Due to the situation in Ukraine the DFG is currently not accepting new proposals or renewal proposals that involve German-Russian cooperation. This applies also to Weave proposals that DFG receives as lead or partner agency. Proposals that have already been submitted are suspended until further notice and will not be processed further.
DFG is also suspending all collaboration within funded research projects between academics from Germany and Russia. However, in these the collaboration is suspended, but the German parts continue to receive funding and can adapt their project accordingly.
Funding for early-career scientists is one of the priorities of the Czech Science Foundation (GACR). In order to facilitate navigation through grant tenders and their terms and conditions, the Czech Science Foundation has prepared a clear overview titled “Czech Science Foundation for Early-Career Scientists”.
“The goal of the Czech Science Foundation is to cultivate world-class science in the Czech Republic. There is a simple way to achieve this: supporting people, their ideas and young scientists, on whom the future of Czech science depends. To make it easier for them to navigate through the Agency’s offerings, we have prepared a clear overview,” says Assoc. Prof. Petr Baldrian, the President of the Czech Science Foundation. “This publication will help them find out which tender is tailored to them – for example, the POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP tender is for fresh postdocs who need to obtain experience abroad, but it can also help Czech researchers who have completed their doctoral studies in another country to return home. For more experienced scientists who want to obtain independence as a researcher, there is the JUNIOR STAR tender. We also show that there are what we call Standard Projects for early-career scientists as well.”
In this publication, interested parties and potential applicants will find answers to the most common questions, as well as what the Project Proposal should contain, how the evaluation is carried out, and how the Czech Science Foundation reflects motherhood and parenthood. The publication “The Czech Science Foundation for Early-Career Scientists” is now available for download below, including an English version. You can also download the brochure “GACR under the Lens“, which provides a clear overview of the Agency’s activities.
The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) is aware of the complicated situation of Ukrainian students and scientists. To help them, GACR:
Recommends that investigation teams expand their teams with scientists and students from Ukraine. In 2022, this expansion is possible without the need of approval by the GACR Presidium.
Asks applicants in this year’s public calls to consider including Ukrainian students and scientists in the investigation teams of newly proposed projects.
Would like to notify Ukrainian scientists and their teams of the option of submitting project proposals to current calls, especially to the new POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP INCOMING call, which allows scientists from abroad to take part in a three-year research stay at Czech institutions. Should there be an increased interest in this call, GACR is prepared to raise the amount of resources allocated to its financing.
The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) is announcing calls for proposals for tenders in the area of Standard Projects, EXPRO, JUNIOR STAR, POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP, and International and Lead Agency projects. The submission deadline is 7 April. The winners will be announced in November and December this year. Projects which win funding after passing the multi-stage evaluation process will be launched in 2023.
“This year, after a one-year hiatus, scientists can apply for EXPRO grants again. They are intended for the best among them. If they pass the selection process, they will receive extraordinary grants of up to CZK 50 million for 5 years of project work. The first EXPRO projects have already produced a number of excellent results with a significant impact within their scientific fields, including Highly Cited Papers,” said the Chairman of the Czech Science Foundation Assoc. Prof. Petr Baldrian, Ph.D., adding: “Another of our priorities is to support early-career scientists. This year marks the second year of the POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP tender, which fosters international mobility, and the third year of the JUNIOR STAR tender, through which the best scientists will receive up to five years of funding. Of course, early-career scientists can also apply and succeed in all other tenders. ”
Project proposals can be submitted in the individual tenders until7 April 2022. The announcement of the tenders this year was earlier than in previous years, also due to the complicated epidemiological situation. This will give scientists more time to prepare their project proposals.
The project proposals will be assessed in a multi-stage transparent evaluation process, in which expert reviewers from other countries also participate substantially in addition to experts recommended by Czech research institutions. Among the winners, there is not a single project which has not been reviewed internationally. In case of the highly selective EXPRO and JUNIOR STAR projects, this process is the responsibility of international experts only.
Standard Projects
Standard Projects are the cornerstone of grant funding for basic research in the Czech Republic – every year since it was established in 1993, the Czech Science Foundation has funded a few hundred of them . Standard Projects are funded to facilitate the best of basic research in all fields of science. Proposals for usually 3-year projects may be submitted by any researcher or team, regardless of their age or experience.
