Enhancing existing networks of international research collaborations between CREAF staff and renowned researchers of other leading research institutions is an outstanding objective in our scientific strategy. Our internationalization actions are promoted to enhance the growth of our network of international contacts and to place CREAF as a reference for terrestrial ecology and global change at the international level.

The presence of foreign researchers at CREAF, as well as the mobility of our researchers to the best institutions worldwide, is essential in this strategy of expanding the network of international and multidisciplinary institutions.

In the framework of the Severo Ochoa Excellence Accreditation, we offer 3 international mobility programs to be held in years 2022 and 2023:

  • A Visitor Program inviting outstanding researchers from international institutions to stay at CREAF from 2 to 6 months.

  • A Sabbatical Program for researchers who are on sabbatical so that they can join CREAF.

  • An Internal Visiting Program for facilitating stays abroad for early-career CREAF research staff.

Visitor Program for external outstanding researchers

This program establishes a system of funds for foreign, distinguished researchers to visit CREAF by offering fellowships to collaborate with our scientific staff. The main goals of the program are to promote knowledge exchange with external researchers and to expand the international network of research collaborators of CREAF.

Conditions

Each visitor will stay at CREAF from 2 to 6 months unless exceptional circumstances apply. The visiting scientist will have access to all CREAF facilities as well as to the training and networking opportunities offered by the center. In each case, CREAF will provide its selected visitors with office and laboratory space and the assistance of all support staff. Support on legal and administrative matters, including administrative formalities such as visa request, information on housing and schools, medical insurances and others will also be offered to visitors.

During their stay, each visitor will give a seminar (CREAFTalks) to the whole CREAF community and develop mentoring activities with junior researchers.

CREAF will co‐fund visitor's stays. Visiting researchers will receive € 2,100 per month for accommodation and subsistence expenses, or the proportional part for the corresponding days if in the month of beginning and end they do not stay in the center during the whole month. For these purposes, the calculation of the daily amount will be done by dividing the monthly amount by 30.

The beneficiary will also receive up to a maximum of € 1,500 for travel expenses. He/she will only be entitled to receive the amount corresponding to travel expenses that is duly justified and accredited to the center, in the terms that are required.

Application

Interested applicants should first contact a potential CREAF host researcher to discuss mutual research interests. The applicants will then fill the following application form with information including: the duration of the visit, the CREAF researcher/s who will be hosting the visit, a short CV and a description of the research proposal for the stay.

Contact person: Maria José Broncano mj.broncano@creaf.uab.cat

Calendar

Candidates can send their application at any time throughout the year 2022 and until February 2023, the call for applications is permanently open. Candidates will be selected in two periods: in September 2022 and in February 2023 from the proposals submitted up to that point. Once the researcher has been selected, the grant will be executed within the next 12 months.

Selection process

A gender balanced committee of Severo Ochoa researchers from CREAF will evaluate all the proposals and select those that will be funded. The selection committee and criteria will be made public in the CREAF website. The applications will be selected based on the merits of the candidate, the relevance of the project and the program of activities that he/she wants to develop during his/her stay, giving preference to consolidated researchers.

Sabbatical Program for external researchers on sabbatical

This program establishes a system to host prestigious researchers who are on sabbatical and aim to spend a few months at CREAF. The main goals of the program are to promote knowledge exchange with external researchers on sabbatical and to expand the international network of research collaborators of CREAF.

Conditions

Each sabbatical visitor will stay at CREAF at least two months, unless exceptional circumstances apply. The scientists on sabbatical will have access to all CREAF facilities as well as to the training and networking opportunities offered by the center. In each case, CREAF will provide its sabbatical visitors with office and laboratory spaces and the assistance of all support staffe. Support on legal and administrative matters, including administrative formalities such as visa request, information on housing and schools, medical insurances and others, will also be offered to visitors on sabbatical.

During their stay, each visitor will give a seminar (CREAFTalks) to the whole CREAF community, will carry out periodical meetings with senior researchers to search for collaboration opportunities and will develop mentoring activities with junior researchers.

CREAF will co‐fund sabbatical stays. Sabbatical researchers will receive up to € 1,000 for relocation expenses and up to a maximum of € 1,500 for travel expenses. The beneficiary will only have the right to receive the amount corresponding to the travel and relocation expenses that he/she duly justifies and accredits to CREAF, in the terms that are required. In no case the amounts granted can be used for other concept than to finance the corresponding expenses, even if in one of them there is a remainder and in the other the justified expenses exceed the amount granted.

Neither the accident insurance nor the health care insurance, where appropriate, will be extended to the relatives of the beneficiary of the subsidy.

Application

Interested applicants should first contact a potential CREAF host researchers to discuss mutual research interests. The applicants will fill the following application form with information including: the duration of the visit, the CREAF researcher/s who will be hosting the visit, a short CV and a description of the research proposal for the stay.

Contact person: Maria José Broncano mj.broncano@creaf.uab.cat

Calendar

Candidates can send their application at any time the year 2022 and until February 2023, the call for applications is permanently open.

Internal Mobility Program promoting international exchange of early-career CREAF research staff

We promote an Internal Mobility Program for early-career CREAF research staff (i.e., without a permanent position but with the title of doctor), for carrying out research stays abroad at top-level international research institutions. This will facilitate sustained collaboration with other research groups and increase the links between CREAF and foreign researches and institutions.

