Apply for a Grant

Short Term Scientific Missions

Visit of a host organization located in a different country than the country of affiliation by a Researcher or Innovator for the specific work to be carried out and for a determined period of time. The grantee receives funding for implementing a project with an international team and gains new knowledge or access to equipment or techniques not available in the home institution.

ITC Conference Grant

ITC Conference Grants are aimed at supporting PhD students and Early Career Investigators (ECI) from Participating Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) to attend international science and technology related conferences not specifically organised by the COST Action.

Dissemination Conference Grant

Financial support to Action participant for their participation in high-level conferences to present the Action, their activities, and results (oral presentation) and for developing new contacts and potential future collaborations.

Open Calls

STSM Grants

ITC & DCG Grants

3rd Call for Short-Term Scientific Missions

This is the 3rd call for applications for Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) funded by COST Action CA21104 Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower – PEN@Hydropower.

STSMs help PEN@Hydropower participants to conduct scientific missions to a research institution in another COST country. A scientific mission aims to fulfill its research objectives through

(i) a research work carried out by the applicant at home and to prepare the travel to the host institution, (ii) a visit to the host institution to collect data and (iii) the work carried out upon returning home to complete the research and prepare the STSM report and STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents. STSMs aim to strengthen the networks of researchers' institutions by enabling collaboration and providing new skills and knowledge, not readily available within their institution. STSMs contribute to the scientific objectives of the Action. For all PEN@Hydropower participants, STSMs are an opportunity to focus their work on research topics highlighted by WGs or introduce new ideas addressing the PEN@Hydropower objectives.

STSMs are beneficial to:

- STSM grantees, who receive funding to conduct a project with an international team and gain knowledge or access to equipment or techniques not available at their home institution.

- STSM hosts, who can host an international partner at their institution and establish long-term collaboration.

Under this 3rd Call, PEN@Hydropower is offering 4 STSM positions, that include scientic missions for individuals. Details on the content and objectives of the working groups can be found in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the Action.

  • Applications should be submitted by May 6, 2024. Decisions will be announced no later than May 15, 2024.

    The STSM grant is awarded for the fulfillment of the research topic stated in each STSM opportunity. As a result, the research period allocated by the applicant to fulfill the scientific mission includes:

    (i) the time period at home for research work and to prepare the travel to the host institution

    (ii) the travel and visit to the host institution for data collection and preliminary data processing and

    (iii) the time period at home to complete the research and both STSM report and STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents.

    The visit should last at least 14 days (including travel), while the maximum duration must be agreed upon with the host institution contact person. The coordination of the scientific mission is carried out by the supervisor appointed by the leader of the work package associated with STSM opportunity. The supervisor is in charge with coordinating all activities included in the scientific mission plan, from the beginning of the scientific mission to the verification and pre-approval of all STSM documents (e.g. STSM report, STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents, deliverables, KPIs and so on). The contact person of the host institution is in charge for the activities carried out by the applicant during the visit to the host institution and the verification and pre- approval of all documents associated with the visit.

    Each STSM application should be agreed with the contact person of the host institution before submitting the working plan of the STSM scientific mission all details about travel and visit to the host institution, including the dates of travel and the period of the visit. All STSM scientific missions have to be completed no later than end of September 2024 in order to be considered in the second funding period (GP2) of the COST Action.

    The maximum amount for each STSM scientific mission for GP2 is €4,000. Please consider the cost of living for each country in Europe to prepare a realistic estimate of the STSM science mission budget. (https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/). Applicants are also encouraged to consult the annotated Rules for COST actions.

  • Who is eligible to apply for an STSM?

    STSM grants are available to researchers and innovators affiliated with a legal entity in COST Full member / Cooperative member, Near Neighbor Country, or European RTD. Young researchers and innovators (<40 years old) are strongly encouraged to participate.

