VILNIUS TECH MERIT Project Excellence Scholarship and Mobility Grant Award Call

Home Funding Calls for proposals VILNIUS TECH MERIT Project Excellence Scholarship and Mobility Grant Award Call VILNIUS TECH MERIT Project Excellence Scholarship and Mobility Grant Award Call MERIT Grant Cascade funding Internal navigation General information Submission & evaluation process Further information Task description General Information Opening date 19 August 2024 Deadline model single-stage Deadline date 30 June 2026 19:00 (Brussels time) Open For Submission Expected duration of participation One month Total funding available 21 000,00 € Project acronym MERIT Full name of the EU funded project Master of Science in Smart, Secure and Interconnected Systems Grant agreement number 101083531 Topic DIGITAL-2021-SKILLS-01-SPECIALISED - Specialised education programmes in key capacity areas Submission & evaluation process MERIT Project Excellence Scholarship and Mobility Grant Award Procedure and Selection Rules at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University 1. The aim of the excellence scholarships and mobility grants (hereinafter referred to as SCHOLARSHIP) is to promote the practical application, publicity and research of advanced digital skills among European citizens, thereby fostering innovation and the activity and mobility of those who can create it. 2. The SCHOLARSHIPS are granted by the MERIT project. MERIT project is co-funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101083531. Up to 21000 euros are available to be distributed for the excellence scholarships and mobility grants at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (hereinafter referred to as VILNIUS TECH). 3. The SCHOLARSHIPS can be awarded to persons (hereinafter referred to as STUDENTS) who are citizens of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU) studying in MERIT project master's degree programs of Engineering of Artificial Intelligence (state code 6211BX023) or Management of Artificial Intelligence Solutions (state code 6211BX024) (hereinafter referred to as the PROGRAMS) of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (hereinafter referred to as VILNIUS TECH). 4. Procedures for awarding SCHOLARSHIPS. 4.1. Information is published on the VILNIUS TECH website and other systems information about the possibilities for students studying in the programs to receive one-time scholarships for their results and activities performed, as well as available funding for student mobility. 4.2. During the study period, each student can write an application (hereinafter referred to as the APPLICATION) to the study program committee and apply for funding dedicated to: 4.2.1. mobility opportunities; 4.2.2. promotion for the results achieved. 4.3. The applications are accepted by VILNIUS TECH Department of Information Technologies. 4.4. In the first week of each month, the Programme Study Programme Committee considers the APPLICATIONS received and, on the basis of the criteria for the evaluation of applications, makes decisions on the satisfaction of students' APPLICATIONS. 4.5. STUDENTS are informed about the results of the consideration of the APPLICATION within 5 working days after the decision is made. 4.6. STUDENTS who were granted the scholarship application, within 10 working days must: 4.6.1. sign a scholarship award agreement, which also specifies the consent to the processing of the student's personal data, for scholarship management and marketing purposes; 4.6.2. provide the bank details necessary for the transfer of the scholarship; 4.6.3. provide other documents or information related to the award of the scholarship. 4.7. Students have the right to appeal about the results of the assessment, presenting aspects that they consider inappropriate in their assessment, factual errors in the assessment of the data provided. In the case of an appeal, the following procedure shall apply: 4.7.1. appeals are accepted by the study programme committee within 3 working days from the date of notification of the results of the assessment; 4.7.2. the appeal must be submitted in writing, indicating the specific places where the student's score was improperly assessed; 4.7.3. the study program committee must evaluate the appeal within 5 working days and inform the APPLICANT about its results; 4.7.4. if the inaccuracies referred to in the appeal are confirmed, they must be corrected and, accordingly, the fact of the award of the scholarship resumed. 4.8. In the event of a refusal of the SCHOLARSHIP, disagreement with the terms or failure to provide the necessary data in a timely manner, the APPLICATION is recorded as obsolete and the scholarship is no longer awarded. 5. Requirements for those who can submit an application for the scholarship. 5.1. The main requirements that must be met when applying for SCHOLARSHIPS: 5.1.1. to be an EU citizen – provide a copy of the identity document indicating nationality; 5.1.2. to study at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University in the Engineering of Artificial Intelligence (state code 6211BX023) or Management of Artificial Intelligence Solutions (state code 6211BX024) master's degree study program – to be included in the lists of full study students of these study programs; 5.1.3. must have no academic debts at the time of applying and receiving the scholarship. 5.2. Additionally, student’s activity during the studies is taken into account when evaluating scholarship applications. Students who are rated by teachers in specialized subjects of study as active during lectures have an advantage over inactive students. This fact determines not the size of the scholarship, but the ranking of applications for scholarships. 6. Mobility grants and their requirements. 6.1. Mobility grants can be awarded to cover student trips aimed at acquiring and demonstrating additional competencies, promoting the results achieved during studies and the PROGRAM. 