With a view to intensifying interaction and scientific cooperation between Egyptian and German Scientists / Institutions, the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) jointly extend support for exchange of scientific visits through the jointly funded German Egyptian Mobility Program for Scientific Exchange and Excellence Development (GE-SEED). Thus, the program is quite literally to be considered as SEED money for further collaborative research.
Aim of the program
GE-SEED aims at supporting bilateral mobility between Egyptian and German scientific teams with special emphasis on young scientists (Master and PhD students), and within the framework of a jointly submitted research project for a period of up to two years. The main goal of this program is to encourage partnerships between both sides and enhance collaboration and technology transfer.
Prerequisites
Faculty members, Scientists and Academics belonging to Universities, and Research Institutes should form a project team headed by a Principal Investigator (PI). Those having permanent positions in the above mentioned institutions can apply as PIs. Each team should not exceed five persons.
A complete project proposal (in terms of content, names of team members on both sides, … etc.) for academic / scientific co-operation must be uploaded by the German PI to DAAD Bonn Portal https://portal.daad.de/irj/portal, and by the Egyptian PI to the website of the STDF (www.stdf.org.eg), in the prescribed format available on the websites.
The project proposal should contain the objectives, technical details, methodology, the likely outputs and achievable goals of the project, the bio-data of the PI, a list of his/her relevant publications during the last 5 years and a list of other projects, national and international, implemented by him/her etc.
Application Requirements:
The following documents are required:
- Application form found on the following link: www.stdf.org.eg
- CVs of all Egyptian and German team members
- Ethical Declaration
- Publication list of the Egyptian and German PIs
- Endorsement letter from the Egyptian PI’s institution
- Gantt chart showing the timeframe for conducting the project tasks/activities.
Project duration
- Mobility grants will be awarded within the framework of a research project running for a duration of up to two years.
- Total duration of visits by senior scientists should not exceed 1 month per year, whereas total duration of visits by junior scientists should be within the range of 3 to 6 months per year.
- In all cases, the mutual visits of the academics / scientists should be justified in terms of number, duration, expenses and purpose of visit.
Eligibility and Project participants
For the German and Egyptian sides this program is open for publically funded and private universities and research centers. Applicants from both sides should be affiliated to any of the above mentioned entities.
Please note the following:
- A concrete and sound research proposal must be submitted.
- The Pl should be a Ph.D. holder.
- On the Egyptian side, only Egyptian researchers are eligible for a mobility grant to Germany. Also, the researchers must be affiliated to an institution which has an Egyptian legal identity.
- Parallel applications of teams, team members or PIs during the same funding period are not permitted.
- In cases where a team/team member has been previously awarded a GE-SEED grant, he/she may apply for a new grant through the GE-SEED Program only after the completion of his/her previously funded project. In this case a report of the success of the previous project has to be submitted together with the new application.
- Quality of the project is one of the main criteria for accepting a project, but involvement of young scientists will be given preference if applicable.
- All relevant documents must be submitted (such as ethical committee approval).
While the technical responsibility of the research project would remain at the German and Egyptian entities, the financial responsibility of the program would remain at the DAAD and STDF for the German and Egyptian sides respectively.
The following types of proposals shall not be considered:
- Already existing collaborative projects where travel and living expenses are financed by some other source of funding.
- Purely individual visits, training program(s), or study purposes
- Organisation of Seminars / Workshops or participation in a Conference / Congress.
Also, the following items/expenses are not covered by this funding program:
- Purchase of equipment, infrastructure, workspaces and office machines etc.
- Project-related incidental costs (for example: bench fees, staff or running costs, costs for computer time, materials purchases, documentation, photocopying, printing, internal travel, consumables or other expenses)
Funding
Grants will be offered only towards travel and living costs within the framework of a well-defined and approved research project. For the Egyptian PI, the STDF will bear the travel cost (including overseas medical insurance) between the place of work of the scientists/students in Egypt and the place of work in Germany.
It is expected that primary financing for the collaborative research project, including personnel costs, is already available or will be obtained from other sources of funding.
The total funding requested from the Egyptian and the German side respectively must not exceed 15.000 EURO per project per year and it will be distributed as follows:
For Egyptian Scientists:
| Period | Allowance covering living and accommodation expenses |
|---|---|
| up to 15 days | 140 € per day |
| 15-30 days | 100 € per day |
- 575 EURO will be granted as travel allowance.
Junior scientists (Master and PhD candidates):
| Period | Allowance covering living and accommodation expenses |
|---|---|
| up to 15 days | 120 € per day |
| 15-30 days | 90 € per day |
| longer than 30 days | 1400 € per month |
- 575 EURO will be granted as travel allowance.
Monitoring
The Egyptian and German PIs will submit annual progress (on the activities carried out) and financial reports (at most 2 months after the end of each year) to the STDF and DAAD respectively. The reports will be assessed internally (on the Egyptian side and the German side independently). Funding for the following year depends on the timely submission of these reports, success of the project and available budget.
Egyptian research team members will also be required to submit a trip report (both financial and technical) after each visit conducted.
The research teams are strongly encouraged to publish at least one co-authored manuscript in a relevant peer reviewed international journal with an acceptable impact factor. Publishing such a manuscript will considerably increase the possibility of obtaining further STDF funding.
Application procedure
Proposals in a prescribed format are to be submitted by the German PI to the DAAD, Bonn Portal (https://portal.daad.de/irj/portal), and by the Egyptian PI to STDF, Egypt (www.stdf.org.eg). Only applications submitted by the two PIs with all necessary documents will be considered. Proposals will be evaluated by DAAD and STDF on the basis of scientific merit, need for co-operation and the composition of project teams. The final decision will be made jointly by the two parties.