  • Applications for STSMs are managed through the e-COST administrative tool. All applicants must have an e-COST profile. Each applicant has to use the e-COST administration tool to register the STSM application. In addition to the information added on the e-COST platform to filled in STSM grant application, each applicant should also prepare and upload a STSM full grant application including the following documents in a single PDF file:

    1.CV with relevant activity and results (publications, patents, projects and so on) in the topic of the scientific mission;

    2. Full STSM scientific mission plan, including: details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates topic of the scientific mission, goals of the STSM, STSM detailed plan with summary, Working Plan for all three time periods (pre-visit, visit and post-visit), metholodology, Gantt chart and requested budget in € and, STSM expected outputs and KPIs, as well as deliverables and contributions to the Action MoU objectives and deliverables

    3. STSM grant application of the visiting period, (based on e-COST template) including: Details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates of the visiting period including travel, goals of the STSM visit (max. 200 words), STSM Working Plan during the visit (max. 500 words), and STSM expected outputs and contribution to the Action MoU objectives and deliverables. (max. 500 words);

    4. Letter of confirmation from the host Institution and the contact person

    5. Approval letter of the supervisor.

    Upon completion of the STSM scientific mission, each applicant has to submit to all STSM documents within maximum 30 days of the STSM travel end.

    Please be advised that if the applicant does not submit the required report in a timely manner, the grant will be cancelled. Grant payment is expected to be made within 30 days of scientific report approval.

    For more information on how to submit via the e-COST system, please refer to the Grant Awarding User Guide or the How-to-Apply Guidelines.

  • Each STSM full grant application will be independently evaluated by the COST Action Core Group.

    The evaluation will consider

    (i) the clarity of the scientific mission,

    (ii) the extent to which the proposed STSM complements or contributes to the strategic priorities and objectives of the PEN@Hydropower Action as defined in the MoU,

    (iii) the relevance of the scientific mission working plan, estimated budget and deliverables, and

    (iv) the ability of the STSM applicant to successfully complete the STSM and disseminate the relevant deliverables.

    Each STSM full grant application should clearly demonstrate the benefits to the applicant and the PEN@Hydropower Action. STSM full grant applications will be ranked, and the highest-scoring applications will be selected for funding.

    The STSM applications submitted to the 3rd STSM call are selected with priority of those who did NOT benefit from funding in the previous STSM calls (e.g. 1st or 2nd STSM call) in order to give the chance to as many applicants as possible to participate in this COST Action.

  • The Grant Awarding Coordinator will approve/reject the STSM grant application on behalf of the MC. In case of rejection, a justification needs to be encoded. The justification will be included in the e-notification to the applicant. The STSM applicant will negotiate the STSM scientific mission plan and its budget with the supervisor before its approval. Upon approval, the Grant application status will change from submitted to pre-approved. The applicant becomes a grantee of the STSM grant when she/he receives the grant letter from the GH manager. Then, the grantee must contact the supervisor to inform her/him about the starting of the STSM scientific mission and the contact person of the host institution to agree all details for the visit. STSM grantees must make their own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc.

    Each grantee receives a reminder to upload the STSM report and STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents between 1 day and 10 days after the end of the STSM travel period.

    Upon completion of the STSM scientific mission, the grantee must complete:

    1. STSM visiting report (based on e-COST template) including: (i) Details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates of the visiting period including travel, (ii) goals of the STSM (max. 200 words), (iii) STSM Working Plan (max. 500 words), and (iv) STSM outputs and contribution to the Action MoU objectives and deliverables. (max. 500 words). The STSM visiting report has to be uploaded on the e-COST patform within maximum two weeks of the STSM travel end;

    2. STSM scientific report including: (i) Details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates topic of the scientific mission, (ii) goals of the STSM, (iii) STSM detailed summary, with detailed research activities and results according with the Working Plan for all three time periods (pre-visit, visit and post-visit) included in the grant proposal approved, methodology, (iv) a clear statement on the performance of the activities, the fulfillment of the objectives and the stage of achievement of the KPI’s defined according to the STSM scientific mission plan approved and (v) additional supporting documents (e.g. data collected, paper outline/draft, publications collected and used as references in the study). The STSM scientific report has to be uploaded on the PEN@Hydropower platform (TEAMS) within maximum four weeks of the STSM travel end but no later than the end of September. The procedure for reimbursement of the funds to the STSM grantee will start after the approval of the STSM scientific report by the supervisor. The STSM grantee will lose the funds if the SSM scientific report is not approved by the end of September 2024;

    3. After completion, the STSM grantee should present her/his work to the PEN@Hydropower Action community within the WG.

      Please be advised that if the applicant does not submit the required report in a timely manner, the grant will be cancelled. Grant payment is expected to be made within 30 days of report approval.

  • Applicants may apply for the following STSM opportunities, or they may submit their own STSM full grant application.

    More information can be found by downloading the application downloading the application guidelines in the link above.

3rd Call for Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grants and Dissemination and Communication Grants

This is the 3rd call for applications for Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grants (ITCCGs) and Dissemination and Communication Grants (DCGs) funded by the COST Action CA21104 Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower – PEN@Hydropower.

