Research stays abroad

In professional as well as personal terms, time spent abroad and experience in international research environments is always enriching. The MIN Graduate Center promotes international mobility of doctoral researchers and encourages them to write their own story in an international research context. Find out more about the conditions and requirements below.

Application

New calls will be announced here as well as in the MIN Graduate Center newsletter.

Normally, grants are announced twice a year:

February 15 - funding starts from March 15 at the earliest.
August 15 - funding starts from September 15 at the earliest.

If your research stay takes place shortly before the deadline, you may exceptionally apply to us after the deadline. In this case, please contact us and note that in the case of a positive response, original documents (boarding card, hotel bill, etc.) must be submitted for payment processing!

What is promoted?

Research stays with relevant reference to the doctoral topic for a maximum duration of two months:

Actual travel and accommodation costs incurred (no per diem) in accordance with UHH's travel expense guidelines, reimbursed upon return;
Visa fees cannot be reimbursed.

There is no possibility to grant advances.

Which documents must be submitted?

Application (to be completed in Geventis);
Letter of motivation outlining the relevance of the research stay for the doctorate as well as the expected benefits (max. 2 pages);
Curriculum vitae;
Letter of recommendation from the supervisor at UHH explaining why you should take advantage of a research stay;
Statement from the on-site supervisor confirming that the project undertaken can be carried out;
Certificate of enrollment;
Language certificate English or national language (level B2);
Details of expected flight and accommodation costs (if nothing has been booked yet: Links to corresponding cost estimates on search portals such as booking.com are sufficient).

We accept applications in German and in English. Please upload application documents in Geventis individually.

Before the Travel

Coaching before the research stay:
- Before the trip, we offer about 20 minutes of coaching by our team, which we see as a funding requirement. Here, additional questions and suggestions can be discussed so that you are best prepared for the research stay.

The following steps depend on wether or not you are an employee of Universität Hamburg:
- If you are not employed at the UHH, you can begin your trip without undertaking any further actions.
- If you are an employee at the UHH, you need to fill the first page of the travel request form (German, English) and send it, signed by you and your supervisor (signature on the first page only), to reisen.uhh"AT"uni-hamburg.de for further processing.
- Further information can be found on the KUS portal.
- Please note that you will receive the reimbursement only after your return.

After the Travel

How does the reimbusement of costs work ?

If you are not employed at the UHH,
- you should first send your receipts together with the completed and signed invoice to mingzinternational"AT"uni-hamburg.de.
- We will then check your documents and send you an approval email if all the information is correct.
- Afterwards, you should send your Letter of Acceptance, the completed invoice, the approval email and the original receipts to the work-related travel team (Team Dienstreisen, Mittelweg 177, 20148 Hamburg).
If you are an employee at the UHH,
- you should send the travel expense claim form including original receipts and your Letter of Acceptance to the work-related travel team (Team Dienstreisen, Mittelweg 177, 20148 Hamburg).
- The basis for invoicing is your Letter of Acceptance including our PSP-element.
- No additional signature from us is needed when attaching the Letter of Acceptance including our signature.

If you are later than 6 months after your travel, reimbursement is not possible anymore.

We would like to point out that we are not responsible for reimbursement. In this regard, you should contact the work-related travel team. Further information can be found on the corresponding website (German, English). General information on invoicing can also be found on the website (German, English).

How to write the report ?

We would like to know if your stay was productive, if you made new contacts in your research area, if you would apply for this funding again, etc.

Please use this template for your field report and include one to three pictures to illustrate it. Please send us your report together with the accounting documents within two weeks after your return.

FAQ

How do I apply ?
- The application runs exclusively through Geventis, where the application form can be filled out and uploaded again individually together with other necessary documents.
Who is eligible to apply ?
- All admitted and enrolled doctoral students of the MIN faculty of the University of Hamburg can apply for the funding.
- The doctoral student does not have any other funding or house funding for mobility and stay in the context of this conference visit in prospect;
- Internal institutes, institutions and possible third party funders (DAAD scholarship database) are to be approached first.
- Efforts to raise alternative funds must be listed in the application.
How is the decision made ?
- The MIN board decides on the funding. Within one month the applicant can expect an answer.
- Selection criteria are among others:
  - the quality of the application;
  - the embedding of the research topic in the doctorate;
  - whether other sources of funding have been exhausted;
  - the financial necessity of the funding.
Can I submit missing documents ?
- Missing documents can be submitted later - under consideration of the respective deadline and with consultation - to mingzinternational@uni-hamburg.de(mingsinternational"AT"uni-hamburg.de).

Reports

We publish some of the reports by the doctoral researchers who have received funding for their research stay abroad: they offer first-hand information which is helpful for doctoral researchers interested in submitting an application.

"I obtained the key data required for my research, expanded my professional network, made new friends, and, very fascinating, I learned about my country in a different light than I have known it". – Protected Forest Farming in Nigeria (read full report)

"I was invited to organize a parallel event together with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) at the annual conference of Latin American geographers in Quito and to present my first results there". – Sustainable Urban Development in Ecuador (read full report)