Conditions

The duration of the stay will be from 1 to 4 months unless exceptional circumstances apply. Visiting researchers will receive a monthly aid for accommodation and maintenance expenses between € 2,150 and € 3,100 per month, or the proportional part for the corresponding days if in the month of beginning and end they do not stay in the center during the whole month. For these purposes, the calculation of the daily amount will be done by dividing the monthly amount by 30.

The amounts, by country of destination, appear in the Table (if the chosen country does not appear, contact with María José Broncano: mj.broncano@creaf.uab.cat

The beneficiary will also receive up to a maximum of € 1,500 for travel expenses. He/she will only be entitled to receive the amount corresponding to travel expenses that is duly justified and accredited to CREAF, in the terms that are required.

At the end of the visit, the CREAF researcher will provide a short report about his/her activities carried out and the benefits obtained, and will give a seminar at CREAF about his/her experience.

Application

Interested applicants will send an application to the electronic address below including: their CV and a letter of maximum 1000 words, describing the housing institution and the research proposal of the visit.

Applicants will also fill this application form with information including: the duration of the stay, the researcher/s who will be hosting the visit at the host institution, a short CV and a description of the hosting institution and the research proposal for the stay.

Contact person: Maria José Broncano mj.broncano@creaf.uab.cat

Calendar

Candidates can send their application at any time throughout the year 2022 and until February 2023, the call for applications is permanently open. Candidates will be selected in September 2022 and February 2023 from the proposals submitted up to that point. Once the researcher has been selected, the grant will be executed within the next 12 months.

Selection process

A gender balanced committee of CREAF Severo Ochoa researchers will evaluate all the proposals, to select those that will be funded. The selection committee and criteria will be made public in the CREAF website. The applications will be selected based on the merits of the candidate, the relevance of the project and the program of activities that he/she wants to develop during his/her stay and the expected results of the collaboration with the destination center.

 

Resolution - Second Edition of the CREAF Visitors & Sabbaticals Program

March 2023

 

Name and period Position Hosting researcher
External outstanding researchers
Nicolas Martin-StPaul
9/2023 to 11/2023
Researcher
INRAe (France)
Miquel De Cáceres Miquel De Cáceres
Maurizio Mencuccini Maurizio Mencuccini
Milagros Rodriguez-Caton
9/2023 to 1/2024
Project Scientist
University of California Davis (USA)
Iolanda Filella Iolanda Filella
Kasia Ziemińska
5/2023 to 7/2023
Renunciation
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow
Research Institute for Development (France)
Maurizio Mencuccini Maurizio Mencuccini
Jordi Martínez Vilalta Jordi Martínez Vilalta
Oliver Binks Oliver Binks
Anping Chen
7/2023 to 9/2023
Research Scientist III (Associate Professor)
Dept. of Biology, University of Colorado (USA)
Josep Peñuelas Josep Peñuelas
Early-career CREAF research staff
Felipe Siqueira e Campos Felipe Siqueira Campos
9/2023 to 12/2023
Postdoctoral researcher
CREAF
Dagmar Haase
Humboldt University of Berlin, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Geography Department, Landscape Ecology Lab (Germany)
Mukund Palat Rao Mukund Palat Rao
9/2023 to 11/2023
Postdoctoral researcher
CREAF
Ivan Janssens & Sara Vicca
University of Antwerp (Belgium)
Stefania Mattana Stefania Mattana
10/2023 to 12/2023
Postdoctoral researcher
CREAF
Jizhong Zhou
Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Okhlahoma (USA)
Josep Barba Ferrer Josep Barba Ferrer
8/2023 to 9/2023
Postdoctoral researcher
CREAF
Joseph Wright
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama)

Members of the evaluation committee:

 

 

 

Resolution - First Edition of the CREAF Visitors & Sabbaticals Program

October 2022

 

Name and period Position Hosting researcher
External outstanding researchers
Ismael Hernández Valencia
10/2022 to 01/2023
Full Professor, Science Faculty
Universidad Central de Venezuela (Venezuela)
Josep Peñuelas Reixach Josep Peñuelas Reixach
Louis Lefebvre
02/2023 to 03/2023
Emeritus Professor, Department of Biology
McGill University (Canada)
Daniel Sol Rueda Daniel Sol Rueda
Arturo Pacheco Solana
05/2023 to 11/2023
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Columbia University (USA)
Josep Barba Ferrer Josep Barba Ferrer
External researchers on sabbatical
Marc Macias Fauria
10/2022 to 12/2022
Associate Professor
Oxford University (UK)
Sandra Nogué Bosch Sandra Nogué Bosch
William RL Anderegg
08/2022 to 07/2023
Associate Professor
University of Utah (USA)
Jordi Martínez Vilalta Jordi Martínez Vilalta
Early-career CREAF research staff
Luciana Andrea Jaime Luciana Andrea Jaime
04/2023
Postdoctoral researcher
CREAF
Sigrid Netherer & Martin Schebeck
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences BOKU (Austria)

Members of the evaluation committee:

 

Alícia Pérez-Porro
Scientific coordinator

 

The CREAF Visitors and Sabbaticals Program is part of the Severo Ochoa “ULandscape” funded in 2019 by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to support Research Centres of Excellence.