As part of its long-term commitment to foster collaboration in research and teaching, the 4EU+ European University Alliance is launching the second round of the 4EU+ Visiting Professorships initiative. This programme seeks to enhance the knowledge and skills of academic staff at the 8 member universities of the Alliance, to support new and enrich existing research and/or educational collaborations and to lead to the creation of novel expertise within 4EU+ and ensure its sustainability over time.
The call intends to enlarge the community of researchers and academics who are actively involved in 4EU+ activities. The Visiting Professorship holder is, therefore, encouraged to lead or join the new or existing projects that involve staff members, but also students and doctoral candidates from the host university as well as the home university of the Visiting Professorship holder. Involvement of other 4EU+ member universities in the project activities is also possible.
The call is open to researchers and academics of all scientific fields and disciplines corresponding to the thematic scope, missions and objectives of the 4EU+ Flagships.
The programme is funded from the budget of the 4EU+ European University Alliance Association.
The Visiting Professorship holder, together with the hosting team, will carry out joint research and/or educational activities that contribute to the development of new education frameworks and novel expertise, for example:
For teaching and learning:
instructing in courses at host universities (giving lectures, seminars, conducting laboratory training)
participating in the development of joint learning modules or programmes, incl. short programmes like summer and winter schools
contributing to methodological work and the transformation of teaching methods
For research:
join the research team/lab at the host university to reach their research objectives and bring the gained knowledge back to the home university
building a 4EU+ research team
leading or participating in the development of shared research infrastructure
leading or participating in preliminary research activities with a view to submitting a joint proposal for research funding
organising high-level research conferences and scientific seminars
The 4EU+ Alliance is willing to support the activities that would lead to the sustainable improvement of its research and/or educational structures.
Related outreach and communication activities to disseminate the project results within the non-academic sector and society shall also be envisaged in the proposal. The Visiting Professorship holder is responsible for efficient dissemination.
In addition to a written report, the Visiting Professorship holder should make live and/or recorded oral presentations to a broad audience to highlight their project’s outcomes.
The Visiting Professorship holder and the members of the hosting team must be affiliated with two different universities of the 4EU+ Alliance. The involvement of other 4EU+ universities in the project is encouraged.
The Visiting Professor is expected to spend a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 3 months at the host university. A Visiting Professorship is for one person only and cannot be shared.
The mobility period can be divided into several intervals over one academic year but only one travel can be funded. If the holder of a Visiting Professorship intends to split the mobility period, he/she must finance it independently.
Virtual mobility and distant collaborative work can complement but not replace the physical mobility period.
The Visiting Professorship holder is expected to work extensively with the members of the host team.
The Visiting Professorship holder is expected to inform the hosting 4EU+ local office (see Part 8) about planned communication events so that they can be coordinated with the local 4EU+ communications officer. The Visiting Professorship holder should also be prepared to be contacted by the local 4EU+ communication officer to see if it is possible to make a dissemination activity about the project e.g. 2-3 page report, 5 min. videos explaining the project and its purpose, etc.
The Visiting Professorship holder must submit the filled form of the final report no later than 3 months after the end of the Visiting Professorship. The report should include a description of activities carried out within the project, an identification of the team members, an elaboration of how it enriched the 4EU+ research and/or educational structures, and specific intentions regarding sustainability.
The hosting university provides logistical guidance and, if possible, assistance in organising the Visiting Professor’s stay (e.g., assistance in securing housing, child care etc.) and project-related activities.
It is the responsibility of the home university to exempt the Visiting Professorship holder from a part of their teaching duties, on a case-by-case basis.
The Visiting Professorship holder is an academic staff member employed at a 4EU+ member university.
With the exception of different specific local eligibility requirements (see the box below), the Visiting Professorship holder should be employed by a 4EU+ member university with a medium or long-term commitment to research and/or teaching. The candidate for Visiting Professorship should be employed by a 4EU+ member university at the time of submission of the application as well as throughout the period of his/her stay at the host institution.
Specific local eligibility requirements for candidates and/or Visiting Professorship proposals:
SU: Only permanent academic staff members are eligible to apply for the Visiting Professorship
UNIGE: Candidates for Visiting Professorship must check that they have no teaching or research obligations at UNIGE during their stay(s) abroad
UNIMI: Only permanent academic staff members are eligible to apply for the Visiting Professorship
UW: Only members of the academic staff with employment contracts are eligible to apply for the Visiting Professorship
The Visiting Professorship holder’s team at the receiving institution may be composed of any member of the hosting university or other 4EU+ member universities, including students, doctoral candidates and non-permanent staff, as long as they are identified by name and engaged for the entire duration of the project.
4EU+ member universities are committed to an open and inclusive working environment and apply equality, diversity and inclusion standards in the recruitment of Visiting Professors.
The Visiting Professorship holder continues to receive a salary determined and paid by the home university.
A lump sum will be paid to the Visiting Professorship holder by the home university in accordance with the local legislative regulation, considering:
the fixed daily/monthly allowances at the home university, covering accommodation and subsistence
the travel allowance is paid once
Mobilities to:
Czechia
112 EUR
Denmark
126 EUR
France
Germany
Italy
Poland
98 EUR
Switzerland
Lump sums for travel costs based on the Erasmus+ Distance Calculator:
Travel allowances rates
Heidelberg ↔ Paris
Heidelberg ↔ Milan
Heidelberg ↔ Prague
Heidelberg ↔ Geneva
180 €
All others
275 €
This lump sum is calculated automatically. Applicants only need to indicate the start and end dates of their mobility period in their application.
If applicable at the institution level:
operating costs of the project, described and duly justified in the proposal, are eligible
replacement costs for teaching and research staff from the home university must be described and duly justified in the proposal in order to be eligible
The 4EU+ Management Committee reserves the right to adjust the budget for accepted proposals.
