Conference participation abroad

International conferences provide great opportunities for networking within the scientific community. They allow young researchers to gain insights into state-of-the-art research and to present their own research findings on the international scientific stage. The MIN Graduate Center provides funding to enable doctoral researchers to attend recognised international conferences.

For interesting news about conferences you can join our newsletter.

Application

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

Normally, grants are announced twice a year:

January 15 - funding starts from February 15 at the earliest
July 15 - funding begins no earlier than August 15.

Please note: If your conference takes place shortly before the deadline, you may exceptionally apply to us after the conference has taken place. In this case, please consult with us and note that in the case of a positive response, original documents (boarding pass, hotel bill, etc.) must be submitted for payment processing!

What is promoted?

(Digital) recognised international conferences with relevant relation to the doctoral project with a duration of up to five days:

Actual travel and accommodation costs incurred (no per diem) in accordance with UHH's travel expense claim guidelines, reimbursed upon return;
In exceptional cases, such as digital conferences, conference fees may be reimbursed.
Visa fees will not be reimbursed.
There is no possibility to grant advances.

What documents must be submitted?

Application form (to be completed in Geventis)
Letter of motivation outlining the relevance of the conference to the doctoral research and the expected benefits of attending;
Curriculum vitae;
Letter of recommendation by your supervisor at UHH explaining why you should take advantage of a conference or research visit;
Certificate of enrollment;
Short description of your own technical contribution (max. 200 words);
Confirmation of acceptance of contribution (can be submitted later in individual cases);
Preliminary conference program;
Information on 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).
Additional funding should have been searched for ahead of this. Please add evidence for which efforts have been taken to get financial support as well as the confirmation of the group leader that funding from inhouse overhead or third-party-funding is not available.

We accept applications in German or in English. Please upload your complete application documents in Geventis.

Before the Travel

Coaching before the conference:
- 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 conference.

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 reimbursement 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, there the application form can be filled out and uploaded again individually together with other necessary documents.

Who is eligible ?
- All admitted and enrolled doctoral students of the MIN Faculty of the University of Hamburg can apply for funding.
- The doctoral student does not have any alternative funding in the context of this conference visit in prospect; internal institutes, facilities and possible third party funders (DAAD scholarship database) are to be approached first.
- Efforts to raise alternative funds must be listed in the application.
- Preference will be given to doctoral students presenting their own paper at a conference.

How is the decision made ?
- The MIN board of directors decides on the funding. Within one month, the applicant can expect a response.
- Selection criteria include:
  - the quality of the application;
  - the embedding of the conference topic in the doctoral thesis;
  - whether other sources of funding have been exhausted;
  - the financial necessity of the funding.

Can I submit missing documents ?
- Missing documents can be submitted to mingzinternational@uni-hamburg.de - under consideration of the respective deadline and consultation.

Can I apply only once ?
- It is possible to apply multiple times for the same conference, provided that the deadlines are before the event.
- Application for multiple conferences is also possible.

Experience Reports

We publish some testimonials from doctoral students who have received their grants to spend time abroad: They offer valuable insights that may be especially helpful for those who are currently considering applying for this funding.

"I would like to thank Hamburg University and MIN faculty for giving the funding which covered the registration fee to support me to virtually attend the ICOM2020". – Online conference 12th International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Process 2020 (vollständigen Text lesen)

"I learned a lot from all these active engagements, comments, exchange of ideas and perspectives of research from same and other related fields in different parts of the world". – Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in den Niederlanden (vollständigen Text lesen)

"Since the Nobel Prize was awarded in my field last year, it was also very interesting for me to see one of the two prize winners at the conference". – Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in den USA (vollständigen Text lesen)