The purpose of the fellowships is to give researchers within FAS’ areas of responsibility the possibility to spend time at a foreign research institution. The objective is to develop competence and at the same time promote international research mobility and cross-border research collaboration.
The host institution should have a good reputation in the applicant’s research area and the time abroad should add significantly to his/her knowledge and competence in view of future research within FAS’ areas of responsibility. For more information about FAS’ areas of responsibility, please refer to: http://www.fas.se/aboutfas.
The grants are primarily open to recently graduated researchers and to doctoral students finishing off their thesis (maximum two years left to graduation). More established researchers are also welcome to apply, for example to enable sabbatical leaves abroad. The applicant must be connected to a Swedish research institution.
Applicants can apply for up to 12 consecutive months abroad. Applicants with difficulties to spend longer times abroad, e.g. for family reasons, may divide the time abroad with work at the home institution.
FAS fellowships are exempted from tax. The grants include a base amount that varies according to the cost level in the host country and the number of accompanying family members (this is usually allowed when a stay abroad exceeds six months) and an amount for research costs and travels. Additional funding from other sources will reduce the amount of the grant.
The grants may only be used for the purposes they were applied for. If the stay abroad is discontinued or if the grant has not been used during the time of the project, it may not be used for anything else and must be reimbursed.
FAS takes no employer responsibility for the receivers fellowships.
Submitting an application
For application deadline please go to eKlara's start page. Applications for maximum SEK30,000 may be submitted at any time, as long as it is a minimum of three months before the planned departure.
The application should be submitted electronically via eKlara, http://eklara.fas.se. At the same time, a printed and signed hard copy should be posted to FAS, Box 2220, 103 15 Stockholm, Sweden.
Applications that have not been received by FAS in a signed hard copy version will not be taken into consideration.
Preparation
Applications are prepared by the FAS secretariat. The secretariat brings in assessments from external experts and from FAS’ evaluation committees. Among the criteria are:
- competence of the applicant
- substance and quality of the programme abroad
- choice of host institution
- expected added value of the time abroad for the applicant’s development and added competence to the research area.
The preparation time is usually about three months. Decisions are taken by the Secretary-General.
Application form and instructions
The application form for overseas scholarships is available in eKlara/Söka medel (Apply for grants)/Utlandsstipendium (FAS fellowship). Complete instructions for the form and the appendices that should be submitted to eKlara – Projektbeskrivning (project description) and Meritförteckning (CV) – can be found below and in the application form under the link Instructions for this page, as well as under the blue icons.
The working process of writing and submitting an application is described in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines) on eKlaras start page. It is also available as a link in the application form.
FAS contact persons
For further information please contact:
Cecilia Grevby, Head of International Relations
Tel: +46 8 775 40 74, e-mail: 
.
Questions concerning eKlara:
Susanne Gabrielsson, Programme administrator
Tel: +46 8 775 40 84, e-mail: 
Ninnie McCabe, Programme Administrator
Tel: +46 8 775 40 98, e-mail: 
Instructions
Instructions for fellowships can also be found in the application form under Instructions for this page and under the blue icons.
The work process in eKlara is described in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines), which can be downloaded from the eKlara start page. The guidelines contain important information that is not repeated in the instruction.
To be able to submit an application via eKlara you need a user account. A person who has previously submitted an outline or application to FAS has a user account. To create a user account, go to För att skaffa användarkonto (To create a user account) on the start page.
Log into eKlara, go to Söka medel (Apply for grants). After having read the instructions, go to the form Utlandsstipendium (FAS fellowship).
Ansökningsformuläret (Application form)
Sökande (The applicant)
The application should be written from the applicant’s eKlara account to ensure that the right person is registered as applicant with FAS.
Projekttitel på svenska (Project title in Swedish)
In the text field is already written Stipendium: Leave this text and add a project title in Swedish, which indicates the intended direction of your stay abroad. The project title must not be longer that 250 characters including spaces.
The project title is often used on its own and should therefore be formulated with care.
Projekttitel på engelska (Project title in English)
Add the English translation of the Swedish project title, maximum 250 characters including spaces.
Söks hos FAS (Amount applied from FAS)
Fill in the amount you request from FAS, divided into budgetary years. The amounts should be written in Swedish crowns without any spaces or signs between the numbers. The amounts should be specified in the appendix Ekonomi (Budget).
Sammanfattning (Abstract)
The abstract should give FAS’ evaluators and decision makers good information about the aim and the programme of your stay abroad. It should furthermore be able to stand on its own, which is why you should make no references to other parts of the application. It is also important that laymen can understand the abstract.
