Institutional Partnerships

• Call for proposals has ended on 1st September 2011. Close to 80 applications have been received; the evaluation process is now under way. A decision should be communicated in January 2012.

• With the closing of the most recent call for IP and FE/SE proposals the SSSTC has concluded its "Call for Proposals" for the 2008-2011 phase. Future new calls will be announced once the federal resolution on education, research and innovation has been formalised and the budget allocated. Meanwhile, in order to pave way for the next SSSTC phase, we are preparing several "Stepping Stone Symposia" to encourage
  a  the participation of Swiss industries,
  b  contacts to top-level Chinese scientists. 
  
• Do you have ideas that (in a given research area) would create synergy by pooling Swiss and Chinese expertise in one platform? Would this idea attract broad participation of Swiss researchers and industries alike? Would you like to jump start this idea by organising a Stepping Stone Symposium? Please contact: Maio Chen, maio.chen-su@sl.ethz.ch. More....

IP - Description

Grants for Institutional Partnerships are meant to provide seed money to encourage broad-based interactions between two institutions. The goal of such interactions should be long-term collaborations in education or research. No priority-field restrictions will be applied to this instrument.

During the National Steering Committee meeting in December, 2008, it was decided that IP should be an instrument for initial contacts of partner institutions; research collaborations may be part of an IP project but should not be the main purpose. IP activities may include, but is not limited to, academic exchanges (such as exchange professors for lectures and/or seminars), joint courses, joint scientific workshop, etc. Financial support for exchange students will be limited to research students. Personnel exchange should be limited to short-term stays at the partner institutes.

Project Duration

12 - 36 months

Eligibility

The main applicants must hold a professorship and have the authorization from the head of the institution involved. Institutes consisting of one single professorship are not eligible.

The Swiss applicant must be a permanent faculty member of the following institutions:

· Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology

· Cantonal universities of higher education

· Federal and cantonal research institutions

· Swiss universities of applied sciences

· Other research institutions eligible for receiving federal funding

Submission

The application must be prepared jointly by the Swiss and Chinese applicants. For the application form, please click here.

The following components should be part of the proposal:

· Clear articulation of how the project is bilaterally beneficial

· Clear statements on the suitability and the quality of the Chinese partners

· A clear long-term outlook (educational or research)

The application should be submitted by the Swiss partner (both an original paper copy and an electronic copy, to the Swiss 
SSSTC Program Office:

Dr. Maio Su Chen

ETH Zürich
International Institutional Affairs
Rämistrasse 101 / HG F11

8092 Zürich, Switzerland

Email: maio.chen-su@sl.ethz.ch

The original copy must be signed by the Swiss main applicant (manual signature) and the Chinese main applicant (manual or electronic signature).

Submission in China: The Chinese partners have to ensure the Chinese funding. This could involve an application to their University or Chinese funding agencies through normal channels.

Application Deadline

Applications must be submitted to the Swiss program office by Sept. 1st, 2011. Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.

Grant Information

Detailed budget for each budget item is required. Projected expenses must be justified and related to the proposed activities. Such activities may include:

· Short-term research exchanges,

· Small-scale, jointly organized workshops

· Travel expenses in connection with visits to the partner institution in China (economy class at the lowest possible rate); local traveling should be paid for from the normal budget of the institution

· Living expenses for the visiting project partners (faculties and/or students) from China. Please refer to the Financial Guidelines.

· Grants may not be used to cover salaries and overhead costs

Evaluation and Selection

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of experts selected by the Swiss National Steering Committee. Evaluation criteria are:

· Scientific, educational, and/or technological quality

· Impact factor of the proposed activities

· Innovative in approach

· Qualification of the applicants

· Feasibility of proposed activities

· Potential synergy between the partners

· Long-term outlook of the partnership

· Cost-benefit ratio

Beyond that, it is good to keep in mind that clear elaboration of the planned activities and the budget requested will have a positive impact on the rating of an application.

The Swiss National Steering Committee will make the final selection of projects to be awarded. Swiss applicants will be notified of the outcome of the Program Office at the end of January.

Reporting

Swiss grant recipients should submit a short scientific and financial report to the Program Office. The scientific reports will be evaluated in Switzerland by the Advisory board and/or a panel of experts as designated by the Swiss National Steering Committee. The financial reports will be reviewed by the Program Office.