Since 2017, Charles University has been announcing the Primus competition, designed for young promising scientists, especially those who are returning to Charles University after a long-term internship abroad or who have not yet worked at the University. The aim of the programme is to support top male and female researchers in establishing and developing new research groups and laboratories.

One of the long-term objectives, which is being met, is also to increase the University's success in obtaining international grants (e.g. European Research Council - ERC grants; see Excellence in Research).

It is therefore expected that successful proposers will establish their own laboratories/research lines at Charles University and will be able to apply for ERC grants by the end of the Primus project.

Who is the competition for?

The applicant must, at the time of submission, be no more than 8 years since the award of the Ph.D. (or equivalent). He/she will normally have long-term international experience or come from abroad. The Primus project holder must be an employee of the University for the duration of the project. His/her working time must be at least 0.5 within the University for the duration of the project.

What are the most important criteria for a competition proposal?

- the relevance and quality of the project submitted,

- the applicant's previous scientific activity with emphasis on original results and international cooperation, including international stays,

- the independence of the applicant,

- whether the project will lead to the development of a new line of research in line with the aims of the institute,

- whether the project creates good conditions for the supervision of PhD students,

- the professional level of the research team and the appropriateness of the financial costs are in line with the stated objectives.

How is the project financed?

Each project is co-financed by the university and the faculty/university institutes. The University will support the project with the same amount committed by the supporting faculties/university institutes. University support will be up to a maximum of EUR 1,5 million. CZK per year per project (i.e., including funding from the faculty/university institute, a maximum of CZK 3 million per year). CZK per year). In case the applicant has spent at least the last two calendar years out of the last three at a foreign institute, the evaluation committee may recommend financial institutional support from the university up to a maximum of CZK 2 million. CZK/year (i.e. including funding from the faculty/university institute up to a maximum of CZK 4 million/year) and/or an adjustment of the project funding ratio in favour of the faculty/university institute. The award of support in this amount is conditional on the commitment of the faculty/university to support the project financially by at least the same amount, and/or an adjustment of the project funding ratio by the university, up to three-quarters of the requested funding.

How to submit a competition proposal?

The project proposal is submitted to the Rectorate of Charles University via the IS Věda information system here: https://is.cuni.cz/veda. To log in, the person's identification number, which can be found under the photo on the CU ID card, and the password from the CU Central Authentication Service (CAS) are used. Interested applicants outside the CU must first register in the system here: http://veda.is.cuni.cz/primus. Once registered, they will receive login details to the IS Věda system.

The Manual for Proposers is published in the Useful Documents section. This is a good tool for setting up and preparing a competition proposal. The manual also answers the most common questions related to the preparation of a competition proposal.

How are the competition proposals evaluated?

The evaluation of the competition proposals is entrusted to the Committee of Programmes for the Support of Science at Charles University. Each project proposal is evaluated by two evaluators and then by a rapporteur, who is always a member of the committee. The other panel members have the right to access and comment on all project proposals of the panel. They have the right to make a complementary evaluation of any proposal in the panel, if they wish. The Panel shall discuss each project proposal and its evaluation. Competitive proposals are judged with increased consideration for potential conflicts of interest. The Panel will make a mandatory comment on whether the submitted project is a precursor to a possible subsequent submission of a major international individual grant, including to the ERC. It will then draw up a final ranking of the projects, including a proposal for the award or non-award of financial support. For those projects that it proposes to support, it will agree with or recommend an adjustment to the level of funding or recommend an increase in the percentage of support to the applicant. It shall also identify projects that may be awarded support in the event of additional funding being made available (for example, by not concluding an agreement with the applicant for another better-ranked project).

Do you want to know more?

If so, please contact the Primus Programme Officer at the faculty/university where you want to implement your project. Alternatively, contact the whole university-wide Primus coordinator, .

Initial documentation (These translations are for informative purpose only. The legally binding regulations are those in Czech):

Necessary forms:

Overview of awarded Primus projects:

NEWS

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