The abstract may not exceed 2,000 characters including spaces.
Andra bidragsgivare (Other sources of funding)
Indicate here if you have received or applied for funding from any other source for the stay abroad (including any salary you may receive abroad). Specified information should be filled into the appendix Ekonomi (Budget).
Ekonomi (Budget)
Use the eKlara appendix template Ekonomi (available in Swedish as well as in English). Please follow the instructions available in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines) regarding how to handle the appendix templates etc.
Specifikation av sökta medel (Specification of funds applied from FAS)
- Subsistence costs – calculate your living costs during the time you will spend abroad based on your own information about local price levels. Include insurance costs. FAS will compensate for subsistence costs according to the standard costs calculated by EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation), www.embo.org.
- Compensation for loss of child benefit – if you are entitled to Swedish child benefit, this right will cease if you stay abroad with your children longer than six months. FAS will compensate the scholar with the corresponding amount lost.
- Travel costs are calculated according to the cheapest possible travel mode for the scholar and his/her family members. Travel costs will not be compensated for if the applicant is already at the host institution. If the family stays in Sweden, FAS will award the scholar one trip every six months to visit his or her family.
- Research costs of maximum SEK25,000 /year may be included.
- Funding from other sources, including any salary you may draw during your time abroad, should be deducted and specified below under Andra bidragsgivare (Other sources of funding).
Medföljande (Dependents)
Please give the full names and birth years of accompanying family members (husband/wife/partner who receive no income during the stay abroad and accompanying children below 18 years of age) for whom you apply funding. Costs for accompanying family members will only be compensated for if the stay exceeds six months.
Värdinstitution (Host institution)
Fill in the name of the host institution, website location and the name and e-mail address of your contact person.
Disputationsämne (Thesis discipline)
Fill in the discipline of your doctoral thesis, e.g. sociology (not the thesis title).
Beräknad tidpunkt för disputation (Estimated date of doctoral thesis)
Fill in the estimated month and year for when you expect to pass your doctoral thesis. If that is not possible, fill in year and semester.
Utlandsvistelsen påbörjas och avslutas (Start and end of stay abroad)
Fill in your planned dates for departure and return.
Andra bidragsgivare (Other sources of funding)
Fill in all the funding you have applied for or received from other sources of funding for your stay abroad. This includes e.g. funding from private foundations, funding from universities and county councils. If you receive any salary, this amount should be accounted for in net figures, i.e. excluding tax.
Any additional funding received after submitting the application must be communicated to FAS.
Referenser (References)
Fill in the name, title/position, university and research department or equivalent as well as telephone number and e-mail address to maximum three persons that can be contacted for comments about the applicant and his/her research.
Projektbeskrivning (Project description)
The appendix should be written using the eKlara appendix template Projektbeskrivning (Project description). Please follow the instructions available in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines) about how to handle the appendix templates etc.
Describe the research you intend to carry out during the stay abroad. It should be clear what you intend to do and how, as well as the relationship to your previous research. Doctoral students must explain how the stay abroad will contribute to the progress of their thesis. Doctoral students that apply for an overseas scholarship that will begin after passing their thesis should indicate this and explain the role of the stay abroad for the intended postdoctoral research. Describe also the connections between the activities of the host institution and the home institution. Declare your planned participation in the educational activities of the host institution.
Put the stay abroad in a larger perspective: what can be expected in terms of added knowledge and competence? How will the acquired new knowledge and experiences be of use after the return home?
Motivate your choice of host institutions. Give a short description of the host institution and the persons you will work with. Describe how you established your contacts. Include the letter of invitation into the project description.
The appendix should be detailed enough for expert assessments. It must be maximum five A4 pages plus the letter of invitation. The project description may be written in English.
Meritförteckning (CV)
The appendix should be written using the eKlara appendix template Meritförteckning (CV). Please follow the instructions available in Handledning för eKlara (eKlara guidelines) about how to handle the appendix templates etc.
The CV should include information about education (doctoral students should list the postdoctoral courses they have passed), employment record, research publications and any previous research funding in your own name. The CV should also include a letter of recommendation from the department head, thesis supervisor or equivalent. Doctoral students should attach a certificate from the supervisor or equivalent that confirms the planned date of passing the thesis.
The CV must be maximum three A4 pages plus the letter of recommendation.
Submit and print the application in eKlara
When the form has been filled in and the appendices are in place, click on the button Skicka in (Submit). As a confirmation of receipt to FAS, a page will appear in eKlara indicating the FAS reference number of the application and instructions on how to print the single-sided hard copy that should be signed and posted to FAS on the same day.
