France and Europe EMCR Mobility Grants
Program highlights
- Undertake a focused research visit in France or across Europe, working with leading researchers at major science and technology organisations.
- Long-standing mobility program backed by memorial funds honouring Professors Bede Morris FAA and Rod Rickards FAA.
- Receive up to A$8,500 to support travel and living costs for a short-term research visit.
- Build lasting international collaborations and research networks through a structured placement, not conference attendance.
The Early- and Mid-Career Researcher Mobility Grants support Australian researchers to travel to France and other European countries to work with leading researchers at major science and technology organisations for between 14 and 28 days. Successful applicants may receive up to A$8,500 to support travel and living costs. The grants are supported by the Bede Morris and Rod Rickards memorial funds.
The grants are intended to support short-term collaborative research visits. They are not intended to supplement or extend study or sabbatical leave undertaken abroad, and support will not be given where the primary purpose of the visit is to attend a conference.
Applicants who already receive funding for their proposed project from another source may still apply for a mobility grant if they can demonstrate that the proposed activity supported by the mobility grant is supplementary to the project’s core activities.
Key dates
Below are the key dates for the application process. While we aim to keep to this schedule, some dates may change depending on circumstances.
GUIDELINES
The guidelines provide important information about eligibility, submission requirements and assessment processes. Applicants should review them carefully before submitting an application.
Applicant eligibility
At the time of submission, the Australian applicant must:
- be an Australian citizen or hold a valid Australian visa
- be living in Australia at both the time of application and time of travel or hosting
- be employed as a scientist/faculty member at an Australian research organisation located in Australia
- have a PhD awarded no more than 15 years* prior to the application deadline.
Previous recipients of an EMCR Mobility Grant, Bede Morris grant or Rod Rickards Fellowship are ineligible to apply for this program.
* An extension to this limit may be approved in the case of significant career interruptions, such as leave or periods of unemployment.
Project eligibility
Eligible projects proposals must:
- be a collaborative research project between an Australian EMCR researcher based in Australia and a host researcher at a research institute in France or Europe**
- demonstrate the visit’s value to the project activities and clearly articulate why the visit should occur in the requested location.
Applicants should propose a collaborative research activity that has been developed in consultation with the host organisation in France or in Europe.
** Europe includes member countries of the European Union as noted here, plus the UK, Switzerland and Norway.
Fields of research
Applications are invited in the areas of chemistry and biology when visiting locations across Europe, or for any field of natural sciences when travelling to France.
Successful applicants may be offered a grant from the Academy of up to A$8,500 GST exclusive towards the cost of:
- an international return economy class airfare from Australia to the international airport closest to the host institute and domestic travel up to a maximum of A$3,500
- a living allowance for accommodation and living expenses of A$250 per day, up to a maximum of A$5,000.
The approved visit must take place during the 2027 calendar year and be for a visit of between 14 days and a maximum of 28 days.
The grant funds will only be paid directly to the awardee’s Australian organisation on receipt of a valid tax invoice and the finalised flight itinerary, showing all associated airfare and taxes.
Airfare support is provided as reimbursement of actual eligible international economy airfare costs, up to the approved maximum amount. Any unspent amount from this component is not retained by the awardee and must be returned to the Academy.
Living allowance must be paid to the traveller at the commencement of their travel, and the payment must be facilitated by the awardee’s Australian organisation.
The awardee is responsible for organising the travel and accommodation arrangements, in line with their organisational process and in consultation with the host organisation.
The Australian organisation will be responsible for managing all grant funds and supporting the awardee to coordinate their visit to France or Europe.
Dependants of the visitor may accompany them on the travel at their own cost. The grant does not provide funds for bench fees, administrative, visa or insurance costs
Applications must be submitted via the Academy's Good Grants online portal, and include the following material and supporting documentation:
- a curriculum vitae for the Australian applicant, including publication list, of no more than six pages
- a letter of support from the applicant’s organisation
- a referee report for the Australian applicant from a current or previous supervisor. Read information for referees in the PDF attachment below.
- a curriculum vitae for the host researcher partner, including publication list, of no more than six pages
- a letter of support from the host researcher’s organisation
Applications must be complete at the time of submission to be considered. Incomplete applications, including those missing any required supporting material, will be deemed ineligible and will not proceed to merit assessment.
Applications are considered against the assessment criteria by a committee of scientists with diverse expertise. The decisions of the committee are based on the assessed competitiveness of each proposal.
Proposals will be assessed on the:
- The scientific merit and feasibility of the proposed research project, and the value of its expected outcomes to Australian science.
- The proposed visit’s value to both the project activities and the collaborative relationship between the Australian EMCR and the host researcher or institution.
- Demonstrated achievements of the applicant in the context of their career to date.
- Demonstrated capacity of the proposed host researcher and institution to undertake the project activities, with a clearly articulated justification for the requested location.
- The potential for the applicant to become a leader in the research community, demonstrated through career achievements, mentoring, or participation in STEM career development opportunities.
Applications are considered carefully against the selection criteria by a committee of scientists with diverse expertise.
Applications will be ranked based on the merit of the proposal and funding will be allocated according to each fund’s specifications.
The decisions of the assessment committee are based on the assessed competitiveness of the proposal. The Academy does not enter into discussion or correspondence regarding the reasons why an application is successful or not.
Applicants can only be awarded a single EMCR mobility grant, as decided by the Academy. Please note that for successful applicants, the Academy will decide which memorial fund will provide the grant.
Awardees are required to submit a report within three months of travel completion. The report template will be provided to awardees prior to the commencement of travel.
Any publication resulting from the project funded by this program must mention the support granted to the project by the Australian Academy of Science.
Applications are to be completed through an online form found by clicking on the Apply button on the top right of this web page when the round is open.