After a year’s break, the EXPRO competition is once again open for the most excellent Czech scientists. A few selected researchers and their projects are going to raise five-year funding for their teams. During this period they will be able to draw up to 50 million CZK, i.e. an average of CZK ten million per year. The projects with the greatest potential to be part of a breakthrough in their field will be selected for funding by international panels. The research team will also be required to submit a project proposal to the European Research Council (ERC).
JUNIOR STAR grants are intended for excellent scientists in their early careers (within 8 years of receiving their PhDs) active in all areas of basic research who have published in prestigious international journals before, and have had substantial experience abroad. The 5-year project allows them to receive up to CZK 25 million and gives them an opportunity to attain scientific independence or even start their own research team, which can bring new areas of research into Czech science.
POSTDOC INDVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP (PIF) is the latest type of grant funding. The Fellowship is targeted at scientists who have completed their PhDs in the last four years. The OUTGOING PIF makes it possible for Czech scientists to perform research at any institution in the world, provided that the Fellow returns to the Czech Republic to spend at least one year at a local institution. The INCOMING PIF enables a scientist from abroad to come to a Czech institution to carry out his or her research.
Proposals for International Projects may be submitted in tenders published with agencies abroad jointly, on the basis of an agreement between the Czech Science Foundation and the other agencies. Project Proposals are either evaluated by both agencies (bilateral cooperation), or recommended for funding only by one of the agencies, and the other one accepts that recommendation (cooperation based on Lead Agency)
Agencies involved within bilateral cooperation
Taiwan – Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)
South Korea – National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)
São Paulo, Brazil – São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) has selected over 477 research projects to be funded starting next year. The topics of the projects chosen by the scientists are from all areas of basic research, the main aim of which is to produce new findings. The projects were selected under various grant calls – the selected projects will be carried out over 3-5 years. During that time, over CZK 3.5 billion will be used to fund those projects.
“The characteristic of basic research is that it brings new findings and knowledge. It was basic research which made the extremely rapid development of vaccines against covid-19 possible ‒ because when the epidemic struck, there was already a wealth of existing knowledge on which to build. The Czech Research Foundation also supports all areas of basic research because we never know when they might turn out to be useful. All of the current inventions are also based on basic research findings,” said Petr Baldrian, Chairman of the Czech Research Foundation.
“All of the selected projects are excellent and on par with international standards, even though fewer than 20% of the project proposals will be funded in this tender,” says Petr Baldrian, adding: “The quality of the projects selected by the Czech Science Foundation is also evidenced by the results of the projects already completed, which have resulted in a vast number of publications and, above all, new findings that are among the absolute top in the world.” A total of 434 Standard Projects will be funded starting next year.
It is important for every scientist to obtain foreign experience as soon as possible, which is why this year, for the first time, the Czech Science Foundation launched the POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP (PIF) programme. These grants are grouped into inbound grants for scientists from abroad and outbound grants for Czech scientists. “The purpose of these grants,” says the President of the Czech Science Foundation, “is to enable Czech researchers to obtain experience with world-class science at the leading institutions abroad. Part of the grant is also the Fellow’s return to the Czech institution, where he or she will capitalize on the experience obtained abroad. The second branch of this Fellowship programme will open up career opportunities for the best young scientists from other countries at scientific institutions in the Czech Republic.” In the first year, 27 PIF grants were awarded, and the Czech Science Foundation expects an increase in the coming years.
“Young scientists also crave the opportunity to make their original ideas come true, and to build their own teams. This is made possible by the JUNIOR STAR grants, which are, however, highly selective, and only scientists who already have the necessary experience are able to obtain them. However, if they make it through the rigorous selection process, they deserve long-term support for the development of their own scientific topic,” says the President of the Czech Science Foundation, introducing the grant schemes for scientists in their early careers. Sixteen researchers were awarded five-year funding of up to CZK 25 million.
All of the projects went through a transparent, multi-stage evaluation process involving over 400 Czech experts in their respective fields of research and hundreds of international scientists. The deadline for submission of project proposals was postponed by two weeks due to the epidemic situation, but the results were published within the original deadline. “Our evaluators deserve a big “thank you”, we are only able to publish the results this year thanks to them and their extraordinary commitment.”
The Government appointed Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Petr Baldrian, Ph.D., to the position of President of the Czech Science Foundation (GACR). At the same time, Prof. MUDr. Milan Jirsa, CSc., was appointed Presidium Member in charge of medical and biological sciences.
