შოთა რუსთაველის საქართველოს ეროვნული სამეცნიერო ფონდი

Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia

For Science, for Future, for Georgia

საქართველოს განათლებისა და მეცნიერების სამინისტრო
GE

Announcements

Promotion spot SRNSF call for development of PhD programs

In September 2016, SRNSF will announce a call for development of doctoral programs (N58/n Decree of the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, 09.06.2016).

The aims of the call:

  1. Enhancing academic quality of scientific research and training of new academic staff  in higher educational institutions and scientific research centers, on the bases of the existing scientific potential;
  1. Enhancing quality of PhD programs in line with international standards by means of developing new doctoral programs in higher educational institutions;
  1. Strengthening interdisciplinary scientific cooperation of higher educational institutions and supporting development of multidisciplinary PhD programs;
  1. Promoting inter-institutional and intra-institutional cooperation at the doctoral level of education;
  2. Early career support of young scientists and PhD students;
  1. Supporting internationalization of doctoral education through strengthening international cooperation of higher educational institutions.

 

In the frame of competition will be funded the projects aiming at:

  1. Development of current PhD programs at higher educational institutions; Duration of the project is 3 years. 
  1. Development of new PhD programs at higher educational institutions; Duration of the project is 4 years;
  • Requested funds from the foundation for the development of a current PhD program at a higher educational institution (duration of the program - 3 years) should not exceed 220 000 Gel. In addition, requested fund for the first year should not exceed 100 000 Gel; requested total funds for the second and the third year – should not exceed 120 000 Gel (budget for the second and the third year should not exceed 60 000 Gel);
  • Requested funds from the foundation for the development of a new PhD program at a higher educational institution (duration of the program - 4 years) should not exceed 245 000 Gel. In addition, requested fund for the first year should not exceed 25 000 Gel; for the second year the requested funds should not exceed 100 000 Gel; total funds requested for the third and the fourth year – should not exceed 120 000 Gel (budget for the third and the fourth year should not exceed 60 000 Gel);

 

Funds requested from the foundation may include:

  1. Young scientist’s scholarship;
  2. PhD student’s scholarship;
  3. Research costs;
  4. Travel costs;
  5. Overheads;
  6. Costs related to the Consultant’s visit to Georgia.

 

The call of 2016 is open to the following fields of science:

  1. Natural Sciences;
  2. Engineering and Technology;
  3. Medical and health Sciences;
  4. Agricultural Sciences;
  5. Humanities
  6. Social Sciences;
  7. Georgian Studies

The foundation will fund institutional grant proposals only!

Eligibility for call participants:

  1. Host Institution – higher educational institution providing three level higher education programs and developing scientific research. Host institution provides project principal investigator, young scientists, PhD students and support personnel (if applicable) with the material-technical base described in the project. Apart from an organization’s accounting process, host institution performs project accounting and other responsibilities under the grant agreement in line with approved forms of/by SRNSF;
  1. Co-participating institution – Legal Entities of Public Law, established in accordance to the Georgian legislation, non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities registered in Georgia, aiming at developing scientific research; the higher educational institutions;
  1. Principal Investigator (PI) – academic personnel of the host institution, citizen of Georgia with PhD or an equivalent degree. PI coordinates the project implementation and all the related research. PI is responsible for the project’s scientific outcomes, as well as the administration and reporting;
  1. Co-supervisor (if applicable) – key personnel of the project, citizen of Georgia or other country with PhD or an equivalent degree. Co-supervisor of the project supports PI in coordination of the project implementation and all the related research. As a representative of the co-participating organization, co-supervisor is responsible for the project’s scientific outcomes, as well as the administration and reporting;
  1. Key personnel – grant receiving persons, who are individuals funded to carry out the main tasks of the proposed project. The ‘Key Personnel’ can be PhD students or young scientists;
  1. Young scientist - citizen of Georgia with PhD or an equivalent degree (received no later than 7 years prior to the call announcement);
  1. PhD student - citizen of Georgia studying at the higher educational institution in accordance to the Georgian legislation.

Applicant must be higher educational institution established in Georgia providing doctoral programs.

Project must be led by principal investigator and must involve at least 3 PhD students and 1 young scientist.

In addition, foreign consultant or/and foreign partner organization can be involved in project implementation processes:

  1. Foreign consultant – academic personnel of a higher educational institution or a scientific research center, foreign citizen, consulting development of the doctoral program and the project administration processes;
  2. Foreign partner organization – higher educational institution or educational research center registered in other country, involved in the project development processes.

The project can be co-funded.

 

Project Principal Investigator should submit online the following documents:

  1. Application form / Proposal cover page
  2. Project proposal – program curriculum and content of the research
  3. CVs of project personnel
  4. Project budget and budget justificaiton
  5. Project implementation timeframe
  6. Project summary/ abstract
  7. Summary of the previously funded, completed scientific project implemented by PI (during last 3 years)  
  8. Summary on Host and Co-participant Institutions
  9. Consent Letter of the Foreign Consultant
  10. Documents on academic degree of the project principal investigator, co-supervisor (if applicable) and key personnel involved in the project (copies of Diplomas or reference letters)
  11. Copies of Identification Cards or passports of the project principal investigator, co-supervisor (if applicable) and key personnel involved in the project
  12. Legal documents of co-participant institution - statute, registration document, bank account number.
  13. Letter of approval of co-funding by individual or legal entity, and related legal documents: statute, registration document, bank account number. In case the co-funder is a foreigner (foreign institution), the above-mentioned legal documents should be translated and certified by the translator’s office.

In addition, applicants should submit letter of application at the foundation office.

 

Applicant must provide the following translated documents in English:

  1. Application form / Proposal cover page
  2. Project proposal – program curriculum and content of the research
  3. Project summary/ abstract
  4. Project budget and budget justificaiton
  5. Project implementation timeframe
  6. CVs of project personnel
  7. Summary of the previously funded, completed scientific project implemented by PI (during last 3 years)
  8. Summary on Host and Co-participant Institutions

 

It is NOT mandatory to translate the following documents in English:

  1. Legal documents of host institution
  2. Legal documents of co-participant institution
  3. Statute of co-participant institution
  4. Documents on academic degree of the project principal investigator, co-supervisor (if applicable) and key personnel involved in the project (copies of Diplomas or reference letters)
  5. Letter of approval of co-funding by individual or legal entity, and related legal documents.

 

The Call Administration timeframe:

  • Announcement of the call: 12/08/2016
  • Opening of the call: September
  • Info days: September
  • Deadline for submitting electronic proposals: October
  • Deadline for submitting proposals (hard copies) at the foundation office: October
  • Evaluation of project proposals: October
  • Announcement of the call results: November
  • Signing of contracts: November

 

The call coordinators:

  • Giorgi Khishtovani
  • Ketevan Gabitashvili

SRNSF will publish on its website detailed instructions for preparing proposal, proposal submission forms and answers to the frequently asked questions in September.