MCST-TUBITAK 2024 Joint Call for R&I Proposals (Malta & Turkey)

Aim and Scope

• This 4th Joint Call will assist researchers and innovators from both countries to strengthen their scientific expertise and network, enabling them to collaborate further in future Calls for funding, including annual PRIMA. It will also include Research & Development & Innovation (R&D&I) thematic areas for cooperation in addition to the PRIMA Programme thematic fields.
• Therefore, the intent of this Call is to award five high-ranking projects, ideally including at least one PRIMA-related project.
• Its aim is to further strengthen the research and innovation capacities of both countries in the following 4 thematic areas. Sub-topics listed should be considered as a non-comprehensive list of fields that can be addressed in project proposals:
  • PRIMA Programme Thematic Fields 
    • Water Management
    • Farming Systems
    • Agro-food Value Chain
  • Digital Technologies 
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Big Data and Data Analytics
    • Cloud Computing
    • Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT-Blockchain)
    • Internet of Things
    • Digital Games
  • Smart Manufacturing 
    • Sustainable manufacturing
    • Flexible automation
  • Health
    • Health Technologies
    • Biotechnological drugs/Pharmaceuticals
    • Advanced materials in health
    • Artificial Intelligence in health
    • Big Data and Cloud Computing in health
    • Cybersecurity of health data
    • Epidemiology
• Within the scope of this Joint Call, two types of joint projects will be supported: 1. R&D and 2. R&D&I Projects. The Call operates through a one-stage submission process. One joint application form is available, and each Managing Authority will need to receive a copy of the submitted application by the designated deadline. Each Managing Authority has its own National Rules & Regulations. Thus, apart from adhering to the said requirements in this Call Text, applicants will also need to ensure that they abide by their own respective National Rules & Regulations.

Award Information

• For TÜBİTAK: Funds up to 2,000,000 TL (excluding overhead and Project Incentive Premium – PIP) per project and five (5) successful projects under this Call.
• For MCST: Overall amount of €500,000 for this Call, to fund five (5) successful projects with a budget of up to €100,000 each.

Eligibility Criteria

• Each project proposal shall need to be in accordance with the following requirements. However, apart from adhering to below eligibility requirements in this Call Text, applicants will also need to ensure that they abide by their own respective National Rules & Regulations:
  • Each proposal for a joint research project must be submitted by researchers/innovators from at least one eligible legal entity based in Türkiye and at least one eligible legal entity based in Malta. These will be considered and referred to as ‘project partners’ for the duration of the project.
  • The Turkish and Maltese partners shall form a project consortium and prepare a joint scientific project.
  • Unilateral project applications are not accepted. Applications which are not received by both Managing Authorities will not be accepted for evaluation. Hence, Turkish/Maltese project leaders should make sure that their counterpart submits a matching application.
  • Proposals must directly address the aim of the Call and needs to clearly align with at least one of the thematic fields of this Call.
  • The projects will be implemented through the exchange of researchers and knowledge.
  • Each collaborating side must have one Principal Investigator (PI), representing the proposal consortium for each country.
  • The PI of each country shall be responsible to submit the application form to his/her own Managing Authority. – Based on the respective bilateral agreement between TÜBİTAK and MCST, each party will cover the costs of their own national team.
  • While submitting the project proposal form, the costs which are requested in the scope of the project must be stated in detail and justified. The eligible and ineligible costs are also detailed in the National Rules & Regulations of each side. In the case of any exchange of researchers to be made within the scope of the projects, the sending party meets all the travel expenses.
  • Each National Applicant shall need to consult with the National Rules & Regulations imposed by the corresponding Managing Authority. Applications which are found to be ineligible by one of the Managing Authorities will automatically render the whole proposal as ineligible.
  • Only proposals that have a signed cooperation and IP agreement amongst the consortium partners will be eligible to apply.
  • Proposals should strive to be balanced between the two countries with respect to the volume of work and activities and also in terms of funding.
  • Applicants are eligible to submit more than one proposal under the Call. However, for proposals that have the same PI, and in the event that both are chosen for funding, only one of the projects will proceed to be funded.
  • Proposals need to be written in English.

For more information, visit MCST.