Main mission of the call
The main mission of this call is to foster research collaborations between the EPFL community and non-academic public or private entities located in the canton of Fribourg and to enable problem-driven and interdisciplinary research efforts for a sustainable built environment.
Main requirements
- The application should involve minimum two EPFL researchers (further called “investigators”) coming from two different EPFL laboratories proposing an interdisciplinary research project;
- At least one investigator must be employed at a laboratory of the ENAC School;
- The investigators must hold a PhD degree at the time of submitting the application;
- The investigators, who are not directing an EPFL laboratory/unit, need a support letter of the head of the laboratory/unit;
- The investigators should bring different skills to tackle ambitious research problems linked to the Smart Living Lab strategic topics: construction materials and technologies; carbon footprint; building LCA; energy systems; digitalization in architecture, engineering and construction sector; user-building interactions; human well-being in the built environment
- An expression of interest from minimum one non-academic public or private partner in the Fribourg area needs to be added to the pre-proposal application;
- The requested grant budget can be max. 250kCHF and only EPFL labs are eligible to receive funding;
- Matching funds: investigators need to contribute with a min. of 20% of the total funds requested; so if the max. 250kCHF is requested, then the labs have to commit to adding 50kCHF as own contribution, leading to a total project budget of 300kCHF;
- Co-financing of ongoing EPFL research activities is not allowed;
- Projects should run for 2 or 3 years.
Interdisciplinary research:
- uses knowledge and skills from different scientific disciplines to target a specific problem or test a new hypothesis;
- leads to new, integrated knowledge;
- combines elements (theories, methods, concepts, etc.) from two or more disciplines in order to achieve the research objectives;
- attaches a similar degree of importance to all the disciplines involved
Please check the specific eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria and templates in the Guide for Applicants (see Applicant toolkit).
Timeline
Two-stage submission and review process
- Call opening: 31.10.2023
- Deadline for submitting Pre-proposal: 09.01.2024 (12:00)
- Invitation for submitting Full proposal: 24.01.2024
- Deadline for submitting Full proposal: 26.03.2024 (12:00)
- Communication funding decision: June 2024
- Earliest project start: July 2024
How to submit
- The Pre-proposal (template in Toolkit during first stage) should be submitted at the latest by 09.01.2024 (12:00 CET) via email to [email protected]
- Upon invitation only: the Full proposal (template in Toolkit during second stage) should be submitted at the latest by 26.03.2024 (12:00 CET), via email to [email protected]
- Please read the Guide for Applicants and use the proposal templates as in the Toolkit
Contact
If you have any additional question concerning the call, do not hesitate to contact us!
Charlotte Vandenberghe – Call coordinator: 021 693 76 15
Martin Gonzenbach – Director of Operations EPFL Fribourg and Smart Living Lab: 021 693 28 60