Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is India’s premier institute for advanced scientific and technological research and education. Its mandate is “to provide for advanced instruction and to conduct original investigations in all branches of knowledge as are likely to promote the material and industrial welfare of India.”
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is committed to collaborating with other research institutions to maximize resources, facilitate research, and accelerate understanding for fundamental and applied research.
On January 24, 2022, IISc & TUD signed an MoU, aiming to foster scientific and technological cooperation between researchers at two institutions, through the funding of joint research projects. These matching funds will support collaborative research initiatives and activities that will lead to impactful research outcomes.
Under the referred MoU, as a continuation of this fruitful collaboration, IISc & TUD make this call open for Proposals under the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.
1. Scope of the call
1.1. This call invites research proposals in areas of mutual interest and complementarity that strengthen partnership between IISc & TUD. Proposals from all fields of knowledge are welcome, as well as interdisciplinary proposals.
1.2. Collaborative activities may be based on joint projects set up by faculty/staff members of both institutions, including:
1.2.1. Exchanges;
1.2.2. Workshops (Travel);
1.2.3. Webinars/seminars (Travel);
1.2.4. Any other form of partnerships, to be promoted and implemented jointly when both IISc and TUD find it mutually beneficial.
1.3. Applications or Activities that will not be considered for funding:
1.3.1. Website development;
1.3.2. Salaries or salary supplementation or honorarium;
1.3.3. Scholarship for students;
1.3.4. Course fees for international students (Note that at IISc no tuition fee is charged to the exchange students).
1.3.5. Entertainment costs;
1.3.6. Computers, including laptops & iPads.
1.4. The maximum duration of each project is 1 year.
2. Eligibility to submit proposals
2.1. IISc Applicants must be academic faculty members.
2.2. TUD Applicants must be academic staff at Delft University of Technology with a contract of employment for the full length of the proposed project.
2.3. One principal investigator (PI) should submit only one joint-proposal per call.
2.4. Please note that the previous recipients of the IISc-TUD collaborative grant are advised not to apply for this grant until two years after the completion of their current IISc-TUD collaborative grant.
3. Funding principles
3.1. Up to four joint projects will be selected for funding each year. Each successful proposal will receive up to Rs 5 lakh from IISc and up to EUR 5,000 from TUD. Funding will be jointly provided by IISc and TUD, with TUD covering the costs from its own PI(s) and IISc covering the costs from its own PI(s).
3.2. The funding is provided on the basis that it will be used as catalytic funding for the establishment of an international research collaboration that has the potential to develop further, beyond the lifetime of the grant, and ideally leverage external funding.
3.3. The funding is provided on the basis that it will encourage joint activities, including joint supervision program between TU Delft and IISc PIs.
4. The proposal shall be comprised of:
4.1. Research Project having a maximum of 5 pages including one (1) page of scientific content, written in English jointly by the Principal Investigator at IISc and the Principal Investigator at TUD. One copy of the Research Project shall be sent to TUD and an identical copy to IISc. The Research Project must include the following:
4.1.1. A substantive description of the proposed activities, emphasizing their purpose and relevance for (future) joint research;
4.1.2. Performance indicators for the planned activities, indicating the expected results and a time schedule;
4.1.3. A description of each candidate’s contribution to the mission, explaining their expertise to carry out the foreseen activities;
4.1.4. Description of how the Principal Investigators intend to prepare a joint research project, resulting from the activities developed from the proposal submitted in this Call, to be submitted to research funding agencies in order to create a medium-long-term collaboration (up to one page).
4.2. Short CVs (2 pages max) of all Principal Investigators involved in the proposal.
5. Submission process:
5.1. The completed application should be saved as a single PDF file, which is to be sent before the deadline to iro.admin@iisc.ac.in & india@tudelft.nl.
5.2. The same proposal is submitted to both IISc and TU Delft and evaluated separately by either party.
6. Selection Criteria to be used by IISc & TUD internal review committees:
6.1. Compelling proposal design and rationale.
6.2. Potential of the proposal to develop a long-lasting research collaboration, and ideally leverage external funding.
6.3. Quality and timing of performance indicators for the planned activities.
6.4. Impact of expected collaboration and mutual knowledge transfer.
7. Timeline
Call announced by IISc and TU Delft:
February 9, 2023
Closing date for submission of proposals:
March 13, 2023
Successful proposals notified after:
April 3, 2023
8. Result of selection criteria
8.1. IISc communicates results to corresponding IISc grantees.
8.2. TU Delft communicates results to corresponding TU Delft awardees.
9. Reporting
9.1. A concise (2 page maximum) narrative and financial report of the grant activities must be shared with iro.admin@iisc.ac.in & india@tudelft.nl within 3 months of project end date.
9.2. At the end of the collaborative project, we require a publicly available final report on the activity (e.g., the end result itself (paper/publication), a webpage on the institute’s website featuring a written or visual report, a short movie, etc.).
9.3. The funding from IISc & TU Delft should be acknowledged in the project team’s communications as well as any presentation or publication that follows based on this funding.
10. Data Protection
10.1. Delft University of Technology is committed to data protection (EU GDPR Regulation EU2016/679, ‘Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming’ Law implemented by 25 May 2018).
10.2. As part of the process of applying for support under this call for proposals, you are asked to provide the following personal data: name, position at TU Delft, group/Department/Faculty, employment situation: whether permanent, or if not permanent end date of current employment contract, and a CV of maximum two pages.
10.3. The personal data you have provided in the application to this call for proposals will be processed at TU Delft and transferred to IISc (India) as necessary step for the purpose of joint analysis and evaluation of the received proposals, granting, and follow-up of the granted proposals. Data will be treated as confidential and will not be transferred to other third parties besides TU Delft and IISc.
10.4. Data will be held for a period of maximum five years after the deadline of the call for proposals. After that period, all personal data will be destroyed.
10.5. For more information on the privacy policy of TU Delft, please see https://www.tudelft.nl/en/privacy-statement/.
11. For further information on the joint call or questions, please do not hesitate to contact:
11.1. IISc: iro.admin@iisc.ac.in
11.2. TU Delft: a.m.kummerlowe@tudelft.nl