STSM: Short Term Scientific Mission

What?

STSMs are exchange visits between researchers involved in a COST Action, allowing scientists to visit an institution or laboratory in another COST Member state. The award usually includes travel and accommodation / subsistence. However, the financial support is a contribution to the costs of an STSM and may not necessarily cover all the costs. Additionally, the STSM evaluation committee may adjust the application’s budget.

Why?

The aim is to foster collaboration in excellent research infrastructures and share new techniques that may not be available in a participant’s home institution or laboratory, support individual mobility and strengthen existing networks.

Who?

The STSM applicant must be engaged in an official research programme as a PhD Student or postdoctoral fellow or can be employed by, or affiliated to, an institution, organization or legal entity which has within its remit a clear association with performing research. STSM are intended especially for young researchers and researchers from ITC countries.

The selection of STSM applicants is based on the scientific scope of the STSM application that must be in line with the Cost Action CA19130 objectives and the working groups ones. For more details, please visit https://fin-ai.eu/.

When?

STSMs may last from a minimum of 5 days to up to 6 months, subject to a per mission budget, in another COST Member/Cooperating Member or Near-Neighbour Country joining the Action.

How?

STSM applications for Cost Action CA19130 are received through the e-cost platform in response to twice-a-year specific calls. All the details and required documents are to be found on the platform. The grantee should upload the scientific report within 30 days from the end of the mission.

Call for Applications:

Applications for the networking tools are open, with the following deadlines (subject to budget availabilities for the last rounds):

1st round – 31st of January, 2024
2nd round – 31st of March, 2024
3rd round – 31st of May, 2024
4th round – 31st of July, 2024

STSMs and VMG evaluation criteria

In order for an application to be considered for evaluation it has to:

Involve members from at least 5 countries;
Treat a deliverable of the Action – the deliverable has to be clearly stated in the application, even if it is a secondary output of the application;
The applicant should have already been involved in the Action’s activities;
The applicant should already have acknowledged the Action in previous work. This aspect has to be proven by the applicant in the application process by providing supplementary information related to it.

The final payment of the STSM amount is conditioned by:

Providing the mission report in due time;
Providing a proof of the deliverable. This proof may be a link, a DOI number, a proof of submission or anything of the kind, that allows the evaluation committee to see the actual output;
Any output of the STSM or VMG has to be acknowledged for the Action’s support
Have a presentation of the output/ results in one of the Action’s events
Have a podcast with Vasile Strat on the topic of the application.

The applicant may provide to the evaluation committee any other proof that supports the successful implementation of the mission.

Acknowledgement

Results of the STSMs or papers presented through ITC Conference Grants should acknowledge the funding received via:

This work was supported by a STSM grant/ ITC Conference Grant from the COST ACTION CA19130, Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance – Towards a transparent financial industry (FinAI).