The Impulz programme aims to improve the scientific organisations of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) by recruiting internationally recognised scientists and highly talented young researchers who come from abroad or do not leave for abroad.
The scheme is intended to help increase the Academy's excellence, internationalisation and competitiveness in the European Research Area and its success in obtaining prestigious grants.
Who is eligible?
The applicants and applications must meet the eligibility criteria as stipulated in the Statute of the IMPULZ Programme. In short:
- The applicant must hold a PhD at the time of application (or equivalent).
- The applicant must demonstrate sufficient research experience gained at a foreign research institute. Either s/he obtained a PhD degree or completed a long-term stay outside Slovakia, usually not shorter than 2 years.
- The applicant must prove that s/he regularly publishes in quality scientific journals in the given scientific field; that s/he has been repeatedly invited to present her/his scientific results at important international conferences; and that s/he has been a leading researcher of a scientific project.
- (In case of a young researcher) The applicant must prove an autonomy from the thesis advisor by providing a list of publications which were not co-authored by the advisor. Moreover, the proposed topic of the project must be different from the topic of the applicant's thesis.
- The applicant must demonstrate a capability to lead a proposed research team as well as an ability to obtain other competitive resources for research in the long term.
What is offered
A selected project could ask for funding ranging from 60,000 to 160,000 EUR per year. A typical IMPULZ project is usually funded for 5 years.
The eligible project costs include:
- personnel costs
- travel costs
- material costs
- research infrastructure
- publishing costs including Open Access, and services.
The selected applicants will be employed by a SAS research institute, which will provide funding for the indirect project costs.
During the project implementation, a mid-term project evaluation will be carried out. Only in case of a positive outcome – i.e. fulfilment of the pre-set conditions – the project will continue to be financed. The mid-term project evaluation will take into account also any prospects of project co-financing from other non-SAS resources – e.g. a Horizon Europe project proposal (with a special emphasis on the ERC grant scheme), or another prestigious foreign grant with a comparable funding to the ongoing IMPULZ project.
How to apply
The application must be written in English, submitted via the online application system and addressing all the points stipulated in the Guide for Applicants. The application must include an opinion of a host organisation (SAS research institute) as for the whole duration of the project, the applicant must be a full-time employee of a SAS research institute which will serve as a host organisation for the project implementation.
The applications will be evaluated in two rounds. In the first round, after the check of compliance with the eligibility criteria, technical and formal requirements, the IMPULZ Programme Evaluation Committee (IPEC) will review the applicant's curriculum vitae, the extended abstract of the project and the opinion of the host organization (SAS research institute). The selected applications will be evaluated in the second round, during which the applicant’s curriculum vitae and the entire project will be reviewed by the IPEC based on the consensus reports of three independent foreign evaluators. A face- to-face or online interview will be held only if requested by the IPEC or SAS Presidium. Based on the above-mentioned steps, the IPEC will recommend the selected applicants for funding to the SAS Presidium, which will make the final decision. The detailed information, including the evaluation criteria, can be found in the Statute of the IMPULZ Programme.
Deadline: 31 August 2023