ECR Mobility Fund 2024

The Oxford Berlin Research Partnership aims to foster mobility and to help build stronger networks between the partner institutions. We also want to further the involvement of researchers at the beginning of their career.

To that end, funding is now available to support Early Career Researchers (postdoctoral and doctoral students) from Oxford and Berlin who are planning a short-term visit at a partner institution in the other city to pursue research as part of existing or recently initiated collaborations between the partners.

The award is made following the recommendation of the Academic Directors of the partnership and the members of the Academic Liaison Committee (https://www.berlin-university-alliance.de/commitments/international/oxfo...). The funds are intended to cover costs for travel, accommodation and a daily subsistence allowance for research visits taking place between 1 July 2024 and 30 November 2024 (min. 2 weeks, max. 8 weeks in total – see: Appendix 1 – visa details).

Application:

• Please fill in the application form (attached).
• For Oxford researchers going to Berlin: please supply written consent (for example, an email thread) from Faculty/Department that they are willing to administer your funding allocation, if successful.

The application document asks you address the following areas:

• A short description of the existing or recently initiated connection between the applying Early Career Researcher and the project that they will be visiting or working on.
• Other concrete measures and projects in which the applicant will be involved during their time in Berlin or Oxford.
• The main activities of focus (e.g. lab work, participation in workshops, field work).
• Details of the duration and period of the planned stay.

All applications must be submitted by email to oxber@berlin-university-alliance.de by midday, on 28 May 2024.

Eligibility and other requirements:

Postdoctoral researchers and doctoral students of the University of Oxford or BUA partner institutions (FU, HU, TU, Charité) working with researchers from an already existing or recently initiated collaboration between Oxford and Berlin.

Your application will be reviewed against the following criteria:

• Academic Merit/Clarity (40% weighting)
• Added value of the collaboration between Berlin and Oxford (20%)
• Potential for further collaboration and acquisition of third-party funding (20%)
• Experience and composition of the PIs/teams (10%)
• Diversity of the teams and topics (10%)

Upon completion of the review process, you will be notified of the outcome of your application by email. We regret that we will not be able to provide personalised feedback on any applications.

After the cooperation activities are completed, we will ask you to submit an informal short report and will provide the corresponding online form to you.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at oxber@berlin-university-alliance.de.

We will hold a virtual information session to discuss the programme and further activities of the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership with interested potential applicants. This will take place on 14 May at 14:00 UK time/ 15:00 German time. Please register here by noon on 13 May – we will send out the link to join this session one day before.

_____________________________________________________

How much funding can be applied for (for Oxford Researchers going to Berlin):

The funding is available for a period of a minimum of two and a maximum of up to eight weeks to be spent in Berlin. The maximum funding amount available is €4,500.

Accommodation

You can receive up to 70 euros for an overnight stay excluding the cost of breakfast. If the actual cost of your overnight stay exceeds 70 euros per night, you must provide an explanation for the full amount to be reimbursed. Acceptable reasons include e.g.:

Cheaper accommodation was unavailable due to exceptional reasons

(If your indicative cost is higher than 70 euros per night, please note this in the budget section of your application form.)

Daily subsistence allowance

You can charge €28 for a 24-hour stay.

If meals are covered (e.g. breakfast in a hotel), please reduce the lump sum. For a breakfast, this is by €5.60 (20 percent of €28). For lunch or dinner, please reduce the lump sum by €11.20 (40 percent of €28).

On the day of arrival and departure, the subsistence is €14.

Travel

There is no guideline for flight/travel costs, but the principle of economic efficiency applies.

Reimbursement / Invoice submission

Please note that the University of Oxford’s International Engagement Office will organise that each awardee’s funds will be transferred to their Faculty/Department from 1 August 2024. This will enable activity to take place within the new financial year. Oxford Researchers are asked to complete all trips until the end of June 2025. Please note that you should submit all reimbursement requests to your Faculty/Department by end of June 2025.

All administration of reimbursements from the award will be undertaken by the Faculty/Department.

_________________________________________________________

How much funding can be applied for (for BUA Researchers going to Oxford):

The funding is available for a period of a minimum of two and a maximum of up to eight weeks to be spent in Oxford.

The maximum funding amount available is €4,500.

Accommodation

You can receive up to 99 euros for an overnight stay excluding the cost of breakfast. If the actual cost of your overnight stay exceeds 99 euros per night, you must provide an explanation for the full amount to be reimbursed. Acceptable reasons include e.g.:

Cheaper accommodation was unavailable due to exceptional reasons

(If your indicative cost is higher than 99 euros per night, please note this in the budget section of your application form.)

Daily subsistence allowance

You can charge €28 for a 24-hour stay.

If meals are covered (e.g. breakfast in a hotel), please reduce the lump sum. For a breakfast, this is by €5.60 (20 percent of €28). For lunch or dinner, please reduce the lump sum by €11.20 (40 percent of €28).

On the day of arrival and departure, the subsistence is €14.

Travel

There is no guideline for flight/travel costs, but the principle of economic efficiency applies.

Bench fees

Please note that your host institution might charge bench fees. Your research contact in Oxford can help you find out how much these are. Where possible, your research host should have these waived for you. Please explore together if this is possible. In the rare cases where this might not be possible, please supply an explanation and include them in your budget on the application form.

If you require access to library facilities during your stay in Oxford, fees for Bodleian Reader cards can be reimbursed. Please make sure you find out the cost (which varies according to the length of stay) in advance of making your application so you can include it in the budget.

Reimbursement / Invoice submission

Please note that you should hand in your invoices by 4 December at the latest. In case of funding approval, you will receive more detailed information on the management of the funds.

Appendix 1: Visa Details

Please take into account visa regulations – these might differ depending on the length of your stay, your nationality, and your destination.
Please consult the relevant regulations on the following websites and check if you need a visa to come to the UK/Germany to carry out your research:

DEàUK: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
(EU nationals up to six months for visa-free study and research: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/germany/work/six_months_or_less + https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-out-if-you-require-an-atas-certificate)

UKàDE: https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/visa/travel-after-brexit/2441830?view and https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/visa/professional-activities-not-classed-as-work/2447446?openAccordionId=item-2447448-0-panel&view
(NB: UK and other non-visa nationals for visits to the Schengen area should take particular note of the “90 days in any 180 day period” regulation – this includes personal stays in the Schengen area, e.g. for holidays. Please adjust the length of your stays accordingly.)

Where applicable, visa costs will be reimbursed.