Special Call Open - WG2 Focus: Virtual Mobility (VM) Grants for MedPlants4Vet Researchers

What is a Virtual Mobility Grant?

A Virtual Mobility (VM) Grant supports collaborative activities conducted remotely among researchers in the MedPlant4Vet network. These grants aim to:

• Foster capacity building and knowledge exchange.
• Promote integration of data, methods, or protocols
• Support development of online tools, publications, databases or training materials.

VM Grants enable researchers to stay active in the network without needing physical travel, making them ideal for interdisciplinary, international collaboration.

Who Can Apply?

Applicants must:

• Be a participant of the MedPlant4Vet Action (CA22109).
• Be affiliated with a legal entity in a COST Full or Cooperating Member or Near Neighbour Country (NNC).
• Have an updated e-COST profile (https://e-services.cost.eu).
• Participation from Early Career Investigators (ECIs) and applicants from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs) is strongly encouraged.
• For WG2 activity related virtual mobility grants, applicants must be PhD or MSc students, researchers, regulatory personnel or other individuals in veterinary pharmacology/toxicology, pharmacognosy, botany, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, phytotherapy, phytomedicine or other areas. Due to the specific focus of the study, applications from other research areas will not be considered

Eligible Activities

Eligible VM activities are as follows:

• Prioritized Activity: Analysis of former and current registered HVMP in Europe in different countries for veterinary medicine for WG2.
  • Fill out the excel forms for a structured datasheets created by the WG2,
  • Edition of the already submitted inventory of the plant based medicaments as described in the deliverables.
  • Statistical analysis of the collected data
  • Creation of structured datasheets for WG2, aligning with MedPlant4Vet’s data management strategies.
• Activities in the scope of the other WG

Application Requirements

Applications are submitted via the e-COST system and must include:

• Virtual Mobility Grant Application (Annex 1)
• CV (maximum 2 pages, PDF)
• For Prioritized WG2 activity applicants:
  • A letter of commitment from the home institution signed by the home supervisor indicating the commitment to executing the expected plan for WG2 (Annex 2).
  • Mail of confirmation from the WG 2 leader (to be attached as pdf) upon the agreement with the home institution supervisor who should contact them.  
  • WG2 Leader- Former and current registered HVMP in Europe- Dr Filip Štrbac
    
    Please do not contact the group leader directly.
    
    For other WG activity applicants:
  • Mail of confirmation from the WG 2 leader (to be attached as pdf) upon the agreement with the home institution supervisor who should contact them.  
• A valid student ID or a researcher confirmation document from the employed authority; verifying the applicant’s field of work is related to the areas are relevant to the virtual mobility tasks.

Grant Amount and Budget Framework

• Each Virtual Mobility Grant awarded under this call provides a fixed contribution of €1,200 to successful applicants.
• The grant is a flat-rate contribution intended to cover the time and resources invested by the grantee in virtual collaboration. It does not require receipts or expense reports.
• Activities to be covered the VM call will be between 15.08.2025-20.10.2025. All expected excel files to be filled and a report to be submitted to the Subgroup leaders at least 25.10.2025.
• Payment is made after the successful submission and approval of the final report in e-COST.
• The number of funded VM Grants will depend on the available MedPlant4Vet Action budget for the ongoing Grant Period.
• All activities must be completed within the current Grant Periodand must comply with COST rules as described in the  COST Annotated Rules (COST 094/21) and the Grant Awarding User Guide.  

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by the MedPlant4Vet Grant Awarding Committee based on:

• Applications will be evaluated with consideration for country distribution, ensuring sufficient diversity to cover various native languages relevant to the analysis
• A confirmation email from both the subgroup leader and the applicant’s supervisor is mandatory. The supervisor’s confirmation must verify the applicant’s eligibility and field of work, and the subgroup leader’s confirmation will finalize the approval.
• Relevance to the MedPlant4Vet MoU and COST Excellence and Inclusiveness Policy
• Applicant’s background and contributions to the Action

Results will be communicated shortly after the deadline.

Reporting and Reimbursement

A report (Annex 3) must be submitted via e-COST within 10 days after completion. A short report version of the grantees’ of their experience to be published in the newsletter and to contribute with content (posts, pictures, short videos etc) for the Action social media and Website (Annex 4).

The grant is paid after approval of the final report by the Grant Awarding Coordinator and Grant Holder.

Important Dates

Deadline for applications: August 10th, 2025

Need Help?

Grant Awarding Coordinators: 

Begum Yurdakok Dikmen (byurdakok(at)yahoo.com)
Juliana Trifkovic (julijana.trifkovic(at)pof.ues.rs.ba)

Administrative matters

Theresa Schlittenlacher (theresa.schlittenlacher(at)fibl.org)
Bernadette Waldmeier (bernadette.waldmeier(at)fibl.org)

Concerning the Action Chair

Theresa Schlittenlacher (theresa.schlittenlacher(at)fibl.org)
Marta Mendel (marta_mendel(at)sggw.edu.pl)

Travel expenses and general matters

Michael Walkenhorst (michael.walkenhorst(at)fibl.org)

For scientific alignment

Contact the Working Group Leader