ITCCGs and DCGs help PEN@Hydropower participants to attend conferences and other events, not organised under the COST Action CA21104 Pen@Hydropower.

ITCCGs target at young researchers, researchers, PhD students and innovators from Inclusive Target Countries (ITCs) to attend high-quality international conferences and other events, not organised by PEN@Hydropower, 

- DCGs to support grantees to attend high-quality conferences, not organised by PEN@Hydropower Action to increase the visibility and awareness of PEN@Hydropower. 

ITCCGs and DCGs grant may be used for the cost of travel to the conference, accommodation and daily sustenance expenses, conference registration fees, the cost of printing the scientific poster, etc. ITCCGs and DCGs as well as the supported grantees should contribute to the scientific objectives of PEN@Hydropower. For all PEN@Hydropower participants ITCCGs and DCGs represent an opportunity to present their work on selected research topics highlighted by working groups and the PEN@Hydropower objectives. 

PEN@Hydropower is offering a support grant for the participation at a conference based on living costs in the country the conference is organized. Grantees must provide their own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc.  

Each application is independently evaluated by the Action Core Group. Applications are ranked and selected based on the following criteria: 

- the subject area and overall quality of the conference, 

- the scientific quality of the work presented, and the extent to which the proposed work presents or contributes to the strategic priorities and objectives of the Action as defined in the MoU. Details on the content and objectives of the PEN@Hydropower Action can be found in the Action’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). 

  • Applicants should carefully consider eligibility criteria. Young researchers, researchers, PhD students and innovators from Inclusive Target Countries (ITC) under the age of 40, who are affiliated with an institution in an ITC country are eligible for ITCCGs: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The country from which the grantee originates, must participate in PEN@Hydropower. Applicants should always check the current list of ITC countries.

    Applications should be submitted during the eligibility period from April 8th, 2024 to September 15th, 2024. The applications are received in a continuous procedure during the eligibility period. The evaluation of each application will be carried out and a decision will be sent to the applicant within a maximum of two (2) weeks from the date of its submission.

    Applications for STSMs are managed through the e-COST administrative tool. All applicants must have an e-COST profile and complete the forms in the e-COST system. The following documents must be uploaded:

    1. ITCC or DCG grant application (based on the e-COST template),

    2. CV,

    3. Budget overview including travel & living expenses and conference costs,

    4. Copy of the abstract of the accepted presentation,

    5. Letter of acceptance from the organisers, and

    6. Cover letter explaining how participants will help increase the visibility of PEN@Hydropower.

    For more information on how to submit via the e- COST system, please visit the websites Grant Awarding User Guide, or How-to-Apply Guidelines.

  • Grants will be disbursed upon completion of the activity and submission and approval of required documentation. Documentation must be submitted within 30 days of the completion of the activity or no later than 15 days before the end of the grant period (31.10.2024). The submitted documentation must include the following:

    1. a written report according to the template

    2. the conference programme or book of abstracts/proceedings with the presentation (oral or poster)

    3. a copy of the presentation (oral or poster) acknowledging PEN@Hydropower as the funding source through the following statement: “This article/publication is based upon work from COST Action PEN@Hydropower, CA21104, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)”,

    4. a certificate of participation, and

    5. a presentation of the conference contribution during a WG meeting.

    Upon submission, the Grant Awarding Coordinator will approve the submitted materials and grantees will receive notification followed by disbursement.

    Participant grants are non-commercial transactions and claims are not subject to the VAT deduction. Taxes normally due or applicable in connection with the disbursement of the grant may not be deducted from amounts payable to participants. It is the responsibility of each participant to ensure that all amounts received from COST funding comply with their national tax rules and obligations. The force majeure provisions affecting travel in paragraph A1-3.1.6 of Annex 1 apply to financial support for network activities organized through a grant award process. A user guide for claiming expenses in case of force majeure is available to the participants.

