Grants Office Newsletter April 2019

In the first issue of the Grants Office Newsletter in 2019 we present a guest article from the University Library on SNSF and Open Access. Besides that, this issue has a focus on research infrastructure. Both the SNSF and the EU offer funding for research infrastructures. With R’Equip, the SNSF funds the acquisition and development of large-scale apparatuses in all areas of research. It covers up to 50% of the acquisition costs up to a maximum of CHF 1 million. We also inform you about the recent success of the Basel Quantum Coherence Lab and the Consortium “European Microkelvin Plattform” (EMP), which has been awarded 9.9 Million Euro from the European Commission for providing access to ultralow temperature infrastructures and techniques.

Apropos ultralow temperatures: Many thanks to Patricia Holm for providing the picture from her Antarctic expedition shown above!

SNSF R’Equip Call Deadline 15 May 2019

The research equipment grants (R’Equip) awards grants to researchers to cover the acquisition costs of research equipment with a view to facilitating research projects at the high end of international research. Note that applicants are supposed to submit a letter from the “highest governing body of the research institution” confirming the strategic importance of the equipment and that maintenance and financing of the remaining 50% is ensured. The letter must be signed by the Vice Rector Research and the Executive Director of the University. Please contact the Grants Office for a template that you can adapt. We will also organize the signatures for you.

Nobody left out of the cold: Almost 10 Million Euro for the “European Microkelvin Platform

State of the art research infrastructures and access to them, e.g. through international collaborations, is becoming increasingly important for scientists. The Horizon 2020 action “Integrating Activities for Advanced Communities” aims to bring together, integrate and open up key national and regional research infrastructure to all European researchers. The “European Microkelvin Platform” (EMP) was one of 12 research infrastructure proposals funded under the 2018 call, which had a total budget of EUR 101 Million. The Quantum Coherence Lab at the Department of Physics here in Basel is among the eight access giving academic institutions of EMP.

SNSF and Open Access Publications: Some Advice

The SNSF requires researchers to publish the results of SNSF funded projects in the form of freely accessible articles or books. However, researchers must be aware that the SNSF does not cover publication costs for Open Access in any case. In this article, the University Library explains the reasons for this.

More Successes!

The Grants Office would like to congratulate:

The 10 new Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellows (out of 26 submitted applications, an amazing success rate of 38%!).
Markus Heim, Sebastian Hiller and Urs Jenal for their SNSF Excellence Grants
Nicola Aceto and Florian Seebeck for their ERC Proof of Concept grants.
Alex Schier and Ernst Meyer for their ERC Advanced Grants.
Dirk Bumann for his TWINNING project with the University of Tartu, Estonia, as coordinator.

Grants for Future Group Leaders

Don’t miss it! The Grants Office organizes an information event for researchers between 2 and 7 years post-doctoral experiences. At this event, experts from the SNSF and Euresearch will present the key aspects of the funding schemes Ambizione, Eccellenza, MSCA Fellowships and ERC Starting Grants. Grantees will give a first-hand account of their experience with the evaluation process.

The event takes place on Thursday, June 13, from 12:00 – 15:00. Details and registration can be found here.