Doctoral School

Information for supervisors

Call for initiatives

The Doctoral School calls on professors and postdoctoral fellows to submit proposals for the organisation of front line activities that directly address current training needs and demands of young researchers.

Four types of activities are eligible for funding:

(1) Specialist courses as part of the Doctoral Training Programme: cf. Call for specialist courses + application form (recurring deadlines: 31 May, 15 October, 15 February)

(2) Multi- or Interdisciplinary Summer/Autumn/Winter/Spring Schools: cf. Call for seasonal schools  + application form  (recurring deadlines: 15 October, 15 February)

(3) ‘Meet the expert’ activities: cf. Call for ‘Meet the Expert' activities (to be submitted at least one month prior to the planned activity)

(4) ‘Meet the PhD Jury’ activities on the occasion of a PhD defence: cf. Call for ‘Meet the PhD Jury’ activities (to be submitted at least one month prior to the planned activity)

Funding rules

 

Specialist course/Transferable skill seminar

Seasonal school

Meet the expert/Meet the PhD jury

Min. contact hours

15 for a specialist course, 6 for a transferable skill

20

1,5

Max. funding[1]

€6000

€20000 (+€3000 for an outreach event)

€1.200

Overall criteria
  1. Initiatives should:
  • Relate to ongoing doctoral research and appeal to a reasonable number of UGent PhD candidates
  • Bring in international expertise where relevant and possible
  • Be free of charge for PhD candidates affiliated with a Flemish research institution
  • Be prepared in collaboration with PhD candidates where possible or prepared primarily by PhD candidates with support from senior researchers

Funding guidelines

As a guideline, total funding for specialist courses, transferable skills, and seasonal schools should not exceed €600/UGent PhD candidate

Funding can be used to cover the following:

  • Light refreshments, such as coffee breaks or self-service light lunches, during the course (capped at €15 per person per day)
  • Renting of classrooms or other venues (capped at rates in the relevant UGent regulations); excursion transportation costs; essential course materials
  • As a rule, lecturers are paid a flat rate of €100/hour.[2] If substantively motivated, this can be increased to €200/hour for international experts.
  • Lecturers’ travel costs should cover ‘Economy’ travel and be proportionate to the level of participation in the course
  • Lecturers’ accommodation costs may not exceed €150/night and should cover max. the duration of the course + one night
  • We ask that you pre-finance costs using a Ghent University (E/01) budget, and that you bundle and then submit the relevant invoices and proofs of payment to doctoralschools@ugent.be, and this no later than three months after the end of the course. Please note that we cannot reimburse costs pre-financed by an external organisation, only those pre-financed using a Ghent University budget.

Funding restrictions

Funding cannot be used to cover:

  • Dinners, more elaborate lunches, receptions

Priority criteria

Interdisciplinary or interuniversity initiatives (esp. with other Flemish universities) with active participation from the partner institution

Application forms

Specialist course form / Transferable skills form

Seasonal school application form

Call for ‘Meet the Expert' activities

Call for ‘Meet the PhD Jury’ activities

[1] In exceptional circumstances, additional funding can be awarded exceeding the maximum amounts set out in this table. If you intend to submit a proposal requesting more funding than the maximum amount, please discuss this with the Doctoral School Office before submitting your proposal and make sure your proposal provides a substantive motivation for why the course should be granted additional funding.

[2] Lecturers from Flemish universities are expected to teach as part of their appointment and it is therefore preferable for them not to be paid to teach PhD courses; any payments can be awarded to individual project funds they manage or to their research group.

Interuniversity call (only for scientific societies and centers of expertise)

The submission deadline for the 2025 call has passed.

Many scientific associations/societies and centers of expertise already organise activities that could be interesting for doctoral students and postdocs. Please note that only (Flemish/Belgian) scientific societies are eligible for this call. Other types of organizations (e.g. centers of excellence, local research groups wishing to have an interuniversity collaboration, (international) conference organizers, ...) should apply to other funding channels, such as calls from local Doctoral Schools.

To encourage and support such activities, the Doctoral School has decided to provide grants of maximum €5.000 for one-day activities and maximum €8.000 for activities of two or more days (the exact amount that will be allocated will depend on the detailed budget overview that will be submitted). Examples of initiatives are workshops, summer schools, conferences, … 

The criteria for eligibility are:

  •  Active participation of young researchers (for example via hands-on activities, poster or oral presentations)
  • Participation of young researchers of minimum three Flemish universities (preferably all five)
  • The activity must fit into one or more of the categories listed in the attached document
  • Young researchers can participate free of charge or at a limited cost.
  • The initiative has to take place between 01/01/2025 and 31/12/2025.

The allocated budget is primarily intended for covering the transport costs (economy class for flights), hotel/sustenance costs (max. 250€ per day) and the honorarium (max. 250€) of renowned international guest speakers/scientists. The grant may not be combined with other funding awarded by local Doctoral Schools. (More information about the conditions and eligible costs can be found in the attached application form.)

The application form asks you to indicate:

  • The anticipated date/period and location of the activity
  • A description of the activity
  • The anticipated participant number of young Flemish researchers (PhD/postdoc). If this event has already taken place in previous years, please include the program and mention the number of participants (total and number of Flemish PhD/postdocs).
  • A detailed budget. Reimbursement of travel expenses and accommodation is based on original invoices.

Useful information

 

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