ECIU recognises the importance of developing a culture of transnational and multidisciplinary collaboration among its researchers at different member institutions all together. Being aimed at stimulating and facilitating its researchers for cross member institutions scientific collaboration, the ECIU Researcher Mobility Fund (RMF) is launched to promote researcher exchanges and scientific visits. A researcher, incl. PhD candidate for research at any member institution of the ECIU may apply a grant for travels and associated costs to visit other member institutions to establish and extend collaboration for research. Mobility taking place in this framework in 2025 and 2026 will be mainly focused on visits aiming at facilitating exchanges of research ideas that will potentially lead to the submission of joint applications to EU, national or international funding schemes.
The Aim of the ECIU Researcher Mobility Fund:
- Promote interactions and strengthen research collaboration among researchers across all member institutions of the ECIU.
- Catalysing international research excellence and improving high-quality research outputs within ECIU, for example towards joint research funding applications, publications, and research projects.
- Support professional development on research career through acquiring specific know-how from experience and good practice at another member institution.
- Provide access to the excellent research facilities at member institutions of ECIU.
Who can apply
Any researcher and Ph.D. candidate for research at TUHH are welcome to apply.
Funding available
Applicant may apply for up to €5,000. Each member institution of ECIU makes €20,000 per year in 2025 and 2026 for the ECIU Researcher Mobility Fund dedicated to the researchers of the member institution.
In case an ECIU institution has available funds and does not have own candidates, this institution can decide to use the funds to host incoming researchers from other ECIU Institutions, provided that the visits are aiming at promoting future joint applications to any funding scheme.
Research fields supported
RMF is in general open to all disciplines with preferences given to applications addressing the common research fields of ECIU network.
Examples of exchanges supported by RMF
Participants are encouraged to explore different types of exchanges, based on their needs, including but not limited to following examples:
- Research activities as the focus to strengthen research collaboration, prepare for future research publications, projects, and funding applications.
- Intensive programme for Ph.D. candidates with opportunities to take a short-term intensive study course at a member institution.
- Shadowing programme for researchers or research supporting staff with opportunities to get acquainted with a host institution’s research infrastructure, working methods or organisational model.
- Training programme for RMF participants to travel to a host institution for a specific training purpose.
What can the funding be spent on
The RMF in general is used for outgoing travels and associated subsistence costs to visit member or associate member institutions of the ECIU. The applicant remains an employee of TUHH, which is responsible for awarding grants to applicants from the same institution and paying the usual salaries according to its own financing rules and regulations.
The funding in principle covers following types of costs and expenditure:
- Costs for travels (e.g., tickets of bus, train and flights) and associated subsistence costs (e.g., accommodation and travel allowance).
- If experiments are planned, coverage of lab costs (including access) needs to be agreed between participating member institutions before the mobility.
The funding in principle does not cover following types of costs and expenditure:
- Attendance fees for conference or symposium, as well as costs for consultancy work for research proposals.
- Bench fees charged by a hosting member institution.
- All personal expenses of participants.
Duration of stay at a member institution
We encourage applicants to stay for a minimum of 5 days. A shorter stay can be negotiated on individual basis.
Insurance
The applicant must make sure that he or she has sufficient insurance coverage at all necessary levels while traveling abroad.
How to apply for RMF
Contact Krista Schölzig or Nicole Frei [could you link mail adresses here?] and they will provide you will all imformation.
Evaluation of your applications
Criteria used to assess and select applications in principle include, but not limited to following aspects whether
- purpose and clarity of outcomes from proposed collaboration are clearly articulated.
- research goals behind the collaboration are clearly identified.
- resulting research and/or knowledge exchange benefits to collaborating parties and universities are evident.
- longer-term mechanisms for supporting collaboration beyond ECIU fund are considered.
- application is economically budgeted.
Final Report
Participants need to provide a report after their stay indicating potential calls they have scouted together with the hosting researcher for potential follow-up projects.
