CALL FOR STSM APPLICATIONS IN THE CA19145 EUROPEAN
NETWORK FOR ASSURING FOOD INTEGRITY USING NON-DESTRUCTIVE SPECTRAL SENSORS (SENSORFINT)

GENERAL GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS ON SHORT TERMS SCIENTIFIC MISSIONS

Introduction

Short-term scientific missions (STSM) are institutional visits that allow researchers (belonging to COST countries or Near Neighbour Countries (NNC)) to spend a limited period of time at an institute or laboratory within another COST country, International Partner Country (IPC) / institution or International Organisation to foster collaboration and to perform empirical research. Participation of Young Researchers and Innovators (YRI) in STSMs is particularly encouraged. The aim of STSM is to provide researchers with access to new research/new techniques relevant to SENSORFINT that may not be available in their own institution. By this means STSM can accelerate the development of SENSORFINT research, knowledge exchange and collaboration across COST countries and beyond, as well as being an important component in the individual’s personal development.

Important dates

Call launched: November 17st 2022

Application deadline: January 7th 2023

Decision by the evaluation committee: January 12th 2023  The timeframe for realisation of STSM: between February 1st 2023 and September 30th 2023. This call is open to all participants, but priority will be given to Young Researchers and Innovators (researchers and innovators age below 40). A balance between Working Groups, gender and geographical range will also be considered.

Scientific Topics

Unless specifically identified, any STSM application of candidates to SENSORFINT must contribute to one or more of the following themes related to the scope of the Working Groups of the Action:

• WG1: The application of Non Destructive Spectral Sensors (NDSS) to process control and labelling within the food industry.

• WG2: Research looking at integrating several NDSS signals for food integrity applications.

• WG3: Developing novel algorithms and methods for processing NDSS in real time.

• WG4: The use of information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in building decision support systems for the industrial implementation of NDSS.

• WG5: Dissemination and exploitation.

Each successful STSM grantee will have identified an output report, agreed by the STM committee that will need to be completed in full and to the required standard before receiving full reimbursement of expenses. Each STSM grant needs to be completed in its entirety within the single grant period.

Number of Grants and Financial Support

A total of 12 STSM are offered in this call. The STSM grant is used to cover costs of travel and subsistence. The financial support should be viewed as a contribution to the costs of the mission and may not cover all costs. This comprises:

Each individual STSM is a contribution up to a maximum of EUR 2000 for each applicant.

The budget requested must be justified in the application.

Eligibility and more info (See https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2021/10/COST-094-21-Annotated-Rules-for-COST-Actions-Level-C-2021-11-01-1.pdf for full details)

Short-Term Scientific Mission consists in a visit of a host organization located in a different country than the country of affiliation (for Affiliation, see Article 4)1.1.a.1) by a Researcher or Innovator for the specific work to be carried out and for a determined period of time.

How to apply

The applicant should complete:

• A fully completed COST STSM application form (see the template).

• A motivation letter.

• A work plan.

• Applicant CV (reduced version 4 pages maximum).

• An agreement with the host institution.

• A letter of support from the home institution.

• Financial data (amount for travel and subsistence). Please calculate the subsistence amount depending on the host country.

This information must be submitted through e-cost platform and to the following persons
by email:
The Chair of the COST Action (Prof. Lola Pérez Marín, dcperez@uco.es)
The Vice Chair (Prof. Tom Fearn, t.fearn@ucl.ac.uk)
The STSM coordinator (Prof. Paul Brereton, paul.brereton@qub.ac.uk)
The Grant Awarding Coordinator (Dr. Jose ́Antonio Entrenas León, p82enlej@uco.es)

Evaluation criteria 

Scientific quality excellence	20 %
Benefit to SensorFint objectives	20 %
Training benefit for the applicant	10 %
Experience of the applicant: priority will be given to young researchers and innovators, post docs or PhD students employed by or affiliated to legaL entities with a remit for performing research	20 %
Inter-disciplinarity of the research area	10 %
ITC countries	10 %
Budget Adjustment	10%

 

Evaluation and selection of participants

Applications shall be reviewed by the SENSORFINT Core Group. The STSM coordinator will manage the process and may propose a subgroup for accelerating the evaluation.

After the STSM

The grantee is required to submit a scientific report to the host institution, Action Chair, Vice-Chair, and STSM Coordinator for approval within 30 days after the end date of the STSM. The report should contain:

• A scientific report.

• An official letter/confirmation by the host institution of the successful execution of the STSM.

The Action Chair and STSM Coordinator are responsible for approving the scientific report. The failure to submit the scientific report within 30 days will effectively cancel the grant. Once approved, bank-to-bank transfer will make payment of the STSM grant to the grantee.

