The European Humanities University announces THE 1ST ANNUAL RESEARCH COMPETITION ON EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, supported by the generous donation of Mr. Jerzy Buzek, European Parliament President in 2009 of an award for his work in European Integration provided by the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
On December 8, 2009 the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Jerzy Buzek, was awarded the prestigious annual "Staatspreis" in Bonn, Germany, by the Ministerpresident (Prime Minister) of North-Rhine Westphalia, Dr. Jurgen Ruttgers. The prize honored Mr. Buzek's lifetime achievements in promoting and strengthening democracy in Europe. He donated the prize of € 25.000 to the European Humanities University in recognition of its contribution towards the promotion of the integration of Belarus into the European family of nations and the preparation of future leaders of society.
The objective of the competition is to stimulate research projects, which make a significant contribution to the understanding of the challenges of European Integration, with particular attention to Belarus, for publication in international journals.
Awards ranging from €2.000 to €4.000 will be provided for the best research designs submitted in competitions announced in 2009, 2010, and 2011. More than one research project may be supported per year. Interdisciplinary projects are encouraged.
Up to five projects will be pre-selected by a Research Review Committee coordinated through the Research Division for the consideration of an international judge’s panel including the Cabinet of the European Parliament President and scholars from Europe and North America.
Eligible Applicants:
Applications will be accepted from both individual researchers and research teams.
Thematic Priorities
The general research topic "European Integration" has to be understood in a broad sense, i.e. not only as a political or economic problem. Investigations in the spheres of Humanities (history, cultural studies and philosophy) are encouraged as well. The research could be devoted, for example, to such issues as:
The main priority is the relevance of a research project to the Region (Eastern Europe) and its connection to Belarus. The collaborative interdisciplinary projects are encouraged.
Submission Guidelines
The application form must be completed in English and Russian (Belarusian). The form and required documents must be submitted in a hard copy to Svetlana Poleschuk, Research Division, Tauro str. 12, Vilnius. The deadline for application is February 1, 2010.
Electronic applications should be sent in one document titled by the applicant’s surname (in Latin alphabet) to the e-mail address research.division @ ehu.lt. The e-mail subject should be “European Integration Competition”.
Required Documents
Each individual research or research team must submit a complete application form and all supporting documents by the deadline.
For individual projects:
The individual project is submitted by one person who fulfills requirements independently:
For group projects:
The group project is submitted by one person on behalf of the research team. In addition to the completed application form, the following information should be submitted:
Important Dates
December 29, 2009: Announcement of Competition;
February 1, 2010: Deadline for Submission of Applications;
February 15, 2010: Research Review Committee Recommends Projects to International Committee;
March 1, 2010: International Committee announces winner(s) of competition via EHU website and Administrative News forum;
March 2, 2010: Research project begins;
February 28, 2011: Research project ends;
March 31, 2011: Submission of Final Report, including article for publication;
April – October 2011: Presentation of findings to EHU academic community;
2011 – 2012: Dissemination (publication) of the research results;
Selection Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by a Research Review Committee coordinated through the EHU Research Division and including representation from faculty, students, and administration.
Assessment criteria include: a) clarity of research questions/objectives; b) appropriateness of methods; validity of research methodology utilized and its potential for making generalizations appropriate to Eastern Europe, in general, and Belarus, in particular; c) significance of the research within the context of the Thematic Priorities; d) extent and appropriateness of the communication/dissemination plans.
The Research Review Committee will make recommendations regarding the projects and amount of funding to an international panel of judges, including representatives from the Cabinet of the European Parliament President and internationally-recognized scholars from universities in Europe and North America.
The recipient is expected to provide a presentation to the EHU academic community within six months after the completion of the project.
Award Guidelines
Awards range from € 2.000 to €4.000 depending on the complexity of the project. Awards will be allocated in two stages:
The first installment (50 percent) will be given for the best research design of the competition.
The second installment (50 percent) will be allocated to the winning research individual or team upon the completion of the research and the submission of a research paper, which analyzes the results. Report should be presented in both languages (English and Russian (Belarusian). The final report shall include an article ready for publication, not less than 20000 characters for individual projects and not less than 30000 characters for joint projects.
The award(s) will be administered through the Finance Department of the European Humanities University.
Before funds are released, successful applicants will be required to sign a contract of acceptance indicating other sources of funding applied for or received.
The starting date for successful grants is March 2, 2010. Projects should not exceed 12 months in duration, although extensions to the funding will be considered if a written request is provided to the committee three months prior to the original deadline.
Acknowledgement
It is expected that in all presentations and publications arising from the funded project the donation of Mr. Jerzy Buzek and the organization of the research competition by the European Humanities University will be acknowledged. A copy of publications arising from the project shall be provided to the head of the EHU Research Division.
For More Information
The contact e-mail address for any inquires concerning the competition is research.division @ ehu.lt.
