Call for applications is closed

Application period: 18 January 2024 - 29 February 2024

Spending period: 01 October 2023 - 30 September 2024

Minimal requirements

• Applicants must be enrolled in the DSPL45 doctoral programme, be a VISESS student member and have agreed to the Code of Good Practice.
• Applicants must have successfully passed the FÖP within the first 2 semesters after registration, have submitted their dissertation agreement, and since then have submitted their annual progress reports (this applies strictly for students who started after 01.03.2023).
• Applicants must show active and regular participation in VISESS activities, i.e.
  - minimum 75% participation in the VISESS Seminar over 2 semesters during the time of their doctoral studies
  - co-organisation of one Big Picture Talk or Event during the time of their doctoral studies
• Applicants need to first use other available funding sources (such as funding opportunities through project funds or other relevant alternative funding opportunities).

Regulations

• There are two calls per year (anticipated mid January until end of February and mid June until end of July).
• PhD students can apply once or twice per year for a maximum funding amount of up to 500€ per year for the duration of three years (= six semesters) after they have passed their “FÖP”.
• The first application can be submitted in the semester in which the FÖP took place. The six semesters start from the semester for which a PhD student first applied for funding.
• Funding is only possible within a total study duration of 4 years.
• If a PhD student has taken a leave of absence from studies officially recognised by UNIVIE, these semesters are not counted and eligibility is extended by the number of semesters during which the PhD student was on officially granted leave.
• Funds can be spent during the ongoing or in the following semester. Expenses already made in an ongoing semester can be included into an application in case the invoice date is within that same semester and costs can be settled in accordance with the university regulations (be aware that travel expense requests must be submitted latest within six months and possibly in the same calendar year).
• In justified cases, such as cost-intensive long-term stays abroad, PhD students can apply for the pooling of funds of two or three years in advance. It is not possible to pool funds retrospectively or to apply retrospectively for funds that were not used in the past. If an application for the pooling of funds is accepted, the spending period can be extended.
• The recipient of the funds must acknowledge the support from VISESS in suitable form, e.g. add a funding statement ("This project has received financial support from VISESS”) and – if applicable – use the VISESS logo.
• There is no legal entitlement to funding, neither on the merits nor in terms of the funding amount.
• Due to the administrative effort, applications for less than EUR 100 cannot be taken into consideration.

Use of Funds

• The Research Funds can be used for research-related expenses such as
  • Travel expenses
  • Fees for conferences, summer or winter schools
  • Software and equipment
  • Proofreading, binding of the thesis
  • Language courses, in case they are research-related
  • Literature, if it is not available at the UNIVIE library
• All made or planned expenses need to be specified with regard to their research relevance in the application.
• The recipients of the funds need to provide evidence of all expenses by submitting invoices and proof of payment. Lump sums cannot be considered for funding.
• Expenses for meals are not eligible (exceptions: overnight stays including breakfast and so-called "conference dinners" for networking purposes).
• Expenses must be in line with the UNIVIE Sustainability Strategy. With regard to mobility expenses, we recommend using the train for trips to destinations that can be reached by train within six hours. If a travel by flight is charged with an UNIVIE flight levy, the flight levy needs to be covered with the funds (More).
• The Research Funds cannot be used to cover living expenses, tuition fees or staff employment.

Reimbursement process

• The applicant applies for funding through VISESS. There will be two calls for applications per year.
• VISESS checks the eligibility of the applications and informs the applicants whether an application can be approved and, if it is approved, what the next steps are. The approval letter is sent in cc to the respective department administration for information.
• If an application is approved, the applicant must apply for reimbursement of the expenses for the approved project through the subunit in a timely manner (be aware that travel expense requests must be submitted latest within six months and possibly in the same calendar year). The sub-unit pre-finances the amount approved by VISESS through the global budget cost centre and assists the applicant with the reimbursement. The reimbursement process follows the respective subunit-specific practices.
• Of the expenses actually incurred, VISESS will refund up to the (maximum) agreed amount of funding to the global budget cost centre of the subunit following the submission of a half-year report.