“I am honoured to be able to build on the good work of Dr. Alice Valkárová and Professor Jaroslav Koča. As one of the members of the Presidium, I have been involved in the current setup of the grant environment, which includes, in particular, new grant opportunities for early career scientists and funding for excellent projects with the potential to bring breakthroughs in their field. In the future, I plan to focus the activities of the Czech Science Foundation especially on a further development of international cooperation, and to finalize preparations for a new type of grant tender that will allow us to respond directly to current challenges facing the society as a whole, such as the covid-19 pandemic,” says Petr Baldrian, Ph.D., summarizing his plans.
The position of the Chairman of the Czech Science Foundation and a member of the Presidium for Medical and Biological Sciences has been vacant since the beginning of July, when Prof. Jaroslav Koca, who had held these positions, died suddenly. The government appointed Petr Baldrian and Milan Jirsa on the nomination of the Council for Research, Development and Innovation.
Petr Baldrian has been a member of the Presidium of the Czech Science Foundation in charge of agricultural and biological-environmental sciences since January 2017. Currently, he is also the Head of the Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology at the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Milan Jirsa works at IKEM and at the 1st Faculty of Medicine of the Charles University. He also has experience from the evaluation panels of the Czech Science Foundation, whose activities include the assessment of project proposals for funding.
Starting next year, the Czech Science Foundation (GACR) will fund 16 projects that won the JUNIOR STAR tender. The goal of the five-year projects with a budget of up to CZK 25 million aim to support the best of scientists in their early-stage careers within 8 years of completing their Ph.D. programmes. They will be able to pursue their own scientific topics, and also to establish their own research groups. Half the projects funded will be carried out within the Czech Academy of Sciences.
“The JUNIOR STAR calls aim to identify projects of young researchers who have a high potential to achieve world-class results and, at the same time, have the ambition to become independent scientists. Similar to the EXPRO calls, these are exclusive grants – only a small percentage of projects get selected, providing their investigators with extraordinary funding for a period of five years. While scientists in the early stages of their careers enjoy greater research freedom, we also hope that the award of the grant sends a message to their institutions that those scientists can be expected to produce excellent results in the future,” said Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Petr Baldrian, Ph.D., adding: “Funding junior scientists is one of the priorities of the Czech Science Foundation. This year, we have launched the POSTDOCINDIVIDUALFELLOWSHIPcalls for young scientists who completed their Ph.D. programmes recently, aimed at scientific mobility. However, young scientists – both students and postdocs – are also an important part of standard or international project teams, where they can gain practical research experience.”
In the second year of the JUNIOR STAR calls, a total of 16 projects have been recommended for funding out of a total of 315 proposals submitted. Half the projects funded will be carried out starting next year at the Czech Academy of Sciences, three at the Masaryk University in Brno, and two at the Czech Technical University in Prague. One project each at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, and the University of Chemical Technology in Prague.
The evaluation of JUNIOR STAR project proposals is carried out purely externally by scientists abroad recommended by the international agency Science Connect. The evaluation is carried out in two phases, with each project proposal being evaluated by at least four experts abroad in the given research field.
Registration No.
Applicant
Title
Organization
Project Duration
22-06008M
Ing Prokop Hapala, PhD
Computer Aided Desing of Templated Assembling, Replication and Synthesis on Ionic Substrates
Fyzikální ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
22-11299M
Ing. Petr Kovaříček, Ph.D.
Reaction networks at phase interfaces for dynamic self-assembly
Fakulta chemické technologie, Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze
5
22-17593M
Mgr. Kateřina Sam, Ph.D.
Ecological meltdown in the absence of birds and spiders?
Přírodovědecká fakulta, Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích
5
22-18033M
Ing. Tomáš Fíla, Ph.D.
High velocity impact dynamics with fast and flash X-ray radiography
Fakulta dopravní, České vysoké učení technické v Praze
5
22-18424M
Jan Perner, Ph.D.
Functional Genomics and Symbio-Genomics in Ticks
Biologické centrum AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
22-20303M
Mgr. Hana Sedláčková, Ph.D.
Deciphering Origins of DNA replication in genome integrity
Biofyzikální ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
22-20342M
RNDr. Tomáš Slanina, Ph.D.