  • The list of recommended conferences is as follows:

    37th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, ECOS 2024 Conference, https://ecos2024.com

    EERA Revamping Hydropower Research Workshop, 24th September 2024, Brussels

    26th International Conference about hydropower engineering, HYDROTURBO 2024, 24–26 September 2024, Slovakia, https://www.hydroturbo.cz/en

    2nd International Conference on Renewable Energies and Smart Technologies, 27-28 June 2024, Prishtina, Kosova,

    https://ic-rest.com/

    2024 Arctic Circle Assembly, 17–19 October 2024, Reykjavík, Iceland. https://www.arcticcircle.org/assemblies/2024-arctic-circle-assembly

    9th International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures, 20 June 2024, Zurich, Switzerland.

    https://ishs2024.ethz.ch/program/workshop.html

    10th International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures (ISHS), 17-19 June 2024, Zurich, Switzerland. https://ishs2024.ethz.ch/

    32nd IAHR Symposium on Hydraulic Machinery and Systems, September 11-14 2024, Roorkee, India, https://iitr.ac.in/iahr2024/

    HYDROFORUM 2024, 16.-17.10. 2024, Kraków, Poland, https://hydroforum.tew.pl/index.php/en/

    The applicant may choose a conference from the above list or suggest another.

Closed Calls

ITC & DCG Grants

1st Call for Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grants and Dissemination and Communication Grants

This is the 1st call for applications for Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grants (ITCCGs) and Dissemination and Communication Grants (DCGs) funded by the COST Action CA21104 Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower – PEN@Hydropower.

ITCCGs and DCGs help PEN@Hydropower participants to attend conferences and other events, not organised under the COST Action CA21104 Pen@Hydropower.

  • ITCCGs target at young researchers, researchers, PhD students and innovators from Inclusive Target Countries (ITCs) to attend high-quality international conferences and other events, not organised by Pen@Hydropower,

  • DCGs to support grantees to attend high-quality conferences, not organised by Pen@Hydropower Action to increase the visibility and awareness of Pen@Hydropower.

ITCCGs and DCGs grant may be used for the cost of travel to the conference, accommodation and daily sustenance expenses, conference registration fees, the cost of printing the scientific poster, etc. ITCCGs and DCGs as well as the supported grantees should contribute to the scientific objectives of Pen@Hydropower. For all PEN@Hydropower participants ITCCGs and DCGs represent an opportunity to present their work on selected research topics highlighted by working groups and the PEN@Hydropower objectives.

The maximum funding amount is up to €2,500 per grant for usual face-to-face conferences and up to €500 per grant for virtual conferences. Under this first call, PEN@Hydropower is offering up to 4 ITCCG and DCG positions. Grantees must provide their own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc.

Each application is independently evaluated by the Action Core Group. Applications are ranked and selected based on the following criteria:

  • The subject area and overall quality of the conference,

  • The scientific quality of the work presented, and the extent to which the proposed work presents or contributes to the strategic priorities and objectives of the Action as defined in the MoU. Details on the content and objectives of the Pen@Hydropower Action can be found in the Action’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

  • Applicants should carefully consider eligibility criteria. Young researchers, researchers, PhD students and innovators from Inclusive Target Countries (ITC) under the age of 40, who are affiliated with an institution in an ITC country are eligible for ITCCGs: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The country from which the grantee originates, must participate in Pen@Hydropower. Applicants should always check the current list of ITC countries.

    Applications should be submitted by April 14, 2023. Decisions will be announced by April 21, 2023.

    Applications for STSMs are managed through the e-COST administrative tool. All applicants must have an e-COST profile and complete the forms in the e-COST system. The following documents must be uploaded:

    - ITCC or DCG grant application (based on the e-COST template),

    - CV,

    - Copy of the abstract of the accepted presentation,

    - Letter of acceptance from the organisers, and

    - Cover letter explaining how participants will help increase the visibility of Pen@Hydropower.

    For more information on how to submit via the e- COST system, please visit the websites Grant Awarding User Guide, or How-to-Apply Guidelines.

  • Grants will be disbursed upon completion of the activity and submission and approval of required documentation. Documentation must be submitted within 30 days of the completion of the activity or no later than 15 days after the end of the grant period (10/31/2023). The submitted documentation must include the following:

    - a written report according to the template

    - the conference programme or book of abstracts/proceedings with the presentation (oral or poster)

    - a copy of the presentation (oral or poster) acknowledging Pen@Hydropower as the funding source through the following statement: “This article/publication is based upon work from COST Action Pen@Hydropower, CA21104, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)”, and

    - a certificate of participation.

    Upon submission, the Grant Awarding Coordinator will approve the submitted materials and grantees will receive notification followed by disbursement.

    Participant grants are non-commercial transactions and claims are not subject to the VAT deduction. Taxes normally due or applicable in connection with the disbursement of the grant may not be deducted from amounts payable to participants. It is the responsibility of each participant to ensure that all amounts received from COST funding comply with their national tax rules and obligations. The force majeure provisions affecting travel in paragraph A1-3.1.6 of Annex 1 apply to financial support for network activities organised through a grant award process. A user guide for claiming expenses in case of force majeure is available to the participants.