6.2. When writing applications for mobility scholarships, the application must contain the following information and provide the following documents: 6.2.1. the purpose of the mobility and the planned results; 6.2.2. a link to the event or document indicating all the information about the event (date, duration, type, etc.) and its organizers (country, address, contact details, etc.); 6.2.3. detail the mobility costs planned or incurred and the proportion of their reimbursement requested (which costs are requested and to what extent). 6.3. Mobility scholarship applications shall be considered taking into account the following criteria: 6.3.1. the funding allocated must not overlap with the funding of other programmes, such as ERASMUS+; 6.3.2. for studies or traineeships in another higher education institution or institution, applications are considered only if the STUDENT has already submitted an application in the ERASMUS+ programme, but due to lack of funding, his/her application was not granted or the budget is not enough; 6.3.3. mobility must contribute to the development of advanced digital skills in the EU and/or the visibility of the MERIT project; 6.3.4. the mobility grant requested corresponds to the typical costs for this type and duration of travel, the budget is economically justified; 6.3.5. The student's mobility will have a positive impact not only on the student but also on other students of the PROGRAM, the community of the MERIT project. 6.4. The following types of trips are encouraged, for which a higher priority is given when assessing mobility applications: 6.4.1. participation in a scientific international conference, presenting the results achieved during the studies; 6.4.2. participation in international events (hackathons, competitions) representing the PROGRAM and the MERIT project. 6.5. In case of multiple applications and limitation of the budget, the priority is given to students, who had no mobility grants before, or the granted mobility grant was lower. 6.6. The amount of mobility grants from MERIT project may not exceed EUR 1500. In the case of higher costs, the possibilities of co-funding from other sources are investigated and combined to cover the full costs. The applicant should provide a written explanation what funding sources and amounts will be used for which mobility cost component, assuring no double funding will be done and at the same time, the received funding will be enough to implement the mobility plan. The request is granted only after it is satisfied that the fact of mobility will be ensured and there will be no double funding. 6.7. The STUDENT whose request has been granted shall sign a contract for the satisfaction of the application, in which he agrees that: 6.7.1. the funding can be used within 9 months from the date of satisfaction of the application, but no later than the end of the STUDENT's studies or September 1, 2026 (depending on what will be sooner); 6.7.2. the costs of mobility shall be paid by the students and he or she will provide the invoices received and the documents proving their payment to the study programme committee, which shall reimburse the costs actually incurred within 30 calendar days by transferring to it an appropriate amount of money. 6.8. If a STUDENT's mobility application is granted but before the student is used for a year of study, academic leave or other breaks in studies, the satisfaction of the mobility grant application is also invalid. 7. Excellence scholarships and requirements for them. 7.1. Excellence scholarships can be awarded for outstanding student achievements. 7.2. When submitting applications for excellence scholarships, it is necessary to indicate in the application the following information and provide such documents: 7.2.1. what exceptional results the student has achieved and provide documents proving this; 7.2.2. when these results were achieved; 7.2.3. how these results relate to the PROGRAMME and the MERIT project; 7.3. Applications for excellence scholarships shall be considered taking into account the following criteria: 7.3.1. the student's achievements are directly related to the vision for the development of advanced digital skills in the EU, the objectives of the PROGRAMME and/or the MERIT project; 7.3.2. the student's achievements contributed to the visibility of the PROGRAM and the MERIT project. 7.4. The study program committee estimates the criteria values, mentioned in paragraph 7.3 for each application, providing justification of the decision. Only applications, which meet both of the criteria are considered further. 7.5. Excellence scholarships can be awarded to the maximum extent possible, depending on their type, participation and influence: 7.5.1. up to 1000 euros – publication of a scientific article in the Web of Science referenced scientific journals with IF (not counting MDPI journals), referring to VILNIUS TECH as an affiliation. The number of co-authors and first author is taken into account – the maximum scholarship amount is divided by n+1, where n is the number of authors, excluding the student and his or her supervisor; dividing by 2 if the applicant is not the first author; 7.5.2. up to 500 euros – publication of a scientific article in the Web of Science referenced scientific journals without IF or in MDPI journals with IF, referring to VILNIUS TECH as an affiliation. The number of co-authors and first author is taken into account – the maximum scholarship amount is divided by n+1, where n is the number of authors, excluding the student and his or her supervisor; dividing by 2 if the applicant is not the first author; 7.5.3. up to 250 euros – publication of a scientific article in other scientific journals, conference materials, as an affiliation referring to VILNIUS TECH. The number of co-authors and first author is taken into account - the maximum scholarship amount is divided by n+1, where n is the number of authors, excluding the student and his or her supervisor; divided by 2 if the applicant is not the first author; 7.5.4. up to EUR 100 – preparation of a scientific oral presentation or poster at a sci [... συνέχεια στην επίσημη πρόσκληση]