The objective of the Fellowship Programme is to enable an increasing number of outstanding Hungarian and foreign researchers living outside Hungary on a permanent basis to contribute to scientific work carried out in Hungarian institutions of higher education, thus strengthening Hungary in its effort to become a regional centre of excellence in certain scientific fields.

The Szent-Györgyi Fellowship is awarded by the Minster of Education of the Republic of Hungary.

Eligibility:

Researchers eligible to participate in the Szent-Györgyi Fellowship Programme

1. will hold a PhD (or equivalent, as set in HEA Par 119 Sec 1) or a DLA (or an equivalent Award in Arts, as listed in HEA par 123 Sec 8);
2. must normally live and work outside Hungary on a permanent basis;
3. must be recommended by two internationally known scientific personalities;
4. will need to obtain a Statement of Intent from a Hungarian institution of higher education expressing the institution’s willingness to employ the applicant on the basis of his/her approved individual work plan for the entire period of their Fellowship Programme.

General Conditions:

The maximum duration of a Fellowship Programme is 12 months; fellows may, however, re-apply for a new fellowship at the end of their research period. In 2004 a maximum of ten fellowships will be awarded. In the course of the programme, the fellow status can be suspended on one occasion for a maximum of three months. The suspension does not alter the total duration of the programme.

The monthly gross amount of the fellowship is HUF 1,000,000, which – in accordance with current Hungarian laws – is taxable. If non-Hungarian fellows are eligible for a tax allowance to avoid double taxation under a tax agreement between Hungary and the fellows’ country of origin, the provisions of the relevant agreement will prevail.

In addition to the monthly allowance, fellows are eligible to apply for reimbursement of their travel expenses covering one journey to and from Hungary, as well as their accommodation costs in Hungary, in line with the regulations of the Fellowship Contract.

During the Fellowship Programme, fellows may not seek benefits from any other fellowship funded by the Hungarian central budget.

The rights and liabilities of fellows are included in detail in a contract to be signed by the fellows and the host institutions following the award of the fellowship. In this contract, fellows commit themselves to the undertaking of 1) research work and 2) teaching activities, in accordance with both the regulations of the host institution and the applicant’s work plan, which will have been previously approved by the host institution.

The Ministry of Education will enter into a contract with each host institution with the aim of securing the conditions necessary for fellows to conduct scientific research. As stated in the Contract, host institutions will receive funding from the fellowship’s maximum yearly allowance, proportionate to the amount of time spent on the programme. Each year the maximum amount of money available (per fellowship) is as follows:

1. HUF 2,000,000 with regard to fellow research carried out in the fields of agricultural sciences, technical sciences, medicine, natural sciences or the arts;
2. HUF 1,000,000 with regard to fellow research carried out in the fields of the humanities, theology, or social sciences.

The following materials are required to be attached to the application:

• a detailed curriculum vitae listing the references most relevant to the intended field of research;
• a list of publications including the most significant publications of the past 10 years;
• an individual work plan providing a detailed description of the research the applicant intends to carry out;
• a Statement of Intent provided by the relevant unit of the host institution, which will include the following: 1) an evaluation of the applicant’s work plan; 2) details of the (new or current) research programme upon which the prospective fellow will embark; 3) a brief account of the benefits that the institution can hope to achieve from co-operative venture; 4) a statement guaranteeing that all conditions necessary for the realisation of the work plan be provided by the institution in question;
• at least two letters of recommendation written by Hungarian or foreign scientific personalities;
• any further documents that applicants deem to be important with regard to the judgement of their application (e.g. citation index, awards, memberships, scientific positions, etc.).

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:

The primary criterion of the Fellowship is the existence of internationally acknowledged research results.

Among applicants fulfilling this primary criterion, priority is given to those

• who already have an active and successful research co-operation project with the host institution;
• whose field of research is deemed to be of great value in terms of furthering knowledge and expertise within Hungarian academia;
• whose scientific work is connected to Hungary.

Formal requirements:

In preparing their application, prospective fellows must use the Szent-Györgyi Fellowship Application Form.

Applications in four (4) copies (1 of them in original) must be sent to the Fundmanager Directory of Ministry of Education, “Szent-Györgyi Fellowship” (H-1244 Budapest, Pf. 920, Hungary).

The Application Form can be obtained in hard copy from Hungarian Embassies and Cultural Institutes operating abroad, or from the Office of Ministry of Education of the Republic of Hungary (H-1055 Budapest, Szalay u. 10-14.).

The Application Form can be downloaded from

http://www.omai.hu or http://www.om.hu

The deadline for submitting proposals is 15 June 2004.

Applications postmarked after 15 June 2004 will not be accepted.

If submitted in person or via courier, applications must arrive in the

Fundmanager Directory of Ministry of Education no later than 15 June 2004.

Proposals not fulfilling all formal criteria, e.g. those that are submitted after the deadline, will remain unprocessed. The Fundmanager Directory of Ministry of Education will forward an acknowledgement about this to the applicant.

The Office will pass on the formally accepted proposals to the Széchenyi István Fellowship Board, which will provide a list of selected applicants by 16 of August 2004, and submit it to the Minister of Education for approval. Applicants will be informed of the results of the selection procedure by the Minister of Education by post. Appeals made against the Minister’s final decision will not be accepted.

Budapest, May 2004

Ministry of Education of the Republic of Hungary

Application form (DOC, 100 kB)

Printable application form (DOC, 73,5 kB)

List of academic disciplines and specialisation fields