  • The list of recommended conferences is as follows:

    - Hydro 2023

    - IHA International Hydropower Association 2023 World Hydropower Congress

    - IAHR World Congress,

    - ECOS 2023 Conference,

    - Clean Currents 2023,

    - 9th IAHR Meeting of the WorkGroup on Cavitation and Dynamic Problems in Hydraulic Machinery and Systems,

    - Sustainability in Hydropower 2023,

    The applicant may choose a conference from the above list or suggest another.

  • If needed, please contact:

    • PEN@Hydropower Chair:

    dr. Eduard Doujak

    eduard.doujak@tuwien.ac.at

    • PEN@Hydropower Grant Awarding Coordinator:

    prof. Marko Hočevar

    marko.hocevar@fs.uni-lj.si

    • PEN@Hydropower Grant Holder Manager:

    mr. Christian Blasbichler

    christian.blasbichler@tuwien.ac.at

2nd Call for Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grants and Dissemination and Communication Grants

This is the 2nd call for applications for Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grants (ITCCGs) and Dissemination and Communication Grants (DCGs) funded by the COST Action CA21104 Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower – PEN@Hydropower.

ITCCGs and DCGs help PEN@Hydropower participants to attend conferences and other events, not organised under the COST Action CA21104 Pen@Hydropower.

ITCCGs and DCGs offer reimbursement for travelling to the conference, accommodation and daily substenance expenses, conference registration fees, cost for printing of the scientific poster, etc. Supported grantees should contribute to the scientific objectives of the Pen@Hydropower. For all PEN@Hydropower participants ITCCGs and DCGs represent an opportunity to present their work on selected research topics that have been highlighted by WGs and the PEN@Hydropower objectives.

In the framework of this second Call, PEN@Hydropower offers ITCCG and DCG positions, supporting financially travel grants to individuals. The total grant amount must be justified by the typical travel costs, costs of accomodation and living, conference fees, conference materials etc. and noted down in the application. Grantees need to make their own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc.

Each application will be assessed independently by the Core Group of the Action. Ranking and selection of applications will be performed by considering:

- scientific quality of presented work and degree to which the proposed works presents or contributes to the Action strategic priorities and objectives as defined in the MoU,

- the thematic field and overall quality of the conference,

- cost estimation.

Details on the content and goals of PEN@Hydropower action are available in the Action’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

  • Applications open on February 15 and should be submitted by March 15, 2024. Decisions will be announced no later than the 31st of March 2024.

    The STSM grant is awarded for the fulfillment of the research topic stated in each STSM opportunity. As a result, the research period allocated by the applicant to fulfill the scientific mission includes: (i) the time period at home for research work and to prepare the travel to the host institution (ii) the travel and visit to the host institution for data collection and preliminary data processing and (iii) the time period at home to complete the research and both STSM report and STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents.

    The visit should last at least 14 days (including travel), while the maximum duration must be agreed upon with the host institution contact person. The coordination of the scientific mission is carried out by the supervisor appointed by the leader of the work package associated with STSM opportunity. The supervisor is in charge with coordinating all activities included in the scientific mission plan, from the beginning of the scientific mission to the verification and pre-approval of all STSM documents (e.g. STSM report, STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents, deliverables, KPIs and so on). The contact person of the host institution is in charge for the activities carried out by the applicant during the visit to the host institution and the verification and pre-approval of all documents associated with the visit.

    Each STSM application should be agreed with the contact person of the host institution before submitting the working plan of the STSM scientific mission all details about travel and visit to the host institution, including the dates of travel and the period of the visit. All STSM scientific missions have to be completed no later than end of September 2024 in order to be considered in the second funding period (GP2) of the COST Action.

    The maximum amount for each STSM scientific mission for GP2 is €4,000. For details on the maximum daily allowance that can be requested for accommodation and board per country, please visit COST Daily Allowance Rates. Applicants are also encouraged to consult the annotated Rules for COST actions.

  • Grants will be paid by the Grant Holder after the completion of the activity and the submission and approval of the required documentation. The documentation must be submitted in 30 days from the end of the activity, or at the latest within 15 days from the end date of the Grant Period 31.10.2023. The submitted documentation must include:

    - written report according to the template

    - programme of the conference or book of abstracts/proceedings showing the presentation (oral or poster)

    - copy of the presentation (oral or poster), and

    - certificate of attendance.