To ensure transparency and fairness the daily/monthly allowance will be fixed for all universities and is based on the Erasmus+ Teaching Staff Mobility rates for long-term staff mobilities (Erasmus+ 2024).
Application for co-funding of the Visiting Professorship or additional funding for subsequent related activities is encouraged but not mandatory.
Note:
The home university will fund the Visiting Professorship project. Upon completion of the project, the 4EU+ Association will reimburse the home university’s expenses up to the amount allocated for the project upon the request for reimbursement. The home university is responsible for managing the total budget allocated (lump sum, operating costs, replacement costs, etc.) at the institutional level.
The host university will not contribute to the financing of the Visiting Professorship but is obliged to provide favourable hosting conditions for the Visiting Professor.
The full application form is available at this link.
The applicant has to fill in all the possible details about the planned activities, including the objectives of the project, the complementarity with the 4EU+ Mission Statement, and the expectations for further cooperation.
The required attachments are:
full CV
brief personal introduction
confirmation letter from the home institution, signed by the head of the department/dean of the unit of the department, or the rector of the home university (in English)
letter of acceptance from the host university, signed by the head of the host department/dean of the unit of the host department or the rector of the hosting university (in English)
Before submitting a proposal, potential candidates should obtain approval from their home university (approval letter) confirming their formal eligibility (if any) according to the criteria listed above.
Full proposals from the Visiting Professorship candidate and the host team will be submitted to the Evaluation Committee.
The Evaluation Committee is composed of representatives designated by the 4EU+ member universities, including at least one representative from each of the four 4EU+ Flagships, as well as representatives of the 4EU+ Student Committee, the Academic Council and a member of the 4EU+ Management Committee, who also serves as the Evaluation Committee chair.
The Committee may consult additional experts within the 4EU+ Flagships.
A ranked list of all proposals drawn up by the Evaluation Committee will be submitted to the 4EU+ Management Committee for budget allocation. The list of projects to be funded will be submitted to the 4EU+ Governing Board for final approval.
Applications open
4.3.2024
Applications close
20.5.2024 23:59 CET
Notification of results
19.7.2024
Latest date for Professorships to end
30.11.2025
Final report due
End of project + 3 months
Submitted project proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
thematic relevance and scientific quality/quality of the research / educational proposal (45 % of the scoring):
o One Comprehensive Research-Intensive European University
o the project covers the essential objectives of 4EU+ in research and/or education
added value of the partnership (25 % of the scoring):
o the outcomes of the project represent an added value for the participating institutions, they are innovative and ambitious
impact and sustainability (30 % of the scoring)
the project significantly increases the number of participants in 4EU+ activities, reaching a wider 4EU+ community
Thematic relevance and scientific quality of the research proposal:
To what extent does the proposed research address important challenges?
To what extent are the objectives ambitious and beyond the state of the art (e.g. novel concepts, approaches and actions, or development between or across disciplines)?
To what extent is the outlined scientific approach feasible? To what extent is the proposed research methodology appropriate to achieve the goals of the project?
To what extent are the proposed timescales and resources necessary and properly justified?
How is, or could be, the presented research a breakthrough in the relevant domain?
Added value of the partnership:
To what extent is the proposed partnership relevant to the proposed project objectives?
To what extent do the researchers involved have complementary expertise and why is this complementarity important for the project and its outcomes?
Is the high level of expertise of the team members in a common disciplinary area an advantage and why?
To what extent would the results of the project add value to the partnership?
Impact and sustainability
Does the project have the potential to enlarge the 4EU+ academic community involved in 4EU+ research activities and/or strengthen the existing collaborations?
Does the proposed activity help move the research collaboration towards the initial steps of a process leading to a future funding proposal for a European collaborative research project?
Thematic relevance and pedagogical quality of the educational design:
Is there a thematic synergy between the submitted project and the educational and training challenges addressed by 4EU+?
Which and how are innovative educational approaches such as research-based, challenge-based, transfer-oriented, evidence-based education or collaborative learning envisaged/used?
To what extent does the design of the submitted educational experience for students address the dimensions of multilingualism, interculturalism and inclusive education?
To what extent is the outlined educational approach feasible at the hosting institution? Is the absence of teaching staff at the home institution adequately compensated?
To what extent are the proposed timelines and resources necessary and properly justified?
How is the partnership necessary to reach the project objectives? Project activities should not conflict with or duplicate other local activities.
Will students be actively involved in the planning and implementation of the educational project or are the planned activities highly centred on the student learning process?
Impact and sustainability:
Does the proposed activity involve a significant number of participants?
Does it have the potential to enlarge the academic community involved in the 4EU+ educational activities and/or strengthen already existing collaboration?
Do the outcomes of the project represent an added value for the participating institutions?
Do the project outcomes presented in the application have the potential to become part of the permanent educational offer and will they contribute to the development of more comprehensive study units (e.g., study programmes and existing curricula at partner universities)?
For further information, please contact:
Charles University
4euplus@cuni.cz
Heidelberg University
4euplus@rektorat.uni-heidelberg.de
Paris-Panthéon-Assas University
Emmanuelle.Chevreau@u-paris2.fr
Sorbonne University
4euplus-su@sorbonne-universite.fr
University of Copenhagen
4euplusucph@adm.ku.dk
University of Geneva
4euplus@unige.ch
University of Milan
4euplus@unimi.it
University of Warsaw
4euplus@uw.edu.pl
4EU+ General Secretariat
secretariat@4euplus.eu
Useful links:
PDF version of the 4EU+ Visiting Professorships 2024 call
Online application form
PDF version of the application form
Template of the final report