Who is eligible?
'Any e-COST user who is a PhD student or an Early Career Investigator (ECI) and is affiliated with an institution located in an ITC country participating in the Action can submit an application request for an ITC Conference Grant. The applicant must be engaged in an official research program as a PhD Student or postdoctoral fellow.'
ITC (Inclusiveness target countries) are:
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Serbia and Turkey.
ECI is defined as a researcher whose career spans less than 8 years between the date of the PhD/doctorate (or similar experience) and the date of involvement in the COST Action. Periods of career leave must be added to this time span. You must be giving a talk or presenting a poster at the conference. The conference location is not limited to Europe (though European conferences are generally preferred by COST).
How to apply?
Log into eCOST
If you are new to eCOST you will have to create an account and provide details of affiliation, education etc. (your profile).
Click on the 'ITC Conference Grants' tab (this tab appears only if you are registered as from an ITC).
Click on 'Create Conference Grant request' and you will get the application form; this is mostly self-explanatory. It includes applicant details; the COST Action (hCOMET is CA15132); details of the conference; the Grant Period [this refers to the COST Action; we are in year 2, and conference dates must fall within the current grant period]; and your bank account details.
You also must estimate the amounts required for travel, subsistence (max. €160/day), and conference fee (max. €500). The amount you finally receive cannot exceed this estimate.
NB: You can save the request only if all fields on the form have been completed.
After saving the request, click on the button to take you to the next page which asks for supporting documents:
- CV with publications list
- Short description of your involvement in hCOMET
- Confirmation from conference organizers of speaking slot or poster presentation
- Copy of abstract of talk or poster
Upload files and submit request.
What happens next?
The application goes to the Chair of the Management Committee for approval. The Chair must confirm the applicant's status as PhD student or ECI, agree with the amount of the grant, and confirm the completeness and validity of the supporting documents.
If the application is rejected, the MC chair must give a response (and guidance for a re-application).
After approval of the application, the Grant Holder is informed and (assuming funds are available) activates the application; the grant letter is sent to the applicant.
Timeline
The application must be submitted at least 45 days before the conference start date.
You will not receive a grant until after the conference.
Within 15 days of the end of the conference, you will receive a reminder to submit a scientific report using a template available on the 'Supporting Documents' page of the application or DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE.
The deadline for submitting the report is 30 days after the end of your participation in the conference. The report has to be approved by the MC chair before the Grant Holder pays the award to the applicant.
Andrew Collins, hCOMET MC chair