    Once submitted, the Grant Awarding Coordinator will approve the submitted documents, and the grantees will receive a notification, followed by the payment.

    Participant grants are non-commercial transactions, and claims are not subject to VAT deduction. Taxes normally due or applicable with respect to the payment of the grant are not to be deducted from amounts payable to participants. The responsibility of each trainee is to ensure that all amounts that they receive from COST funding are compliant with their national tax rules and obligations. Provisions related to Force majeure impacting travel in paragraph A1-3.1.6 of Annex 1 are applicable to financial support for networking activities organised through a Grant Awarding Process. A user guide for claiming expenses in case of force majeure is available to the participants.

  • If required, please contact:

    • PEN@Hydropower Chair:

    dr. Eduard Doujak

    eduard.doujak@tuwien.ac.at

    • PEN@Hydropower Grant Awarding Coordinator:

    prof. Marko Hočevar

    marko.hocevar@fs.uni-lj.si

    • PEN@Hydropower Grant Holder Manager:

    mr. Daniel Patauner

    daniel.patauner@tuwien.ac.at

STSM Grants

1st Call for Short-Term Scientific Missions

This is the 1st call for applications for Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) funded by COST Action CA21104 Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower – PEN@Hydropower.

This is the extension of the 1st call for applications for Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) funded by COST Action CA21104 Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower – PEN@Hydropower.

STSMs help PEN@Hydropower participants to conduct short visits to a research institution in another COST country. STSMs aim to strengthen the networks of researchers' institutions by enabling collaboration and providing new skills and knowledge, not readily available within their institution. STSMs contribute to the scientific objectives of the Action. For all PEN@Hydropower participants, STSMs are an opportunity to focus their work on research topics highlighted by WGs or introduce new ideas addressing the PEN@Hydropower objectives.

STSMs are beneficial to:

·     STSM grantees, who receive funding to conduct a project with an international team and gain knowledge or access to equipment or techniques not available at their home institution.

·     STSM hosts, who can host an international partner at their institution and establish long-term collaboration.

Under this extension of the 1st Call, PEN@Hydropower is offering 2 STSM positions, that include travel grants for individuals. Details on the content and objectives of the working groups can be found in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the Action.

  • As part of this extension of the 1st call, PEN@Hydropower is offering 2 STSM positions to financially support individuals with travel grants. Applications should be submitted by May 31, 2023. Decisions will be announced by June 15, 2023.

    The visit should last at least 5 days (including travel), while the maximum duration must be agreed upon with the host institution contact person. All applications should be coordinated with the host institution's contact person prior to application submission, including dates of stay at the host institution. All STSMs must be completed within the first funding period of the Action - the end of October 2023. Grantees must make their own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc.

    The maximum amount for each STSM grant for this period is €3,000. For details on the maximum daily allowance that can be requested for accommodation and board per country, please visit COST Daily Allowance Rates. Applicants are also encouraged to consult the annotated Rules for COST actions.

    Who is eligible to apply for an STSM?

    STSM travel grants are available to researchers and innovators affiliated with a legal entity in COST Full member / Cooperative member, Near Neighbor Country, or European RTD. Young researchers and innovators (<40 years old) are strongly encouraged to participate.

    Applications for STSMs are managed through the e- COST administrative tool. All applicants must have an e-COST profile.

    The applicant must use the e-COST administration tool to register the STSM application. In addition to the information entered on the website, applicants should also upload the following documents in a PDF file:

    • brief CV with recent publications,

    • STSM proposal,

    • requested budget in € and

    • letter of confirmation from the host Institution.

    For more information on how to submit via the e- COST system, please refer to the Grant Awarding User Guide or the How-to-Apply Guidelines.

    Upon completion of the STSM, the grantee must submit a Report on the Outcomes of the Visit. The report must be submitted within 30 days of the end of the STSM or 15 days of the end of the grant period (whichever date comes first). Please be advised that if the applicant does not submit the required report in a timely manner, the grant will be cancelled. Grant payment is expected to be made within 30 days of report approval.

  • Each proposal will be independently evaluated by the COST Action core group. The evaluation will consider (i) the clarity of the proposal, (ii) the extent to which the proposed STSM complements or contributes to the strategic priorities and objectives of the PEN@Hydropower Action as defined in the MoU, (iii) the relevance of the proposed work plan and deliverables, and (iv) the ability of the STSM applicant to successfully complete the STSM and disseminate the relevant deliverables. Each proposal should clearly demonstrate the benefits to the applicant and the PEN@Hydropower Action. Proposals will be ranked, and the highest-scoring proposals will be selected for funding.

