Webinar on EMBO Fellowship: Additional Q&A - IndiaBioscience

APPLYING/ FELLOWSHIPQ1. Do I need an acceptance letter from the host institute before applying?You will need a reference letter from your host supervisor stating that he or she accepts you in their laboratory and the reasons why. A formal acceptance by a representative from the host institution is only required to start the fellowship after the award.Q2. What is the financial assistance provided by EMBO fellowships? Scientists applying to a laboratory in an EMBC Member State (European laboratories) will receive a contract issued by the host institution. The salary received depends on the destination country. In addition to the salary, awardees are entitled to relocation money (again depending on the destination country and reimbursement of child care expenses up to 2500 EUR per year. Scientists working in EMBC Associate Member States (India, Singapore, Chile, Taiwan) will receive a country-dependent stipend. This is complemented with the benefits listed above (relocation money, child care costs) and an additional country-dependent amount for each child below the age of 18. Scientists working on stipends are entitled to a 3 month paid parental leave. Please see https://www.embo.org/funding-awards/fellowships for further details.Q3. Will my application be considered if I write a project in a field different from that I am doing PhD in as the work technicality will be different?Actually, applications that deviate from the work performed during the PhD are positively seen by the selection committee. On the contrary, applications aimed to continue the PhD work in a different laboratory tend to receive lower scores.THEMESQ1. Do you make theme-based calls?No. EMBO covers most areas in life sciences and every scientist with a project within the scope of EMBO can apply at every call. For a list of subject areas covered by EMBO, please follow https://www.embo.org/about-emb...Q2. Are there any well-defined thematic research areas for EMBO projects?EMBO covers most areas in life sciences. Please check https://www.embo.org/about-emb... for a comprehensive list of eligible areas.Q3. Does EMBO evaluate application based on any specific field of research? For example, can the projects be in the field of basic science and not application based? Does it have to be based on health and industry-based or can it also be ecological?Projects funded by EMBO must have biological significance, i.e. they should be aimed at increasing our knowledge on a particular biological process. Additionally, although EMBO does not exclusively fund projects in molecular biology any longer, proposals should be designed to increase our mechanistic understanding of the biological process in question. This could be at the molecular level, but also at the cellular, tissular, organ, organismal o even ecosystem level. Projects devoted to developing commercial applicationswill not be funded. Similarly projects that are entirely clinical and that would not increase our knowledge on a biological process, will not be considered.ELIGIBILITYQ1. If I am a citizen of a non-EMBO state but working as Assistant Professor in India, can I apply for the EMBO award?This person would be eligible to apply for a Short-Term Fellowship provided that they meet all other eligibility criteria.Q2. Are faculty from state and private universities from India eligible for EMBO fellowships/grants? Further, what are the funding opportunities for a private research lab in India? Whether the research institution is public or private is irrelevant for the application. The relevant part in this case is the project: projects devoted to develop commercial applications will not be considered.Q3.Is it possible to apply short term fellowship even i am running some other major fellowship presentlyIt is understood that a scientist that apply to a Short-Term Fellowship will have a regular fellowship or contract with the home institution and that is perfectly acceptable. However, any other fellowship devoted to the same visit funded by the EMBO Short-Term Fellowship will be deducted from the amount provided by EMBO.Is there any possibility to get short term fellowship if you don't have permanent position?Most researchers that get a Short-Term Fellowship do not have permanent positions. What is important is that you position allows you to go back to your home laboratory for at least 6 months after the fellowship.Is there any age limit?No, there are no age limits.Is it possible to target a lab in India for EMBO postdoc fellowship, one had already collaboration with during his PhD?In principle, yes, but it depends on the nature of the collaboration. Please see the application guidelines for details.REVIEWIs a publication required for the Short-Term Fellowship?No. The only requisite is having at least one year of experience as a PhD student.For short term research fellowship, do we need a project in collaboration with projected host lab prior to applying for the same?Yes, the application process requires the inclusion of the project to be developed in the host laboratory. You should contact and agree with the host laboratory before applying to the fellowship.Do you have a set of reviewers for all type of application? or do you decide reviewers based on the area of application?For Postdoctoral Fellowships, all applications are reviewed by the Fellowship Committee formed by EMBO members (see https://www.embo.org/about-embo/committees#fellowship). Short-Term Fellowships are evaluated by EMBO Press editors and the final decision is made by the head of the Fellowship Programme.How are applicants with a career break evaluated? I have had approximately 4 years of break due to personal reasons, Now back in academia, will like to know how will this be viewed?Career breaks due to parental leave, sever illness or mandatory military service are deducted from any eligibility periods. For instance, one can only apply for a Postdoctoral Fellowship within two years after PhD, but this period is extended for as many months as someone was on parental leave. Other career breaks are usually not considered, but exceptional circumstances may be considered.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://indiabioscience.org/indiabiostreams/indiabiostreams-embofellowships/webinar-on-embo-fellowship-additional-q-a