Short-Term Scientific Missions
Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) are exchange visits aimed at supporting individual mobility, strengthening existing networks and fostering collaboration between COST Action Participants having an affiliation in a Participating COST Country. A STSM should specifically contribute to the scientific objectives of the COST Action, whilst at the same time allowing those partaking in the missions to learn new techniques, gain access to specific data, instruments and/ or methods not available in their own institutions/ organisations.
Criteria
The STSM
- must have a minimum duration of 5 days.
- must have a maximum duration of 90 days. For Early Career Investigators (ECI) longer STSMs with a maximum duration of 180 days are possible.
- needs to be carried out in its entirety within a single Grant Period (i.e. between May 1st and April 30th the following year) and always within the Action’s lifetime.
- can only be requested by applicants from Participating COST Countries, approved Near Neighbour Country (NNC) institutions, or European RTD Organisation to travel to another Participating COST Country, an approved Near Neighbour Country (NNC) institution, an approved International Partner Country (IPC) institution, or a European RTD Organisation to travel
- application needs to be submitted before the deadlines:
- on the 1st of April (for a STSM in Summer/Autumn)
- on the 1st of September (for a STSM in Winter/Spring)
An STSM grant is a fixed financial contribution, taking into consideration the requested budget and the STSM outcome but not necessarily covering all expenses. A STSM grant is a contribution to the overall travel, accommodation and meal expenses of the Grantee.
The calculation of the financial contribution for accommodation and meal expenses must respect the following criteria:
- typical allowance ranging from 50 to 90 € per day (depending on host country)
- maximum grant of EUR 2500 in total for a duration between 5 and 90 days
For ECI, the calculation must respect the following criteria:
- typical allowance ranging from 50 to 90 € per day (depending on host country)
- maximum grant of EUR 3500 in total for a duration between 91 and 180 days
The STSM Committee can approve differentiated country rates to cover accommodation and meal expenses based on the perceived cost of living in the host country.
STSM Application Procedure
Before the STSM, eligible applicants must:
- obtain written agreement from the Host institution that the STSM applicant can perform the activities detailed in the STSM work plan on the agreed dates (The Host Institution is the institution/ organisation that will host the STSM Grantee)
- complete an online STSM application at www.cost.eu/STSM
The applicant must then send the following documentation as an e-mail attachment to the STSM Coordinator Patrick Flammang before the application deadline:
- a copy of the online STSM application
- a motivation letter which, for PhD students, should also be signed by the supervisor
- a CV (including a list of academic publications – if applicable)
- a work plan of the activities to be performed during the visit highlighting the proposed contribution to the scientific objectives of the COST Action
- the written agreement from the Host institution that the STSM applicant can perform the activities detailed in the STSM work plan on the agreed dates
After the STSM, the Grantee is required to submit a short scientific report within 30 days after the end date of the STSM to the STSM Coordinator Patrick Flammang. Failure to submit the scientific report within 30 days after the end date of the STSM will effectively cancel the grant.
The Scientific report must contain the following information:
- purpose of the STSM
- description of the work carried out during the STSM
- description of the main results achieved
- future collaboration with the Host institution (if applicable)
- foreseen publications / articles resulting from the STSM (if applicable)
- confirmation by the Host institution of the successful execution of the STSM
Payment of the Grant is subject to the scientific report being approved by the STSM Committee
Evaluation and Granting of STSM
The evaluation of STSM applications and selection of Grantees is performed by the Action’s STSM Committee on behalf of the MC. The selection takes into account the COST policies on promoting gender balance, enabling Early Career Investigators and broadening geographical inclusiveness:
STSM 1st period
| Applicant Name and Country | Host Name and Country | Related to task | STSM Topic | STSM Start | STSM End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janek von Byern (Austria) | Stanislav Gorb (Germany) | 1.2; 1.3 | Characterization of the Arachnocampa glue | 22.01.2017 | 31.01.2017 |
| Elise Hennebert (Belgium) | Markus Linder (Finland) | 2.2 | Production of recombinant sea star adhesive proteins | 01.04.2017 | 30.04.2017 |
STSM 2nd period
| Applicant Name and Country | Host Name and Country | Related to task | STSM Topic | STSM Start | STSM End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pavlo Bekhta (Ukraine) | Ján Sedliacik (Slovakia) | 1.1; 1.3 | Potential of fiber, paper and cellulose sludge as formaldehyde scavenger for veneer-based products manufacturing | 01.05.2017 | 31.05.2017 |
| Gianandrea Salerno (Italy) | Stanislav Gorb (Germany) | 1.1, 1.3 | Characterization of the attachment ability of the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula | 22.06.2017 | 08.07.2017 |
| Michele Scaraggi (Italy) | Bo Persson (Germany) | 1.3 | Bio-inspired micro-structures for soft contact applications | 01.08.2017 | 13.08.2017 |
| Luis Roque (Portugal) | Ingunn Tho (Norway) | 2.3 | Development of smart bioadhesive nanoparticles applied for the treatment of yeast infections in oralmucosa | 04.09.2017 | 13.10.2017 |
