Guidelines for FEBS Summer Fellowships

Update 16 March 2020: Because of the current coronavirus situation in Europe, please note:

• the deadline for Summer Fellowship Applications 2020 is extended until 15 May 2020
• for successful applications, the Fellowships office will allow possible postponement of the Fellowship until December 2020.

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

1. These Fellowships are intended to provide experience to young promising students in an institution within the FEBS area in a country different from that where the applicant studies. The mobility is a prerequisite.
2. Candidates already in place in the host lab will not be eligible.
3. The applicants should be engaged (as a Master or PhD student) in laboratory research in a FEBS country and have not yet submitted a doctoral thesis.
4. Summer Fellowships are not awarded for attendance at courses, symposia, meetings or congresses.
5. The Fellowship will consist of a single sum of money, the total amount of which will be determined by the FEBS Fellowships Committee, in consultation with the FEBS Treasurer. It amounts currently to €3,500.
6. Only one application per PI will be funded.
7. Summer Fellowships are awarded once a year. Applications should be submitted online before April 1st of the corresponding year. (See update above for 2020 applications.)
8. The application process is handled via the online application system.
9. The completed online application written in English will be submitted to the Chairperson of the FEBS Fellowships Committee and should include the following information:
   
   a.  A short description of the work to be done on no more than two A-4 sized pages of single-spaced text giving the title of the project, clearly indicating the experiments to be carried out whilst at the host institute and setting out the benefits to be derived from the visit. The document must be uploaded in pdf format.
   
   b.  A short curriculum vitae with a list of publications in the format of the references required by the FEBS Journal and a list of conference abstracts.
   
   c.  A host acceptance 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 training/research proposed and that it will not ask FEBS or the applicant for any additional research grant, bench fees, or overheads, and indicating any dates the applicant has already spent at the institute. This 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. Please do not modify the form whatsoever; it must stay as it is.
   

   d.  A referee's letter (as a letterheaded document) supporting the application from the institution where the applicant is working or studying, with an opinion on his/her practical skills, scientific curiosity, dedication, strong/weak points and degree of maturity. The referee will be provided with a link for direct upload of their letter. Candidates are advised to notify the referee well in advance.

10. Applications will be assessed by the Fellowships Committee and the decisions will normally be communicated to applicants by May 31st of the same year.
11. There is no fixed duration but the Fellowship should be taken up between July 1st and October 30th of the current year. Any delay will require the authorization of the Chairperson of the FEBS Fellowships Committee. (See update above for 2020 applications.)
12. Within three months of completion of the Fellowship, Fellows must send electronically to the Chairperson of the FEBS 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 Fellowships Committee.
13. The author of the report judged to be the best in that year will receive a prize, which currently amounts to €500.
14. Applications for a second award of a FEBS Summer Fellowship will not be considered. However, past recipients of a Summer Fellowship who fulfil the requirements of a Collaborative Developmental Scholarship may apply for such a Scholarship, but this application may only be made after at least one year of completion of their Summer Fellowship.