The SGC of NSFC has initiated application for Mobility Programme 2021 for bilateral cooperation between a research team in China and a research team in Germany by funding multiple visits (up to 3 months per visit) and small-scale workshops over a period of 36 months. Details of requirements are as follows:

1. Funding fields

All fields of natural sciences are covered, including but not limited to the life sciences, medical sciences, engineering sciences and management sciences.

2. Eligibility of applicants

Applicants must be researchers based at a Chinese/German university or research institution.

(1) Applicants from Germany must have obtained a PhD degree and be eligible to apply for funding from the DFG. Proposals may not generally be submitted by persons working at an institution that is not non-profit, at a government-run institution or at one that does not permit the immediate publication of research findings in a generally accessible form.

(2) Applicants from China must be a PI or main participant in a NSFC research grant (ongoing or already completed) with a duration of at least 3 years. Lindau alumni previously supported by the Sino-German Center for Research Promotion but without a NSFC research grant or senior academic title at the time of submission are also eligible to apply.

(3) Applicants who have already served as PIs on the SGC’s 3-year-projects are not eligible to apply for this program.

3. Funding amount and duration

The duration of this program is three years (the start time should be 1 July 2022 and finish time should be 30 June 2025) .

The NSFC and DFG will jointly fund a maximum of 1.5 million RMB (or equivalent sum of euros) per project for multiple exchange visits and workshops including domestic and international travel expenses, catering and hotel accommodation costs, conference room expense according to its funding rates (please refer Annex 1)for research stays.

4. Procedure of application

Filing out electronic copy of application forms

The Chinese applicant and the German applicant should submit a single joint proposal after in-depth and full consultation. Proposals must be written in English, and its format and the information provided must be in accordance with the application forms (Annex 2).

When finished, applicants shall submit the electronic copy of application forms and relevant attachments(including collaboration agreement(please refer Annex 3-template of agreement) and ethic review documents( if the research involves experiments on animals and/or humans) )to kevingao@cuhk.edu.cn by 18:00 on Sep. 17, 2021, the RAO will review and feedback.

Hard copies submission

Applicants shall print (double-sided) hard copies of application forms( final version) which signed by both applicants (electronic signature allowed for German applicant) and relevant attachments in triplicate, and submit these materials to Room W406 of Administration Building by noon on Sep. 22, 2021.

5. Other requirements

A. This program will not be subject to the total number limit.

B. The total size of application form and attached file(s) shall not exceed 15 MB.

C. If the project involves tests on humans or on material taken from humans will form part of the project, the applicants need to submit the ethical approval document from the appropriate ethics committee/ relevant authorities as the attachment.

D. Any requirements of relevant scientific research reviews, please refer to the CUHKSZ’s research review process of each Committee as attached (Annex 4) and send the required materials and forms to each committee’s email address by Sep. 9,2021 for assessment.

Email address for each committee:

Institutional Review Board                       irb@cuhk.edu.cn

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee        iacuc@cuhk.edu.cn

Institutional Biosafety Committee                 ibc@cuhk.edu.cn

E. Applicants shall first read Annex 1 carefully before application.

Contact information

Gao Shang      kevingao@cuhk.edu.cn

Research Administration Office

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Annex1-Guide

Annex2-Application form

Annex 3-Template of agreement

Annex 4-Review process and relevant forms of each committee