been applied for or has been running after January 1st of the year n-3 (n=year of application. In this context, the

following shall in any case qualify as research cooperation (non-exhaustive list):

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• Cooperation under a research fellowship, granted by the FWO;• Cooperation under a research project, whether relating to a specific subject or not or

under an international cooperation project, granted by the FWO;• Cooperation under the Odysseus programme or the Big Science programme, granted

by the FWO;• Cooperation under a Scientific Research Network, granted by the FWO;• Cooperation under programmes similar to those mentioned above, granted by

organisations other than the FWO;• Joint research work not formalised in a cooperation structure as defined above;• Research carried out in the research areas and/or with research facilities provided by

the applicant to the referee or vice versa;• …”

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• External referees

• When in doubt about the eligibility, applicants can contact FWO before submitting the application: [email protected] .

• The questions to the FWO before submission will be presented to the FWO referee commission of the appropriate scientific domain.

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mailto:[email protected]




• FWO Referee Commission

• 5 referee commissions, 1 for each domain (for applications submitted to the interdisciplinary panel, the referee commissions of the respective scientific domains will be consulted)

• Co-authorship in publications with > 10 authors FWO administration will consult the referee commission

• Referee commission will decide on the alleged eligibility of the proposed referees• When the referee commission decides negatively on the eligibility of a proposed

referee in an application that has already been submitted, this application will be disqualified!

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• FWO Referee Commission• Referee commission answers negatively to a question concerning

eligibility of a proposed referee that reached the FWO before application: applicant will be asked to propose a new referee that meets the eligibility criteria.

• After administrative check: FWO will inform applicants about violations that were found if alleged violations result from a factual error of the FWO administration, the FWO can be notified.

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• Applicants must see to it that any contact information of the reviewers is up-to-date not the case: FWO will not take further steps in tracking down the reviewer(s) and the applicant may be asked to submit new names.

• Applicants and reviewers may not in any way communicate with each other about any aspect of the application and of the evaluation.

• At the time of entry in application process: reviewers will need to declare that they comply with eligibility requirements or reviewers and that they will treat any information contained in the application as confidential and that they will not use any of this information for purposes other than the drawing up of their evaluation

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• Primarily, FWO administration will see to it that applicants strictly observe the eligibility regulations and other guidelines. It will inform the Board of Trustees about any violation of this sort. The Board of Trustees will take the final decision on these violations.

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• Selection criteria (1)• Quality of the applicant

– Research capability and potential such as» Publications in peer reviewed journals as well as other elements of the candidate’s CV» Patents, teaching, advanced courses, etc., taking into account the level of experience

– Research skills and methodology– Scientific independence (independent thinking, management experience and leadership

qualities)– Scientific background of the candidate– Mobility of the applicant (previous transnational and/or intersectoral mobility experience)

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• Selection criteria (2)• Quality of the proposal

– Originality and innovative nature of the project (progress beyond the state of the art)

– Feasibility of the project– Focus of the project– Relevance of the project– Coherence of the project

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• Selection criteria (3)• Quality of the context of employment

– Quality of the research environment of the host group (researchers, infrastructure, etc.)

– Quality of the supervision and training support of the host group

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• Accountability• Yearly progress report• FWO should be acknowledged on every publication• FWO should be informed about every foreign stay

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• Combining jobs: general max. 8 hours / week• Unpaid

– Administrative or clinical tasks– Guiding practica / seminars (1 hour = 2 hours)– ≤ 2 hours on yearly basis in teaching at a univ./institution for higher education (3 hours

on yearly basis in 2nd and 3rd mandate)• Parttime paid

– Appointment as fellow % reduced• Allowed without application

– Compensation for stay abroad– Compensation covers only travel and accomodation costs

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• A FWO postdoctoral fellowship (1st or 2nd term) can be suspended during the period the postdoc occupies a full-time and paid research position (incl. stipend) at a foreign university/scientific institute/company.

• Why? Encouraging international mobility of researchers

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• Conditions:• Suspension: min. 6 months / max. 2 years in total (1st + 2nd term taken

together)• Official request to the Secretary-General of FWO• Minimal 80% postdoc fellowship• No time gap between 1st and 2nd postdoctoral term: applications for

renewals : in the last full year of 1st term (incl. suspension) (year= 1 Oct. – 30 Sept.)

• Suspension not possible for– Senior Clinical Investigator– If the foreign position is part of a group or consortium receiving any

(in)direct public Flemish funding

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• Bench fee• Each year € 4.000• Responsibility of the researcher• Can be combined with other funding• Saldi may be used the next year

• Cf. PhD Fellowships

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• Mobility• Very important for postdoctoral fellows• Make use of (FWO) funding schemes for international mobility• Travel grants (short/long stay)• Bench fee: € 4.000

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• Senior Clinical Investigator

• Who can apply?• A medical specialist, general practitioner or pharmacist specialist in clinical

biology • Full-time clinical role at a university hospital• 5 years, 2 x renewable• Halftime exemption of clinical tasks• Obtained PhD (< 1 June 2015)

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• Senior Clinical Investigator

• Selection procedure referees:

> See Postdoctoral Fellowships

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• Research and Travel Grants

• Research grants> Together with call Research Projects (deadline: April 1st)

• Postdocs and ZAP (limited)• Personal research budget between € 2.500 and € 40.000• Grant for 1 year

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• Research and Travel Grants

• Travel grants• Bottom-up: free choice of destination and research topic• No grants inside Europe for Aspirant/IWT-fellowship and FWO-

postdoc• At least one publication• Types of grants:

– Attendance of international conferences / workshops– Short and long stays abroad

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• Earmarked Travel Grants: Belgian Historical Institute in Rome (BHIR)

• Stipends:• Stay + travel• For research in archives, libraries, archaeological digs and in museums• 1 week – 12 months (cf. FWO short and long stays)• Master or Doctorate in Humanities• Affiliation to Belgian university• Submission: September• Evaluation together and in interaction with Academia Belgica

See for more information: http://www.bhir-ihbr.be/en/index.php .

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http://www.bhir-ihbr.be/en/index.php

http://www.bhir-ihbr.be/en/index.php


3. Other Funding: Academia Belgica

• Academia Belgica, Rome (Secretariat by FWO)

• Research stays and stipends• Stipends:

• Stay + travel and living expenses• 1 – 9 months• Doctorate obtained in previous 3 academic years• Proposal for research activities in Rome • Support by 2 professors of a Belgian university• Submission: September• Evaluation together and in interaction with BHIR

See for more information: http://www.academiabelgica.it/ .

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http://www.academiabelgica.it/

http://www.academiabelgica.it/


More information on the FWO• Website of the FWO: www.fwo.be

• Information on strategy, regulations, scientific prizes, calls, …

• Free to download publications• More information on FWO:

http://www.geschiedenisfwo.be/

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http://www.fwo.be/

http://www.geschiedenisfwo.be/

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2899423&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

http://twitter.com/

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo

Documents

2014 Infosession fellowships Agenda 1.Mission and key facts 2.Selection procedure and how to apply 3.Funding schemes of the FWO Pre-doctoral fellowships