Organic Solar Electric Batteries Using Electron Storage into Chemical Bonds
Ústav organické chemie a biochemie AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
22-21743M
Dr. Madalina Bianca Moraru
RolE oF cOuRts in Shaping Access to asyluM (REFORM)
Právnická fakulta, Masarykova univerzita
5
22-22000M
Dr. Dominik Kriegner
Multipole antiferromagnets: New interlinked chapters in crystallography, band structure, and electronics
Fyzikální ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
22-23183M
RNDr. Zuzana Kúkelová, PhD.
New generation of camera geometry solvers
Fakulta elektrotechnická, České vysoké učení technické v Praze
5
22-28659M
Mgr. Filip Hrbáček, Ph.D.
Dynamics of the periglacial environment in the Antarctic Peninsula region under ongoing climate change
Přírodovědecká fakulta, Masarykova univerzita
5
22-30571M
RNDr. David Sehnal, Ph.D.
Cell*: a web platform for visualization, modelling and dynamics of organnel- and cell-sized structures
Přírodovědecká fakulta, Masarykova univerzita
5
22-33162M
Ole Jann, PhD
Data, Algorithms, Power: Economic Theories of the Information Society
Národohospodářský ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
22-33266M
Ioannis Markonis
Investigation of the Terrestrial HydrologicAl Cycle Acceleration (ITHACA)
Fakulta životního prostředí, Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze
5
22-33877M
Mgr. Kateřina Rohlenová, Ph.D.
Intercellular metabolic crosstalk in nucleotide metabolism: an emerging target
Biotechnologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
22-35680M
Roman Pleskot, Ph.D.
4D plate - Spatiotemporal dynamics of cell plate development
Ústav experimentální botaniky AV ČR, v.v.i.
5
The results of the other grant calls made by GACR will be announced on 6 December 2021.
Today, five excellent scientists have received the Award of the President of the Czech Science Foundation (GACR) for outstanding results in grant projects, which was exceptionally presented this year by GACR Vice President Stanislava Hronová. The prestigious prize for the best basic research was awarded to Martin Pivokonský (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic), Vladimír Šindelář (Masaryk University), Zdeněk Lánský (BIOCEV Biotechnology and Biomedicine Centre as the joint venture of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Charles University), Klára Šeďová (Masaryk University), and Marek Eliáš (University of Ostrava).
The award-winning research projects provide important insights that will make it possible to ensure the high quality drinking water, use certain organic substances in the preparation of medicines, better understand what happens inside nerve cells, improve education for school children, or better understand the evolution of cell organelles ‒ tiny structures present in the cells of plants and algae.
“We believe it is extremely important to reward scientists for their work, which is why this year we have selected these five best grant projects. It was an honour to present the President’s Award of the Czech Science Foundation to the laureates, but I am deeply saddened that the President of the Czech Science Foundation, Jaroslav Koča, an exceptional scientist and a man who recently left us unexpectedly forever, was unable to present it. We are presenting these awards for the eighteenth time, and this year’s selection of projects once again proves that basic research in the Czech Republic is world-class,” says Stanislava Hronová, Vice-President of the Czech Science Foundation.
The laureates of the GACR President’s Award are selected on the recommendation of several hundred scientists who evaluate projects funded by GACR. Over thirty projects have been shortlisted, out of which the winning projects were then selected in five areas of basic research: technical sciences; physical sciences; medical and biological sciences; social sciences and humanities; and agricultural and biological-environmental sciences.
“Every year, the Czech Science Foundation funds hundreds of research projects selected through a transparent tender process. We are the only institution in the Czech Republic that has funded exclusively basic research projects for 28 years. We will continue to strive to create the right conditions for quality basic research so that it brings more success for Czech scientists,” says Stanislava Hronová, Vice President of the GACR.
List of laureates and award-winning projects
Technical sciences
doc. RNDr. Martin Pivokonský, Ph.D., Institute of Hydrodynamics, Czech Academy of Sciences
Influence of Algal Organic Matter of Flocs Formed during Coagulation/Flocculation in Water Treatment
The project investigated the effect of organic matter produced by cyanobacteria on water treatment at different mixing intensities. It produced a major finding ‒ when the mixing intensity is changed, the change in the size of the flocs that remove the water contaminants is not linear, but occurs in quantum leaps. These conditions ultimately determine how effective the entire water treatment process will be. The project has thus contributed to deepening the theoretical knowledge of water treatment by coagulation and flocculation, which can be leveraged to improve existing water treatment technologies and thus provide potable water.
