Invitation for Researchers and Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) to apply for a study visit hosted in the National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
NCP_WIDERA.NET, an EU-funded project of the network of National Contact Points for Widening Participation and Strengthening of the European Research Area – WIDERA of Horizon Europe (Project no. 101055286), foresees three-day study visits to leading research-based organisations from Spain, Germany, Italy and Finland addressed to promising Researchers from Widening countries**.
The rationale of Study Visits
The main aim of Study Visits is to provide promising Researchers with diverse professional experience (less and more experienced) from Widening countries the opportunity to access excellent practices and networks, by visiting leading research-based organisations with a view of taking valuable lessons learnt “home” to their host institutions for better support of their communities.
Study Visit to the National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
NCP_WIDERA.NET has the pleasure of inviting Researchers to apply for a Study Visit as follows:
Host organization: National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
Hosting units: CNR| Institute on Membrane Technology
Location: Rende, Italia
Date: 18-20 March 2025
No of participants: up to 19
Desired experience from the candidate Researchers and RMA:
- Researchers who work in the field of membrane science and technology
- RMAs: Research managers, project managers, financial support staff, administrators business developers, innovation managers, auditors, experts in funded projects.
CNR-ITM main research activities aim to promote knowledge, innovation, and high-level training in the field of membranes’ applications in:
- water treatment,
- gas separation,
- energy,
- bioartificial organs,
- biotechnology,
- food, and agriculture
- additionally, membrane fabrication
Networking: CNR-ITM has established collaborations with various Research Institutes, Universities, and Companies located in
- Italy,
- Europe,
- Middle East,
- North Africa,
- China,
- South Korea,
- Japan,
- India,
- United States, and
- Australia
Ιnformation about the CNR-ITM Grants Office
The dedicated grants office has long-standing experience in managing EU grants since the 7th Framework Programme. It offerssupport for attracting competitive grants and managing the entire life cycle of projects.
Indicative support provided to the researchers by the CNR-ITM office:
- Identification of suitable funding opportunities including educating on particular modalities for participation and eligibility requirements
- Grant Agreement Preparation
- Project Management if CNR-ITM is the coordinator, including logistics and financial reporting
- Financial audit management for national, regional and EU programmes
- Furthermore, the Grants Office uses digital tools for its project management activities and maintains an active inventory of proposals in order to measure its success rate.
Why apply?
Researchers from the participating Widening countries will have the chance to network, exchange views and acquire valuable take aways from the Director of the CNR-ITM and specialists active in membrane preparation, characterization and modeling of their applications in gas, food, water treatment and desalination as well as recovery of added-value products.
RMAs from the participating Widening countries will exchange views with a number of specialists on the pre and post award of competitive proposals and most notably with the Director of the grants office.
The programme
Indicative aspects of the programme include;
For researchers:
visit to CNR-ITM laboratories and infrastructures for a knowledge exchange on research approaches and techniques in different application fields and demonstrating the potentiality of
- Membrane Science and Technology in Energy,
- Gas Separation, Water treatment,
- Food and Membrane Fabrication
- Training on membrane fabrication
For RMAs
They will be introduced to the management activities carried out by CNR-ITM Grant Office, they will be offered guidance on proposal writing with focus on the three evaluation criteria, overview of Horizon Europe and important aspects of legal, financial and administrative aspects of EU grants. Furthermore, they will be shown how to best utilise digital tools offered by the EC such as the F&T portal and by various complementary support networks.
The three-day programme will be complemented by reflection sessions and a networking event “NR-ITM Seminar Day”
Eligibility and evaluation process
Country eligibility
Interested persons with affiliation to research-based organisations from the following eligible Widening countries may apply.
Evaluation criteria
Interested researchers andwill need to fill out an application form requesting the following information:
| Criteria for Researchers | ||
|---|---|---|
| ⚫ | Select 1-3 research topics from the list that are relevant to your field of work | |
| ⚫ | Indicative 1-5 publications | |
| ⚫ | Grants raised at national or international level in last 2 years, if any (indicate number and funder) | |
| ⚫ | Briefly describe the role you have in Research Development and Innovation projects. | |
| ⚫ | What is your opinion of the added value of international cooperation? | |
| ⚫ | Brief description of supervisional activity (thesis/dissertation) or leadership activity undertaken | |
| ⚫ | Good command of the English language at least of B2 level or equivalent | |
| ⚫ | CV – EUROPASS | |
| ⚫ | Endorsement letter from your institution |
| Criteria for RMAs | ||
|---|---|---|
| ⚫ | Which of the activity area(s) of CNR-ITM are close to your work? | |
| ⚫ | Number and type of grants raised at the national/international level, if any | |
| ⚫ | Brief description of indicative national/international project(s) you have participated in, if any | |
| ⚫ | Indicative number of proposals submitted (if any) in the recent years of your career, number of successful proposals (if any) | |
| ⚫ | Brief description of valorisation experience (collaboration with industry, patents, spin-offs, licensing), if any | |
| ⚫ | Good command of English, at least of B2 level or equivalent | |
| ⚫ | CV – EUROPASS | |
| ⚫ | Endorsement letter from your institution |
How to apply
Interested persons coming from the listed Widening countries may complete the application forms available at the bottom of this page and send to the relevant contact person(s) in their country: