Page 1/5 MANUAL FOR THE GRANT OF THE DORA PLUS SUB-ACTIVITY 1.2 STUDY MIGRATION OF DOCTORAL DEGREE STUDENTS Approved by: Rait Toompere Approved on 03.05.2016 No. 1-11.1/3532 PURPOSE, SCOPE, RESPONSIBILITY The purpose of the manual is to set out the terms and the procedure for paying the grants of the sub-activity 1.2 Study migration of doctoral degree students into foreign universities and research institutions (hereinafter study migration of doctoral degree students ) of the Dora Plus activity 1 Participation of young researchers in the international circulation of knowledge 1 of the activity Internationalisation of research and higher education, supporting mobility and new generations. The requirements for the assigning of the grant are set out in the Minister of Education and Research Decree of 9 December 2015 No. 1.1-2/15/471. The competition rounds of the applications for the grant for the study migration of doctoral degree students are organised and the grantees are chosen by universities; the payout of the grant is organised by the Education Internationalisation Agency of the Archimedes Foundation (hereinafter the Foundation ). THE PURPOSE OF THE GRANT 1. The purpose of the grant for the study migration of doctoral degree students is to improve the awareness of doctoral degree students about various study and research practices and to increase their participation in international co-operation projects, to improve the effectiveness of doctoral studies and to improve the compatibility of the doctoral studies offered in Estonian universities with the principles of innovative doctoral studies. THE TERMS FOR THE GRANT 2. The grant is intended to support the study migration of doctoral degree students of Estonian universities (hereinafter the doctoral degree students ) into foreign universities or research institutions. Study migration means physical relocation to a foreign country in order to study, participate in training or in non-formal or informal learning. 3. A doctoral degree student may apply for the grant for multiple times within his or her nominal study time, taking into account that each minimum period of study migration is 31 calendar days and the grant is available for a total of 10 months in maximum. GRANT AMOUNT 4. The grant can be applied for in order to cover the travel costs and the accommodation and living costs related to study migration. 5. The travel grant for study migration can be applied for in order to cover the costs of study migration travel from the point of departure to the destination (the location of a foreign university or a research institution) and back. The grant is not available for a one-way trip. Study migration must start and end in the same city. After the study migration, the grantee must present the Foundation with the travel documents of study migration (see clause 18). Both trips starting from Estonia and those starting from abroad are funded. 5.1. The amount of the travel grant depends on the distance between the point of departure and destination of the study migration. Only the online calculator of the European Union shall be used for calculating the distance: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/tools/distance_en.htm. 5.1.1. If the distance between the point of departure and the destination is up to 99.99 km (included), the costs shall be compensated on the basis of the cost documents in the amount of up to 180 euros; 1 http://www.struktuurifondid.ee/struktuuritoetuse-seaduse-meetmepohised-oigusaktid-2/
Page 2/5 5.1.2. If the distance between the point of departure and the destination is 100.00 km or more, the costs shall be compensated on the basis of a standard unit price 2, guided by the rates provided in the following table: Distance from city to city (one way) 3 Grant for a two-way trip (from point of departure to destination and back) 1 100 499 km 180 euros 2 500 1,999 km 275 euros 3 2,000 2,999 km 360 euros 4 3,000 3,999 km 530 euros 5 4,000 7,999 km 820 euros 6 8,000 and more km 1,100 euros 5.1.3. The travel grant to be compensated on the basis of standardised unit price includes all costs related to the trip, including transfer to the airport and from the airport to the destination. 5.1.4. The use of a personal passenger car 4 to reach the destination is allowed only in justified cases agreed in a contract signed with the grantee. After the end of the study migration, the Foundation shall be presented with fuel checks (originals) and a copy of the vehicle s registration certificate if the distance is to be compensated on the basis of unit price. Fuel must be bought at the destination and upon returning from the study migration (a total of 2 fuel checks must be presented 5 ). 5.1.4.1. If the passenger car is used to reach a destination being up to 99.99 km away (included, as calculated with the online calculator), the fuel checks shall be the documents proving the travel cost. The travel cost will be compensated as 0.30 euros per kilometre if keeping accounts of the trip (a travel journal). Parking costs will not be compensated. After the end of the study migration, the Foundation shall be presented with fuel checks (originals), a copy of the vehicle s registration certificate and a format-compliant travel journal available online at http://adm.archimedes.ee/stipendiumid/programm-dorapluss/. 6. The accommodation grant for doctoral degree students study migration is paid to cover the grantee s accommodation and living costs. 6.1. The unit prices for the study migration accommodation grant are set out per destination country in the Minister of Education and Research Decree of 9 December 2015 No. 1.1-2/15/471, Annex 2. The accommodation grant is calculated on the basis of the rounded unit price set out in Annex 2, clause 2.5. The accommodation grant cannot be applied for concerning countries for which Annex 2 clause 2.5 does not set out a unit price. 6.2. The unit prices for a doctoral degree student s accommodation grant are set out per calendar month (30 days). The accommodation grant is paid throughout the period of staying in the foreign country. The accommodation grant may be applied for a period set out in the letter of confirmation of the host institution or in the work plan approved by the doctoral thesis instructor (see clause 11). 6.2.1. If the grantee stays in the host institution for the entire calendar month of the study migration, the accommodation grant for that month shall be calculated as the standardised unit price of the accommodation grant concerning that country. 2 For example: if the study migration s point of departure is Tartu and destination is Uppsala, the European Commission calculator states the distance between those two cities as 543.47 km, which is in the range of 500-1,999 km. The travel grant for the trip on the route of Tartu-Uppsala-Tartu is 275 euros. 3 If the distance calculated with the online calculator is in the range of 499-500 km, 1,999-2,000 km, etc., it shall be rounded to an integer before determining the unit price. 4 A personal passenger car is considered to be a passenger car in use by the grantee, not owned or possessed by the employer. 5 For example: if the grantee is travelling from Tallinn to a research institution in Riga, he or she must refuel in Riga and on the date of returning from the study migration in Tallinn.
Page 3/5 6.2.2. For a calendar month when the grantee s period of stay in the host institution does not last for the entire calendar month, the accommodation grant shall be calculated proportionally to the number of days compensated. To calculate the accommodation grant, the number of compensated days in the relevant calendar month shall be divided by 30 and multiplied by the standardised unit price of the accommodation grant for the destination country 6. APPLYING FOR THE GRANT 7. The competition rounds for applications for the study migration of doctoral degree students shall be organised by universities, making a choice among the grantees with the guidance of this manual, the university s priorities and additional terms as well as the quota established by the Foundation. The priorities and terms followed when choosing the grantees as well as the time limits of application rounds must be publicly available. 8. The quota for the grants of the study migration of doctoral degree students shall be based on the total number of doctoral degree students in the university and, starting from the second year, the use of the previous year s quota shall be taken into account. 9. The universities can send the data of new grantees to the Foundation by 1 March, 1 June, 1 September, 1 October and 1 December. The university shall present the data of grantees using an electronic application system (www.archimedes.ee/taotlused), generally doing so 4 weeks before the start of the study migration at the latest. The data must include the grantee s name, contact data, information about the latest attestation before the application (except first year doctoral degree students), and the purpose, destination and time of the study migration. 10. If it turns out before the payout of the grant that the chosen grantee cannot use the grant for some reason, the university may present another grantee for the same application round. SIGNING THE CONTRACT 11. For further actions, the Foundation shall contact the grantees on the basis of the data presented by the university. Before signing the contract, the grantee shall submit a data set via the online application environment (www.archimedes.ee/taotlused), obligatorily including the following: 11.1. a letter of confirmation about hosting the doctoral degree student, issued by the hosting university or hosting research institution; 11.2. a work plan for the period of staying abroad, approved by the doctoral thesis instructor. 12. The letter of confirmation of the hosting institution may be submitted via the application system as a scanned copy. The Foundation may inspect its authenticity if necessary. 13. If the grant amount being applied for differs from the amount calculated from unit prices or is otherwise incompatible with the terms set out in the manual, the Foundation shall have the right to adjust the amount before signing the contract and shall inform the grantee and the university s co-ordinator thereof. 14. The Foundation shall normally sign the contract with the grantee no later than 3 weeks before the start of the study migration. The contract sets out the grant amount and the terms of using the grant. 15. If the duration of the doctoral degree student s study migration, the summary time of the doctoral degree student s stay in study migration or any other significant condition does not comply with the established requirements or the person has submitted an application without passing through the university's application round, the contract will not be signed. USE OF THE GRANT AND PROVING THE USE 16. The grant s prepayment shall be made within two weeks after the signing of the contract. 6 For example: calculating the doctoral degree student s accommodation grant for a study migration in Sweden, the period of stay in the host institution: 25 August to 10 December 2016. Calculation: 1) the study migration lasts for two calendar months (October and November) and 17 days (7 days in August and 10 days in December) i.e. 17/30=0.57 months, a total of 2.57 months. 2) Accommodation grant = 2.57 x 1,130 = 2,904.10 euros.
Page 4/5 16.1. If the distance between the travel destinations is below 100 km and the travel costs are compensated on the basis of cost documents, the travel grant shall be paid out after the cost documents have been presented to the Foundation; 16.2. If the grantee has not properly performed the obligations undertaken with earlier contracts signed with the Archimedes Foundation, the Foundation may choose to pay out the grant in full on the basis of documents presented after the study migration. 17. The grant may be used only for the compensation of the study migration set out in the contract. If a justified reason appears to change the study migration s duration, destination or purpose after the signing of the contract, the amendment must be co-ordinated with the Foundation in writing and if necessary then the contract must also be amended. The Foundation shall inform the university about the amendments to the contract s terms. 17.1. A grantee may apply for a short-term study migration during the period of being on a doctoral degree student s study migration 7 (Dora Plus sub-activity 1.1), but it must be taken into account that the doctoral degree student s study migration s accommodation grant and the short-term study migration grant cannot be granted simultaneously. If a doctoral degree student becomes a grantee of a short-term study migration grant, an annex to the contract shall document the suspension of the payouts of the accommodation grant for the period of the short-term study migration. Before the payout of the short-term study migration grant, the grantee must repay to the Foundation the doctoral degree student s study migration s accommodation grant already paid out for that period. 18. After returning from the study migration, the grantee must present the Foundation with the following documents proving the use of the grant: 18.1. a letter of confirmation from the host institution, containing a description and the period of the work performed (the university s certificate of the study courses absolved or the foreign instructor s undersigned overview of the works performed); 18.2. original documents proving the dates of travelling from the point of departure to the destination (the location of the foreign university or research institution) and back (boarding passes for flights and ships, tickets for trains and buses, etc.); for personal passenger car use, see clause 5. 19. The documents proving the use of the grant must be mailed no later than on the 15th calendar day after return from the study migration, using the following postal address: Dora Plus co-ordinator, Archimedes Foundation, Väike-Turu 8, Tartu 51013, Estonia. 20. The Foundation shall verify compliance of the documents with the terms of this manual and the contract signed with the grantee. 21. The Foundation shall have the right to partially recover the grant from the grantee if: 21.1. the travel dates are proven only partially, but the participation in the study migration activities abroad is proven; 21.2. the grantee suspends or stops the study migration but the participation in the study migration activities in the period of stay abroad is proven (a total of at least 31 calendar days); or 21.3. the documents indicate a shorter study migration period than the period agreed in the contract signed with the grantee (but not shorter than 31 calendar days). 22. The Foundation shall have the right to fully recover the grants from the grantee if: 22.1. the grantee s participation in the activities for which the grant was given is not proven; 22.2. the grantee does not present the documents proving the use of the grant, and does not do so within reasonable time after the Foundation s reminder; 22.3. the documents proving the use of the grant indicate that the study migration s period was shorter than 31 calendar days; or 22.4. it is discovered that the grant was not used purposefully. 23. The lists of grantees shall be published on the Foundation s website. 7 The manual for the grants of Dora Plus sub-activity 1.1 Short-term study migration.
Page 5/5 INFORMING ABOUT THE GRANT S USE 24. The sub-activity is funded by European Regional Development Fund and the state of Estonia. Upon use of the grant, the information requirements of European Union Structural Funds must be followed and respected. Articles, publications, slides, etc. and spoken speeches related to the foreign studies must refer to the use of European Union aid, using European Regional Development Fund s double logo 8 or referring to the grant in speech (for example: The research being the basis for this article was supported by the European Union, funded by European Regional Development Fund. ). 8 The logo s design files are available at http://www.struktuurifondid.ee/nouded-avalikustamisele/