Physical sciences
prof. Ing. Vladimír Šindelář, Ph.D., Faculty of Science, Masaryk University
Chiral Bambusurils
The project dealt with what is called bambusurils ‒ organic substances whose molecule resembles part of the bamboo stalk, inspiring the laureate who discovered them to give them this name. He has taken a closer look at chiral bambusurils, whose molecule is not identical to its mirror image. He discovered that they are only able to preferentially bind one of a pair of chiral anions to each other, whereby pairs of anions can be split to obtain only those that exhibit the desired properties. This makes it possible to use bambusurils primarily in the preparation of pharmaceutical drugs.
Medical and biological sciences
RNDr. Zdeněk Lánský, Ph.D., BIOCEV
In Vitro Reconstitution of the Mitochondrial Transport Complex
Thanks to this project, a mechanism has been discovered that allows molecular motors to find a viable path in the crowded interior of a cell. It has led to the discovery of how molecular motors transport mitochondria in nerve cells over long distances and how this mechanism increases the reliability of transport. The clarification of the molecular mechanism provides insights relevant to further research on the regulation of mitochondrial transport.
Social sciences and humanities
prof. Mgr. Klára Šeďová, Ph.D., Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University
The Relationship between the Characteristics of Instructional Communication and the Students’ Learning Outcomes
The project has shown, also through a dedicated app, that verbal engagement of students during school instruction enhances learning. Students who communicate during class achieve better results than those who follow the teacher’s instructions quietly. The project has produced findings that can be used by schools to enhance their students’ learning, and has also revealed that communication during class can make up for the disadvantages of students from less stimulating family backgrounds.
Agricultural and biological-environmental sciences
prof. Mgr. Marek Eliáš, Ph.D., Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava
The Dark Side of Plastid Biology: Evolution and Function of Leucoplasts in Algae
The project has made a major contribution to a better understanding of the evolution and function of plastids ‒ cellular organelles present in plant and algal cells. It mapped the metabolic functions of the plastid of a unicellular flagellate organism, the colourless euglenid. Professor Eliáš also discovered a new lineage of non-photosynthesizing algal flagellates with an extremely large plastid genome, and uncovered a hidden plastid in an amoebic organism of the Leukarachinon genus.
Czech Science Foundation President’s Award
Since 2003, the President’s Award of the GACR has been regularly awarded to three to five laureates in recognition of the outstanding results achieved in grant projects completed in the previous year. So far, a total of 80 exceptional scientists and their projects have been awarded (see the list here). Each laureate will receive a financial award of CZK 100,000. The prizes are awarded in five areas of basic research: technical sciences; physical sciences, medical and biological sciences; social sciences and humanities; and agricultural and biological-environmental sciences.
Czech Science Foundation
The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) is the only institution in the Czech Republic that provides targeted aid from public funds to basic research projects only. The objectives of GACR are to fund basic research projects carried out by scholars and their teams, both seasoned scientists and young ones in their early careers, to create suitable and attractive conditions for scientists, and to promote and expand international scientific cooperation. GACR launched its activities in 1993.
It is with our deep sorrow that we announce the departure of Prof. RNDr. Jaroslav Koča, DrSc. The President of the Czech Science Foundation passed away suddenly on Friday 2 July 2021, short of turning 66.
Prof. Jaroslav Koča had been a member of the Presidium of the Czech Science Foundation of the Czech Republic since 2016, and was appointed President in December 2020. In this role, he contributed to the current internationalisation of the Foundation, as well as the creation of new types of grants targeted at scientists at various stages of their careers.
Professor Jaroslav Koča was an internationally recognised expert in the field of organic chemistry. He received his professorship in 1995 at the Masaryk University in Brno. During his scientific career, he published more than 200 original scientific papers in international journals, and supervised more than 40 Ph.D. students and postdocs. He worked at a number of international institutions, including long-term engagements in Norway, France, and the United States. In his lifetime, he held several positions in science management – he contributed significantly to the development of CEITEC, where he held the position of Scientific Director in 2015-2020.
With the departure of Jaroslav Koča, Czech science has not only lost a prominent scientist, but also a man who, through his diligence and personal approach, managed to build a world-class scientific environment in the Czech Republic.
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