Scientific Exchanges: SNSF launches a special call in parallel with UKRI
The SNSF and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are intensifying their collaboration. The SNSF is launching a special call for Scientific Exchanges to the UK, enabling research visits of up to twelve months in priority areas.
In the autumn of 2020, UKRI and the SNSF held a virtual researcher-to-researcher workshop, which identified four areas for future potential collaboration: synthetic biology, languages, materials, and the life and physical sciences interface. The SNSF and UKRI aim to reduce some of the barriers that researchers may encounter during the partnership-building stage and to foster collaboration among researchers in the UK and Switzerland.
As a result, on 1 February 2022 the SNSF will launch a special call within the scope of the Scientific Exchanges. Researchers working in the selected fields have until 8 April 2022 to apply for research visits to the UK with a duration of up to 12 months. In parallel, UKRI is putting out a call that offers the same opportunity for UK researchers planning research visits to Switzerland. The UKRI call for UK-Switzerland Partnering Awards is open between 14 January 2022 and 8 March 2022. Details are set out in the call announcement.
Proposals for the SNSF’s special call must be submitted on mySNF via the Scientific Exchanges funding scheme. The regulations of the Scientific Exchanges apply to any such proposals submitted during the call period, with some key differences relating to the project topic and duration. These differences are outlined in the call document. In addition to this special call, the regular Scientific Exchanges scheme remains open without any changes for visits between one and six months from and to any country, in any discipline.
Research visits funded by the special call can start at any point between 1 August 2022 and 1 October 2023. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the usual terms apply with respect to postponements.
Beyond this reciprocal offer for Scientific Exchanges, the SNSF and UKRI intend to further jointly foster collaborations between researchers in the UK and Switzerland.