Dora Plus PhD student mobility (T1.2)

Dora Plus Activity 1.2 Guidelines

The purpose of the Dora Plus scholarships for PhD student mobility is to improve the awareness of young researchers of diverse teaching and research practices, encourage their involvement in international cooperation projects, improve the completion rates of PhD studies, and strengthen the compliance of doctoral studies in Estonian universities with the principles of innovative doctoral studies. The Dora Plus scholarship fund is provided by the European Regional Development Fund and Estonian government.

Scholarships are awarded to support the mobility of the PhD students of Estonian universities to universities or research institutions abroad. Single mobility episode can last from 1 to 10 month. PhD students can use the grant multiple times during their nominal period of study, taking into account that each mobility shall last 31 calendar days, at least, and each PhD student can receive a scholarship for 10 months in total (all mobility periods combined).

The selection of participants is organised by the participating universities. PhD students registered to the following institutions can benefit from Dora Plus PhD student mobility scholarship:

• Estonian Academy of Arts
• Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre
• Estonian Business School
• Estonian University of Life Sciences
• Tallinn University
• Tallinn University of Technology
• University of Tartu

To apply for a scholarship or for further information, please contact the Dora Plus coordinators at the universities.

Universities can submit their nominations for the scholarships by the following deadlines: March 1, June 1, September 1, October 1 and December 1. Please note that institutional deadlines may differ!

Contractual matters

The university shall submit the data of beneficiaries through the electronic application system (www.archimedes.ee/taotlused) by the abovementioned deadlines, generally not later than 4 weeks before the beginning of the mobility.

The Education and Youth Authority contacts the grantees on the basis of the data presented by the higher education institutions. Before signing the contract, the grantee shall submit a data set via the online application environment, including the following:

• The confirmation of acceptance during the period of mobility from the host university or research institution. The quote from the library’s website (in the form of a link) indicating that the beneficiary has access to the library’s services during the study visit, if working at the library.
• The individual work plan (with the period of mobility) approved and signed by the thesis supervisor.

The confirmation of acceptance from the host institution may be submitted via the application system as scanned copies. The Authority may examine their authenticity if necessary.

The Education and Youth Authority shall normally sign the contract with the grantee no later than 4 weeks before the start of the study visit. The contract sets out the grant amount and the terms of using the scholarship. The advance payment of scholarship shall be made within two weeks after the signing of the contract

Reporting

After returning from the mobility, the beneficiary must submit to the Authority the confirmation of attendance issued by the host institution, containing the actual dates of studying and working abroad.

NB! This is an absolute must! Without a confirmation letter, the costs are considered ineligible and the scholarship must be returned to the Education and Youth Authority.

The documents proving the use of the scholarship must be submitted no later than on the 15th calendar day after the end of the mobility, using the online form in the electronic application system (www.archimedes.ee/taotlused). In case of scanned documents, the Authority can check the compliance of the documents with the original.

The contact person for Dora Plus PhD student mobility scholarships at the Education and Youth Authority is Ms. Eneli Külaots (eneli.kulaots@harno.ee, ph. +372 730 0716 ).