For more information and enquiries please do not hesitate to contact the STSM

 

 

 

CALL FOR VMG (Virtual Mobility Grant) APPLICATIONS IN THE CA19145 EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR ASSURING FOOD INTEGRITY USING NON-DESTRUCTIVE SPECTRAL SENSORS (SENSORFINT)

GENERAL GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS ON VMG

Introduction

Virtual Mobility Grants (VMG) are grants awarded to individual WG members for supporting activities aiming at capacity building and transfer of knowledge through bilateral or multilateral collaborations in a virtual setting (to exchange knowledge, learn new techniques, etc.)

Full details on VM Grants are available in:

https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2021/10/COST-094-21-Annotated-Rules-for-COST-Actions-Level-C-2021-11-01-1.pdf

https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2021/06/FAQ-VNTs-Final-Version-1.pdf

https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2021/06/VNT-userguide.pdf

Scope of the VM Grants

The activities expected to be performed by the successful applicant, but not limited to, are:

• Virtual mentoring schemes, with special focus on activities and exchanges that can generate capacity building and new skills, particularly for Young Researchers and Investigators (e.g. managerial skills, methodological skills, communication skills, etc.).

• To support the harmonisation and standardisation of methods and procedures within the Action networking activities, e.g.

o setting up a survey amongst all Action members to collect different results and outcomes from experiments done in their respective labs and research groups.

o coordinating the discussions to create common protocols to be used by the network afterwards.

o preparing questionnaires and response scales to be used by the Action members as part of virtual networking activities.

• To support the implementation of research related activities that do not necessarily require in-person presence, e.g.

o computational or modelling activities.

o data analysis of the Action for a specific report or activity.

VM Grants should contribute to the scientific objectives of SENSORFINT Action, and respect COST policies with particular attention on inclusiveness and excellence. Please refer to the Action aims and objectives for further details.

Unless specifically identified as relevant, any VMG application of candidates to SENSORFINT must contribute to one or more of the following themes related to the scope of the Working

Groups of the Action:

• WG1: The application of Non Destructive Spectral Sensors (NDSS) to process

control and labelling within the food industry.

• WG2: Research looking at integrating several NDSS signals for food integrity applications.

• WG3: Developing novel algorithms and methods for processing NDSS in real time.

• WG4: The use of information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in building decision support systems for the industrial implementation of NDSS.

• WG5: Dissemination and exploitation.

Eligibility criteria

The VMG applicant(s) are Action participants with a primary affiliation to an institution located in a COST Full or Cooperating Member country or a COST Near Neighbour Country participating in the Action. The applicant(s) shall inform the MC about the aim of the VM Grant and how its outcomes will generate benefits to the Action, actively contribute to the overall objectives and relevant deliverables of the Action, and submit an activity report at the end, to be approved by the Chair or the VNS manager on behalf of the MC.

Financial support

SENSORFINT offers 5 VMG with a financial support of up 650 EUR per Grant. Since the financial support comes as a grant, no invoices or other justification of the expenses will be requested.

The VM Grants cannot be used to attend virtual conferences or to purchase software license or set up a database.

The Grant Holder shall pay the approved grant to the grantee after the MC has approved the grantee’s report and no later than 15 days from the end of Grant Period.

Final report of VM Grant

After the VM Grant activity is finished, the grantee is required to submit a short scientific report to the Action Chair or VNS Manager, no later than 30 days after the end date of the

VM Grant activity.

Please note that the reimbursement of VM grantees will be done after the activity is over and the final report is submitted by the VM grantee. Exceptions to this rule cannot be granted.

The final report will be submitted on e-COST platform.

How to apply for a VM Grant

1. All applicants must carefully read the funding and eligibility rules detailed in the COST Anotated Rules document (https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2021/10/COST-094-21-Annotated-Rules-for-COST-Actions-Level-C-2021-11-01-1.pdf) and in the FAQ document (https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2021/06/FAQ-VNTs-Final-Version-1.pdf).

2. All applicants must register for an e-COST profile at https://e-services.cost.eu/ – adding their bank account details to their profile.

3. Applications need to be submitted through e-COST via https://eservices. cost.eu/activity/grants. Detailed instructions on how to submit your application can be found in the e-cost user guide.

4. Successful applicants need to complete and submit a VM Grant report, within 30 days

from the end date of the activity. A template is available via www.cost.eu/virtual_mobility_grant_report.

5. The Action Chair or VNS manager approves/rejects the report. Upon approval, the VM Grant will be transferred to the applicant.

Important dates

Call launched: November 16st 2022

Application deadline: November 30th 2022

Decision by: December 2th 2022

The timeframe for realisation of WM: until September 30th 2023.

This call is open to all participants, but priority will be given to Young Researchers and Innovators – YRI (less than 8 years of experience from obtaining PhD). A balance between Working Groups, gender and geographical range will also be considered.

Evaluation criteria 

Scientific quality excellence	20 %
Benefit to SensorFint objectives	20 %
Training benefit for the applicant	20 %
Experience of the applicant: priority will be given to young researchers and innovators, post docs or PhD students employed by or affiliated to legaL entities with a remit for performing research	20 %
Inter-disciplinarity of the research area	10 %
ITC countries	10 %