  • Please refer to the attached document for a list of opportunities

  • If needed, please contact:

    • PEN@Hydropower Chair:

    dr. Eduard Doujak (eduard.doujak@tuwien.ac.at)

    • PEN@Hydropower Grant Awarding Coordinator: prof. Marko Hočevar (marko.hocevar@fs.uni-lj.si)

    • PEN@Hydropower Grant Holder Manager: mr. Christian Blasbichler (christian.blasbichler@tuwien.ac.at)

2nd Call for Short-Term Scientific Missions

This is the 2nd call for applications for Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) funded by COST Action CA21104 Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower – PEN@Hydropower.

STSMs help PEN@Hydropower participants to conduct scientific missions to a research institution in another COST country. A scientific mission aims to fulfill its research objectives through

(i) a research work carried out by the applicant at home and to prepare the travel to the host institution, (ii) a visit to the host institution to collect data and (iii) the work carried out upon returning home to complete the research and prepare the STSM report and STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents. STSMs aim to strengthen the networks of researchers' institutions by enabling collaboration and providing new skills and knowledge, not readily available within their institution. STSMs contribute to the scientific objectives of the Action. For all PEN@Hydropower participants, STSMs are an opportunity to focus their work on research topics highlighted by WGs or introduce new ideas addressing the PEN@Hydropower objectives.

STSMs are beneficial to:

- STSM grantees, who receive funding to conduct a project with an international team and gain knowledge or access to equipment or techniques not available at their home institution.

- STSM hosts, who can host an international partner at their institution and establish long-term collaboration.

Under this 2nd Call, PEN@Hydropower is offering 5 STSM positions, that include scientic missions for individuals. Details on the content and objectives of the working groups can be found in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the Action.

  • Applications should be submitted by March 15, 2024. Decisions will be announced no later than March 31, 2024.

    The STSM grant is awarded for the fulfillment of the research topic stated in each STSM opportunity. As a result, the research period allocated by the applicant to fulfill the scientific mission includes: (i) the time period at home for research work and to prepare the travel to the host institution (ii) the travel and visit to the host institution for data collection and preliminary data processing and (iii) the time period at home to complete the research and both STSM report and STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents.

    The visit should last at least 14 days (including travel), while the maximum duration must be agreed upon with the host institution contact person. The coordination of the scientific mission is carried out by the supervisor appointed by the leader of the work package associated with STSM opportunity. The supervisor is in charge with coordinating all activities included in the scientific mission plan, from the beginning of the scientific mission to the verification and pre-approval of all STSM documents (e.g. STSM report, STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents, deliverables, KPIs and so on). The contact person of the host institution is in charge for the activities carried out by the applicant during the visit to the host institution and the verification and pre- approval of all documents associated with the visit.

    Each STSM application should be agreed with the contact person of the host institution before submitting the working plan of the STSM scientific mission all details about travel and visit to the host institution, including the dates of travel and the period of the visit. All STSM scientific missions have to be completed no later than end of September 2024 in order to be considered in the second funding period (GP2) of the COST Action.

    The maximum amount for each STSM scientific mission for GP2 is €4,000. For details on the maximum daily allowance that can be requested for accommodation and board per country, please visit COST Daily Allowance Rates. Applicants are also encouraged to consult the annotated Rules for COST actions.

  • Who is eligible to apply for an STSM?

    STSM grants are available to researchers and innovators affiliated with a legal entity in COST Full member / Cooperative member, Near Neighbor Country, or European RTD. Young researchers and innovators (<40 years old) are strongly encouraged to participate.

  • Applications for STSMs are managed through the e-COST administrative tool. All applicants must have an e-COST profile. Each applicant has to use the e-COST administration tool to register the STSM Grant.

