Call for Applicants / Expression of interest

We would like to encourage in particular applicants from Southeastern Europe / the Western Balkan countries!!! Please forward this message to PhD students and PhDs under 35 years

1.) Also this year the Austrian Exchange Service announces "Ernst Mach" grants for research in Austria. This year the first time an online application-tool is used by the Austrian Exchange Service, on our webpage is a short instruction available.
Closing date of the call for applicants: 1.3.2007 (and 1.9.2007)
Scholarship: 940 Euro per month/1040 Euro for postdocs/month, up to 4 months

More information about the grant (no special fields of research but up to 35 years) can be found on www.grants.at
The application has to be done on
www.scholarships.at

We provide a short overview about the application procedure (first time online application) on http://www.aso.zsi.at/bul/stipbg.html
(follow the links in Bulgarian, German, English), or open the "Hints and tricks" pdf file containing all the needed information and links:
http://www.aso.zsi.at/attach/Applicationhintsandtricks.pdf

2.) In line with the announced call for grants/applicants our umbrella ZSI, the Austrian based Centre for Social Innovation http://www.zsi.at/
wants to express its interest to host jointly with academical partners in Austria scholars from Southeastern Europe and the Western Balkans SEE / WB countries or from other countries working on topics relevant for SEE/WB and working in the below mentioned fields up to 4 months during the winter term 2007/2008. Closing date for applications:
15.2.2007 (for our assistance) and 1.3.2007 (for submission).
To get our assistance, please send your CV and a 2-page outline of the research you plan - the research topic targeted has to be in line with the research you are working on at the moment e.g in your PhD thesis (maybe also finished). Please send us these documents by e-mail to
aso-sofia@zsi.at as soon as possible but latest till 15.2.2007 (for the Subject please indicate "Ernst Mach Scholarship"). You will get a notification if your topic attracts our interest.

Please note that the documents mentioned above are needed to get our assistance as a host for your research stay in Austria are only part of the documents required for the scholarship application!!!

Fields of research we are interested in:

*brain drain / brain gain / brain circulation in WB/SEE, scientific
diaspora, obstacles to mobility
*expectations to FP7 in WB/SEE, participation of WB/SEE countries in the European Framework Programmes (FPs)
*foresight in WB/SEE
*development of the knowledge based economy in WB/SEE
*partnership / local Governance structures in WB/SEE
*absorption of official development assistance(ODA) and structural funds in WB/SEE
*reform of higher Education in WB/SEE
*situation of research funding in WB/SEE
*ICT in WB/SEE
in other fields close to the mentioned topics

What you can expect from us: Assistance for a statement of advisor/supervisory consent (the needed key document for the application) and to HOST you at our institution in Austria or at the academical partners institutions in Austria.

DI Martin Felix Gajdusek
Head of the office - ASO Sofia
Austrian Science and Research Liaison Office Sofia
ul. Moskovska 5, BG-1000 Sofia
Tel. +359 2 987 20 69, Fax: +359 2 986 17 54
aso-sofia@zsi.at
http://www.aso.zsi.at