Invitation

eSSENCE@LU now invites proposals for new projects. Applicants may request 2 years of funding, starting 1 January 2024. We anticipate being able to fund at least five grants with a maximum of 600 kSEK/year (including overhead). The funding could be used, for example, for part-financing a PhD student or a post-doc in Lund.

The research theme of the selected projects should involve e-Science method development with a connection to computational or data-driven applications. Collaboration between different groups is necessary for a successful proposal. At least one of the groups needs to have a PI with employment at Lund University for the duration of the funding. “Different groups” could mean different disciplines or a collaboration with industry and society outside academia. It could also be different Swedish universities. In particular, we would like to see more collaboration between the eSSENCE universities, but it is not a requirement. We would also like to see more e-Science development in areas new to eSSENCE as well as an increase in female PIs. Given the high application pressure of previous grant rounds, many proposals have not been successful on the first attempt, but have succeeded in later rounds. We therefore encourage the resubmission of earlier proposals that are not receiving funding, updated to reflect the current situation.

How to apply

The proposal should be a maximum of 5 pages long. It should describe

• (i) the goal and importance of the project and the novelty compared to the current state-of-the-art
• (ii) the method development and application contents of the project
• (iii) potential for, or planned, collaborations within this project
• (iv) the status concerning persons to be funded (does a candidate exist? If yes - brief credentials for this person should be supplied. If not – briefly describe the recruitment plans.)
• (v) the amount requested and the amount and type of any co-funding.

The proposal should be submitted to Magnus Ullner by email (see below) not later than Friday 13 October.

Please describe clearly the e-Science component of the proposal and explain how tasks and money will be divided by the members of the collaboration, including the future affiliation of any new, recruited person.

Procedure

The proposals will be ranked by the eSSENCE coordinators at Uppsala and Umeå universities. The decision about grants will be taken by the steering group of eSSENCE@LU. Note that than none of these persons are experts in all fields represented by the proposals. Proposals should therefore be directed towards an audience having a general scientific background and avoid excessive technical details.

Contact

Contact person (deputy coordinator of eSSENCE@LU): Magnus Ullner magnus.ullner@compchem.lu.se

eSSENCE

eSSENCE is a research programme in e-Science formed by Uppsala University, Lund University and Umeå University as a result of a governmental initiative to promote strategic research areas. e-Science is research performed with digital tools. The overall goal of eSSENCE is to enable high-level research that will lead to new methods and knowledge of importance for science, industry, and society. eSSENCE strives to enable method development both with a scientific problem in mind and for generic use and to build new and productive e-Science collaborations leading to cross-fertilization and research renewal.

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FAQ

1. Can I have academic collaborators that are not from Lund, Uppsala, or Umeå?

Yes, although these universities are preferred, they are not a limiting list. A realistic project with the most suitable people is more important than political preferences.

2. Does the money has to be spent in Lund?

Yes, the money can only be paid to a Department/Division at Lund University, which means that at least one PI should be based in Lund, and so should any PhD student or post-doc that is hired. The latter may, of course, spend time away and work at other places for the sake of the collaboration, but the affiliation on resulting publications, should be Lund. This also means that if people move and there is no one left in Lund to continue the project, the project will end and the PI or the Department/Division may be required to return all or part of any funding received, depending on the situation.

3. Who am I writing for?

Those who will read and rank the proposals have a broad understanding of e-Science, but will in most cases not be experts in your particular field(s). Therefore, please avoid intricate technical details, but supply enough background to make it possible to understand the significance and novelty of the work as well as explain in reasonably simple terms what is going to be done and what the expected outcome is to allow an assessment of the e-Scientific content, feasibility, and general interest of the project.

4. The announcement does not mention CVs and publication lists. Should we provide that anyway?

The short answer is no. If you have someone in mind to be hired, a CV and a publication list could be a means to provide brief credentials, but a few words to describe why this person is suitable is actually better. We do not want CVs and publication lists for the applicants.

5. There is no mentioning of a budget in the call. Don't you want one?

Well, yes we do. However, if you are just asking for a yearly sum to finance part of the salary of a PhD student or a post-doc for a certain number of years, it is enough to say that in one sentence. On the other hand, if you have something more elaborate in mind, an itemised list is welcome, although we would still prefer that is made part of the the five pages rather than provided as an attachment. Note that it should be clear where any recruited person will be affiliated and who gets the money.