Connected World Calls

CONNECTED WORLD is one of four profile themes at the heart of Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam. Wishing to promote innovative research on this theme and to engage students in this endeavour, VU sustains Connected World Academy Assistant teams. These teams consist of two Bachelor or Master students guided by VU staff members. With the present call, we cordially invite VU staff to propose such teams. The Academy Assistant program aims at promising high-potential students who want to conduct scientific research and possibly pursue an academic career. The program is meant to bring together scientists from different disciplines; therefore the projects must combine methods and themes from two different disciplines. For each awarded project, the program will fund two student research assistants (0,2 FTE) for a period of nine months. The proposed research must explicitly relate to the Connected World theme.

Deadline for submission proposals: 5 February, 2023 before 23:59 hrs.

Communication of winning proposals: third week of February, 2023

All required documents have to be sent in one pdf to connectedworld@vu.nl. Applications have to be written in English.

Only VU staff can apply and propose Academy Assistants teams.

You can apply for a max. of €18.000,-. The funding covers the recruitment of two student research assistants (0,2 FTE) for a period of nine months.

A complete application must include:

• Cover letter by the applicant (max. 1 page A4; including a 200-word abstract) highlighting
  • the interdisciplinary collaboration in the project;
  • Project description;
  • Planning;
  • Deliverables
• Detailed budget estimate (estimate costs for employment of a student assistant can be requested from the HR advisor of our own faculty. Please note that the employment costs cover the super gross salary and KDM costs for the student assistant.)
• A WBS element on which the funding can be booked. (The financial administration of the funding is the responsibility of the applicant(s). Therefore a WBS element on which the funding can be booked is mandatory when apply for funding. If you have no WBS element you can contact your Business controller of your faculty, the head of your department or the chair were you work for to make arrangements to use an existent WBS element. Without a WBS element or an assurance that the WBS element will be arranged, the application can’t be reviewed.)

Proposals are selected on the basis of the quality of the proposed research project, its interdisciplinarity, the level of student engagement and the relation to the Connected World theme.

The applicant is required to send a final report including overview of the costs incurred within six weeks after the project has ended.

1. Academy assistants will be appointed for a maximum period of nine months, for eight

hours a week (one working day), starting between March 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023.

1. Assistants should be VU bachelor or (research) master students for the entire period of their appointment; note that each assistant should bring in the expertise of one of the disciplines involved in the project. Exceptions can be made upon discussion with the coordinators.
2. Assistants will be appointed at the faculty of choice.
3. Tips for recruitment:

• Posting information for your AA position on Canvas pages of the courses you

teach/assist in;

• Using the mailing list of your faculty to send out a call for students;
• Refer students to the Connected World, Network Institute and CLUE+ websites to advertise the position;
• Ask a peer for students;
• Ask the Graduate School of your faculty to share your AA position via its student network.

Connected World stands for connection, starting on the VU campus. With this call, we express our commitment to better connected campus and wish to actively promote that endeavor. To that aim, we sustain two Connecting the Campus grants of €12.500,- each. This call is open for projects that connect VU researchers, students and support staff across the campus to work on a more open, accessible, inclusive, and collaborative campus.

With the present call, we cordially invite VU staff and students to propose a Connecting the Campus-project for the calendar year of 2023. For each awarded project, the programme will fund costs to a maximum of €12.500,- (e.g. salaries, material costs, travel expenses). The profile theme Connected World will fund max. two projects.

Deadline for submission proposals: 5 February, 2023 before 23:59 hrs.

Communication of winning proposals: third week of February, 2023

All required documents have to be sent in one pdf to connectedworld@vu.nl. Applications have to be written in English.

All VU staff (a collaboration with students is also possible).

Applications must contain the following documents:

• Application letter specifying theme, objectives, partners, societal relevance (min. 2 applicants, of which one is a VU staff member; max. 3 pages A4; including a 200-word abstract).
• A budget overview. The budget overview must be submitted in table and the following information has to be mentioned.
  • All costs made for the project;
  • All income made by the project (like conference fees etc., if applicable);
  • The total requested amount;
  • The co-finance of third parties who will co-finance the (research) project (if applicable).
  • If your budget contains wages paid for employment (for someone else), the amount requested must include the salary on super gross level (super bruto niveau) and the KDM costs for the specific person. Please contact the financial controller and/or the HR advisor of your own faculty/department for these costs. The employment and the cost allocation must be done by the Department Head or the involved Chair.
  • All costs have to be made within the year the application has been granted.
• The financial administration of the funding is the responsibility of the applicant(s). Therefore a WBS element on which the funding can be booked is mandatory when applying for funding. If you have no WBS element you can contact your Business controller of your faculty, the head of your department or the chair were you work for to make arrangements to use an existent WBS element. Without a WBS element or a remark that the WBS element will be arranged the application cannot be reviewed.

All applications should be addressed to the Connected World policy officer, Rita van der Schriek-Hermans and sent to connectedworld@vu.nl. The required documents have to be send in one pdf. As soon as all documents have been received, the applicant will be sent an acknowledgement of receipt.

Deadline for submission proposals: 5 February, 2023 before 23:59 hrs.

Communication of winning proposals: third week of February, 2023

All required documents have to be sent in one pdf to connectedworld@vu.nl. Applications have to be written in English.

For each awarded lab, the program will fund costs to a maximum of €12.500,- (e.g. salaries, material costs, travel expenses).

Proposals are selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• quality of the proposed project;
• the fit to the Connected World profile theme;
• the expected outcomes of the project;
• the fit of the applicant(s) to the proposed project;
• team diversity in terms of relevant (disciplinary) background may be an advantage

The applicant is required to send a final report including overview of the costs incurred within six weeks after the project has ended.