3 ECTS credits
78 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 4016047FNR for all students in the 1st and 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.
Applying for funding and fellowships is a fundamental aspect of an academic career and Project writing represents an exercise in writing a PhD project proposal according to the current state-of-the-art. You are expected to prepare a PhD project proposal in the format of an ‘PhD Fellowship fundamental research’ application at the ‘Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen (FWO)’. FWO is one of the principal funding resources for scientists working at a Flemish university and follows an application format and selection criteria comparable to those in other countries worldwide. A project proposal is Max. 10 pages long (Font: Calibri, size: 11) and includes: (1) Rationale and positioning with regard to the state-of-the-art, (2) Scientific Research Objectives, (3) Research methodology and work plan, and (4), References.
Detailed guidelines, a template document and three examples of previous years can be found on the VUB's Canvas platform (https://canvas.vub.be). Apart from this, the primary source of advice (e.g. regarding a subject) is your VUB thesis promotor.
Your porject wriitng assignment should be submitted in pdf format by e-mail to the Biology Department Secretariat (secrdbio@vub.be) and to the chairman of the Master’s exam committee (kim.roelants@vub.be).
The deadline for submission is exactly four weeks before the start of the exam session in which you plan to submit your Master thesis (always on a Monday before 4 pm; this will be approx. halfway May for the first exam session and approx. half July for the second exam session). Consult the VUB’s academic calendar to check when exam sessions start.
Important: If you actually submitted a PhD Fellowship application at FWO-Vlaanderen, your submitted proposal is NOT reusable for this course. You need to write a separate proposal.
Detailed guidelines, a template document and three examples of previous years can be found on the Canvas platform. In addition, the website of FWO-Vlaanderen can be consulted to obtain more info regarding the expected format of the project proposal: https://www.fwo. be/en/fellowships-funding/phd-fellowships/phd-fellowship-fundamental- research/. Your VUB thesis (co-)promotor is your primary source of advice regarding the contents of your project proposal.
In one of the first weeks of the 2nd semester of every academic year, an info-session of approximately 1-2 hours will be organised for all Biology Master students to give guidelines and advice regarding writing a good project proposal. This info-session will be not overlap with the course schedule. An invitation for this info-session will be sent to all subscribed students by the Department secretariat or through the Canvas platform.
With this course, students are trained in a fundamental aspect of an academic career: applying for funding. After completing this course, students are able to conceptualise, plan and write a competitive research proposal and has gaineds insight in the procedures for scientific project funding.
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
SELF Paper determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the SELF Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Your project proposal will be read and evaluated in parallel to your Master thesis, by your thesis promotor and the two readers of your Master thesis. The Scoring formula is similar to the Master thesis:
weighted average: Promoter (40 %) + Reader 1 (30 %) + Reader 2 (30%)
This course offer isn't part of a fixed set of graduation requirements. Hence, it is a free elective.