    In addition to the information added on the e-COST platform to fill in the STSM grant application, each applicant should also prepare and upload a STSM full grant application including

    the following documents in a single PDF file:

    1. Brief CV with relevant activity and results (publications, patents, projects and so on) in the topic of the scientific mission;

    2. STSM grant application, (based on e-COST template) including: (i) Details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates of the visiting period including travel, (ii) goals of the STSM (max. 200 words), (iii) STSM Working Plan (max. 500 words), and (iv) STSM expected outputs and contribution to the Action MoU objectives and deliverables. (max. 500 words);

    3. The STSM scientific mission plan including: (i) Details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates topic of the scientific mission, (ii) goals of the STSM, (iii) STSM detailed plan with summary, Working Plan for all three time periods (pre-visit, visit and post-visit), metholodology, Gantt chart and requested budget in € and (iv) STSM expected outputs and KPIs, as well as deliverables and contributions to the Action MoU objectives and deliverables;

    4. Letter of confirmation from the host Institution and the contact person with approval of the supervisor.

    Please consider the cost of living for each country in Europe to prepare a realistic estimate of the STSM science mission budget. (https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/). Upon completion of the STSM scientific mission, each applicant has to submit to all STSM documents within maximum 30 days of the STSM travel end.

    Please be advised that if the applicant does not submit the required report in a timely manner, the grant will be cancelled. Grant payment is expected to be made within 30 days of scientific report approval.

    For more information on how to submit via the e-COST system, please refer to the Grant Awarding User Guide or the How-to-Apply Guidelines.

  • Each STSM full grant application will be independently evaluated by the COST Action Core Group.

    The evaluation will consider (i) the clarity of the scientific mission, (ii) the extent to which the proposed STSM complements or contributes to the strategic priorities and objectives of the PEN@Hydropower Action as defined in the MoU, (iii) the relevance of the scientific mission working plan, estimated budget and deliverables, and (iv) the ability of the STSM applicant to successfully complete the STSM and disseminate the relevant deliverables. Each STSM full grant application should clearly demonstrate the benefits to the applicant and the PEN@Hydropower Action. STSM full grant applications will be ranked, and the highest-scoring applications will be selected for funding.

    The STSM applications submitted to the 2nd STSM call are selected with priority of those who did NOT benefit from funding in the previous STSM calls (e.g. 1st STSM call) in order to give the chance to as many applicants as possible to participate in this COST Action.

  • The Grant Awarding Coordinator will approve/reject the STSM grant application on behalf of the MC. In case of rejection, a justification needs to be encoded. The justification will be included in the e-notification to the applicant. The STSM applicant will negotiate the STSM scientific mission plan and its budget with the supervisor before its approval. Upon approval, the Grant application status will change from submitted to pre-approved. The applicant becomes a grantee of the STSM grant when she/he receives the grant letter from the GH manager. Then, the grantee must contact the supervisor to inform her/him about the starting of the STSM scientific mission and the contact person of the host institution to agree all details for the visit. STSM grantees must make their own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc.

    Each grantee receives a reminder to upload the STSM report and STSM scientific report with additional supporting documents between 1 day and 10 days after the end of the STSM travel period.

    Upon completion of the STSM scientific mission, the grantee must complete:

    1. STSM visiting report (based on e-COST template) including: (i) Details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates of the visiting period including travel, (ii) goals of the STSM (max. 200 words), (iii) STSM Working Plan (max. 500 words), and (iv) STSM outputs and contribution to the Action MoU objectives and deliverables. (max. 500 words). The STSM visiting report has to be uploaded on the e-COST patform within maximum two weeks of the STSM travel end;

    2. STSM scientific report including: (i) Details of the STSM, including title and start and end dates topic of the scientific mission, (ii) goals of the STSM, (iii) STSM detailed summary, with detailed research activities and results according with the Working Plan for all three time periods (pre-visit, visit and post-visit) included in the grant proposal approved, methodology, (iv) a clear statement on the performance of the activities, the fulfillment of the objectives and the stage of achievement of the KPI’s defined according to the STSM scientific mission plan approved and (v) additional supporting documents (e.g. data collected, paper outline/draft, publications collected and used as references in the study). The STSM scientific report has to be uploaded on the PEN@Hydropower platform (TEAMS) within maximum four weeks of the STSM travel end but no later than the end of September. The procedure for reimbursement of the funds to the STSM grantee will start after the approval of the STSM scientific report by the supervisor. The STSM grantee will lose the funds if the SSM scientific report is not approved by the end of September 2024;

    3. After completion, the STSM grantee should present her/his work to the PEN@Hydropower Action community within the WG.

      Please be advised that if the applicant does not submit the required report in a timely manner, the grant will be cancelled. Grant payment is expected to be made within 30 days of report approval.

  • Applicants may apply for the following STSM opportunities, or they may submit their own STSM full grant application.

    More information can be found by downloading the application guidelines.