Funding schemes for Estonia-Japanese collaboration

In cooperation with the Estonian Research Council and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), a competition for postdoctoral fellowships for research in Japan has been held every year since 2002.

The program aims to promote international cooperation and mutual understanding through research in Japan.

This program includes all fields of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The duration of the fellowships is 12 to 24 months. The call is organized by the Estonian Research Council and announced once a year (usually in September-October) after receiving the confirmation from Japan. The deadline for the call is from March to May, depending on the year.

Proposals must be submitted to the Estonian Research Council (ETAG) by email (katrin.saar@etag.ee), who will conduct a scientific evaluation to select candidate and nominate them to JSPS. Approximately three months after the nomination, JSPS sends out a notice of selection decision. The researcher can start the grant from October to November.

Candidate eligibility:

– Be a citizen of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan.
– Have obtained their doctoral degree within six years of the date the fellowship goes into effect. Whether or not the candidate is employed in a full-time position is not considered.

Scholarship amount:

• Maintenance Allowance ¥362,000 per month (ca 2300 €)
• A settling-in allowance of ¥200,000 (ca 1300 €)
• A round-trip air ticket
• Overseas travel Insurance
• A Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellow) is available to cover cooperative research-related expenses. Application for these grants is made by the host researcher through his/her institution.

JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan 2025 year call is now open for applications with the deadline 3rd of March 2025.

More information for applicants is on the ETAG website: https://etag.ee/en/deadline-for-2024-call-for-jsps-postdoctoral-fellowship-for-research-in-japan-is-postponed-until-13-may-2/

Estonian Research Council in cooperation with the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) opened a new Researcher Exchange Program to bring one Japanese scientist to Estonia to do research.

The goal of the new program is to promote international cooperation and mutual understanding through research. The longer-term purpose of these visits is to support the building of a foundation for joint research and networking that can be sustainably developed.

Positively evaluated Estonian R&I institutions can invite one Japanese researcher per year to Estonia for 6-12 months. All fields of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are included in this program.

Proposals have to be submitted to JSPS via its Electronic Application System. Call opens every year from May to July and the deadline in August to September. Results of the call will be announced at the start of the year and the researcher can start work in Estonia April-May.

Eligibility

• At the time of application, be a full-time researcher (tenure not required) who is eligible to receive KAKENHI grants or a researcher who aspires to hold such a full-time position in the future.
• The candidate must be a citizen of Japan or a foreign national with permanent residency status in Japan.

Eligible Japanese R&I institutions

• University or Joint research institute
• Organization under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) that conducts scientific research
• National college of Technology
• Other organization designated by the MEXT minister

The grant amount

The amounts given below ensure the grant for salary that the Estonian R&I institution can pay to a Japanese researcher for conducting research in Estonia. In addition, the R&I institution may pay additional salary from other funds. The costs for research work must be covered by the Estonian R&I institution.

• International airfare
• Maintenance allowance: 1,600 EUR/month
• Family allowance: 500 EUR/month
• Accommodations: 1,000 EUR/month (researcher should pay any amount over)
• Expenses for domestic travel in Estonia: 650 EUR/year

The next call will open in early summer 2025. More information at ETAG: Katrin Saar (katrin.saar@etag.ee)

Information about previous call (2024): https://etag.ee/en/new-researcher-exchange-programme-japanese-researcher-to-estonia/

Information for Japanese researchers on JSPS website: https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-bilat/tokuteikoku/shinsei_bosyu.html

CONCERT-Japan began as a platform for international research cooperation activities under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7).

After the conclusion of the FP7 iteration in December 2014, its activities continued under the new European Interest Group (EIG) CONCERT-Japan name with 13 science, technology and innovation (STI) funding agencies from 11 European countries and Japan (Japan Science and Technology Agency, JST) partnering to further research collaboration and exchange. Through STI policy knowledge sharing, research exchange, network building and joint funding calls, the program supports Japanese-European research collaboration in a variety of fields.

The call in the EIG-CONCERT programme works in the same way as Horizon2020 ERA-NETS and Horizon Europe partnerships – each country finances the participation of researchers. Each project consortium submitting an application should consist of at least 3 eligible beneficiaries (project partners), including at least 1 from Japan and at least 2 from two different European countries participating in the Joint Call.

Estonian Research Council joined first time the CONCERT programme in 2024 for the call on the topic „Digital Transformations and Robotics in Sustainable Agriculture“. The call was announced in May and the deadline was in July 2024. Results of the call will be announced in November-December 2024 and the projects can start at the beginning of 2025.

National eligibility criteria for Estonian applicants: https://etag.ee/en/cooperation/horizon-europe/eu-partnerships/era-nets/

The next CONCERT call will be published in April-May 2025. More information at ETAG: Katrin Saar (katrin.saar@etag.ee).

More information on EIG-CONCERT programme: https://concert-japan.eu/

Information about previous 2024 call „Digital Transformations and robotics in Sustainable Agriculture“: https://etag.ee/en/joint-call-with-japan-for-proposals-on-digital-transformations-and-robotics-in-sustainable-agriculture-is-open/