CFAs: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Deadline: 3 March 2025

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program offers the opportunity to highly motivated undergraduate students from around the world to engage in research activities in the summer under the mentorship of faculty at INSAIT.

Funding Information

All selected students will receive a monthly stipend of 1500 EUR to cover their living expenses.
The program is 8-12 weeks long with the exact duration of the summer project decided between the student and their mentor. In order for students to optimally benefit from the program, they do not allow summer projects to be carried out remotely. Students are expected to be present at the institute in Sofia, Bulgaria for a minimum of 8 (max 12) weeks during the summer.

Costs Covered

INSAIT will arrange the accommodation for the students and cover the cost in addition to the stipend. They also cover travel expenses and provide assistance for visa applications for the selected candidates.

Eligibility Criteria

Undergraduate students enrolled in a Bachelor degree program at any accredited university are eligible to apply. The students should be enrolled in a STEM major, such as computer science, mathematics, physics, or engineering. To be eligible, applicants should also have a minimum GPA of 3.5 (out of 4.0) or the equivalent in the corresponding grading system. They strongly encourage applications from communities generally underrepresented in STEM.

Application Requirements

Applicants need to submit their application materials before the deadline via their online platform. Your application should include:
- A current CV (in PDF format)
- An unofficial transcript from your university (in PDF format)
- A one-page motivation letter (in PDF format)
- Please state Why you are interested in their summer research program, General research areas that you are interested in, and Whether you have prior research experience.
Throughout the program, summer students have to deliver:
- Project plan discussed with their mentor. The project plan should be ready at the beginning of the summer program.
- Final report which summarizes your work structured as a conference paper. Very often the aim will be for the final report to be submitted to a suitable conference.
- Final presentation to be given as part of the INSAIT seminar series.