Overview

Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowships are specifically for active molecular life scientists who are resident in Ukraine at the point of application, or displaced from Ukraine as a result of war in the country. They should be a member of the Ukrainian Biochemical Society or hosted by a scientist who is a member of a FEBS Constituent Society.

Guidelines for Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowships

To be read in conjunction with the General Guidelines for Fellowships.

1. These Fellowships are for short-term visits to a host laboratory for a period of up to 4 months and have a fixed monetary value of €12,000 to use for travel to the host laboratory and living subsistence for the duration of the Fellowship.

2. The purpose of Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowships is to specifically help Ukrainian molecular life scientists, given their current situation, to develop scientific collaborations with host researchers and organizations in FEBS countries (countries with a FEBS Constituent Society), with the hope of attracting further funding to extend their joint research stay, if required. The collaborations should be of mutual research interest to both Fellow and host and could involve developing joint research projects, undertaking advanced training or employing techniques not available at the usual place of work.

3. Applicants must have a PhD and at least one recent published paper (within the last 3 years) in an international scientific journal.

4. Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowships are not awarded for attendance at courses, symposia, meetings or congresses.

5. Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowships are intended to cover subsistence and travel costs to the host lab for the Fellow only. The daily subsistence allowance is calculated at €100 per day and a non-negotiable fixed amount of €12,000 for a stay of up to 4 months, will be provided.

6. Applications may be made at any time, but should be submitted at least three months before the proposed starting date. If the application is successful the Fellowship can start as soon as is practicably possible, but should in any case start within 6 months of the Fellowship being awarded. Any delay will require the authorization of the Chairperson of the FEBS Excellence Awards and Fellowships Committee. The proposed visit should not overlap with the period from 22nd December until 3rd January.

7. Only one application for a FEBS Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowship can be considered from any given home lab in a 6-month period.

8. Only one application per host lab will be funded within a 6-month period.

9. A period of two years must elapse before applications for a second award of a FEBS Ukrainian Short-Term Fellowship will be considered.

10. The application process is handled via the online application system.

11. Completed online applications written in English will be submitted to the Chairperson of the FEBS Excellence Awards and Fellowships Committee and will include the following information:

a.  An outline of the research proposal, sufficiently detailed, of no more than 1000 words, should include (converted into a pdf file):
i. title;
ii. nature of the work and outline of the experiments proposed;
iii. why the particular laboratory has been selected, including a list of relevant publications (up to five) from the host laboratory.

b.  A short curriculum vitae with a list of publications in the format of the references required by The FEBS Journal. Abstracts should not be included.

c.  The host acceptance form from the appointed head of the host institute or department, countersigned by the head of the research group(s) in which the applicant will be working, confirming that the applicant will be accepted to work at the institute, that its facilities will be made available to him/her to pursue the research proposed and that it will not ask FEBS or the applicant for any additional research grant, bench fees, or overheads. In addition, the host or host institute should try to facilitate additional funds if possible to allow the Fellow to remain at the host laboratory for a longer stay if required. This information should be provided on the official host acceptance form that can be downloaded from the application system, and should be scanned and uploaded with the other applications documents.

d.  A referee’s letter of support. A letter of support is required from an experienced scientist who knows the applicant and does not work at the host institute. This letter should be written on headed paper of the referee’s laboratory. The letter should confirm the applicant is resident in Ukraine, or displaced from Ukraine as a result of war in the country. Referees will be provided with a link for direct upload of their letter. Candidates are advised to notify their referee well in advance.

e.  A dated letter from the appropriate FEBS Constituent Society confirming that either the applicant (if possible) or the host is a member. The letter should be scanned and uploaded with the other documents.

12. Within three months of completion of the Fellowship, Fellows must send electronically to the Chairperson of the FEBS Excellence Awards and Fellowships Committee a short report detailing the work done while in receipt of the Fellowship. The FEBS Fellowship should be acknowledged in any work published relating to the project funded and two reprints of each article should be sent electronically to the Chairperson of the FEBS Excellence Awards and Fellowships Committee.