EMBO European Molecular Biology Organization

Application

About

EMBO Global Exchange intends to expand the EMBO philosophy of catalysing scientific exchange and fostering talented researchers beyond European borders. It aims specifically at countries that are increasingly committing resources to attain talent, knowledge and skills.

This reflects on the European paradigm that such worldwide exchanges and cooperation will generate considerable added value for all partners participating in this endeavour.

As part of EMBO Global Exchange, scientists resident in target areas (initially India, China, Taiwan and Africa) pair up with European scientists to organize lecture courses. The target group for these courses are local PhD students and post-docs who will have the opportunity to learn from experts about the latest developments in well-defined diverse topics. 30 – 40 participants are expected to benefit. The maximum support is 20,000 euro per course. Applications will be accepted twice annually.

Funding

The maximum funding provided for an EMBO Lecture Course is 20,000 euro. EMBO should be provided with an estimated budget for the event. Decisions on the amount of funding are made by the Global Exchange Committee.

EMBO funds should cover: advertising costs, travel and accommodation costs of the speakers, and accommodation and some of the local travel costs of the students. The host institution should cover part of the costs of meals and student accommodation during the course, if the total costs are estimated to exceed 20,000 euro.

Registration fees

It is expected that the participants (other than the speakers) will pay a proportion of their travel costs, but no other fees. A travel grant (flat fee of 50 euro per participant coming from over 50 km) can be paid to offset local participant’s travel costs. A fee of 600 euro should be charged to participants from industry. This should be paid directly to the organizer and included as income in the final financial statement.

How to apply

EMBO Global Exchange Lecture Courses must be held in an India, China, Taiwan or Africa. The application process is handled via the online application system. Applications should be received jointly from a local and an European scientist.

Each application is reviewed and evaluated by the EMBO Global Exchange Committee. Applicants are informed of the decision in early April and early October for the 1 February and 1 August calls, respectively.

Annual application deadlines: 1 February and 1 August for lecture courses planned at least 9 months after the relevant deadline.

Format of the course

Selection of speakers

An essential element to the success of the course is the local coordinator. His/her tasks include defining a general scientific topic of interest and collaborating with an European scientist, who will jointly choose an additional 6 - 8 speakers. While the participation of local speakers is encouraged, to maintain the international nature of the course, the number of local speakers should not exceed ~ 25%. Organizers are asked to consider the commitment of EMBO to a reasonable gender balance in all EMBO Programmes and activities.

Speakers are requested to stay for the entire duration of the course, or at least several days, in order to interact extensively with the students and have some overlap between speakers.

Selection of participants

The local coordinator will be responsible for advertising the course, and selecting, following discussion with co-organizers, the best 30 - 40 post-graduate or post-doctoral students. Local participants should be stringently selected to ensure that excellent students, with a strong interest in pursuing a scientific research career, will benefit from the opportunity. As the lecture courses aim at exposing the students to the underlying concepts of a particular field, they are not only directed at students who already work in the field. In addition, students should be selected from a wide range of institutes/universities. EMBO requests that organizers ensure a reasonable gender balance and that the participants have sufficient command of English to benefit maximally from the course.

Format of the course

The courses are intended to attract students from all areas of biology who want to deepen their knowledge in a particular field. Therefore the courses should focus on teaching the concepts in that field in order to allow all participants to gain a thorough understanding of the topic.

Courses should be between one and two weeks in duration. The course should include lectures, discussion groups, poster sessions, journal clubs and some lab demonstrations, which should be facilitated by the local organizer. These courses are not intended to familiarize the participants with a particular set of techniques. Instead, they should expose the students to the underlying concepts of a particular field, regardless of their scientific background. Thus, it is essential that introductory basic lectures are followed by more in-depth lectures. Each speaker should give several talks both at basic and more advanced levels. The speakers are also encouraged to present their own research interests. This could be organized as a half-day session during the course, which could be opened up to enable the attendance of local scientists.

Location of the course

The course should be held at a research institute or at an university. This will also allow local scientists to attend selected lectures.

Poster sessions

When planning poster sessions, organizers should ensure that:

• these are in close proximity to where lectures are being held
• these sessions are not held at the end of the day
• sufficient and dedicated time is provided for poster viewing
• a brief oral presentation is given by participants (where possible).

Advertising & Payment

Advertising & co-sponsorship

All EMBO Global Exchange Lecture Courses will be advertised on the EMBO website. Additional advertising (e.g. in local scientific journals, printing and distribution of poster) is left at the organizer's discretion and should be mentioned as an expense in the proposed budget. It is a strict condition of EMBO support that any additional publicity, as well as the programme and abstract book, should clearly indicate the event as an EMBO  Global Exchange Lecture Course and must include the EMBO logo with suitable prominence (co-sponsorship may be acknowledged).

Online HelpDesk

The EMBO Online HelpDesk will organize the setup of all websites (including online registration) and design meeting posters. Full details will be supplied to organizers shortly after funding has been confirmed to organizers.

Payment of the grant

The first payment (80% of the total funding) will be transferred to organizers three months prior to the start of the course. EMBO must be notified of any significant changes to the lecture course budget. Payment of the remaining funds will be transferred to the organizers once the final documentation has been submitted to and approved by EMBO.

Final Documentation

Final Documentation

The following documentation must be submitted to EMBO (on the forms provided) within six months following the end date of the course. Failure to do so will result in the final payment being forfeited.

• Short report about the course (scientific and general - this should include a short scientific overview, the reaction of the participants to the location and organization, and any other relevant comments)
• Final financial statement, which must include all income and expenditure relating to the lecture course. (Please note that all receipts must be retained by the organizer for five years after the course, for possible auditing)
• Statistics (list of participants and instructors, including their nationality and gender)
• Programme and/or abstract book (in print form or on CD)
• Participants’ questionnaires (form provided by EMBO) to be distributed and completed by the participants
• List of travel grant awardees (including name, institute, address and signature).