Young Researcher and Innovator (YRI) Conference grant
Call for YRI Conference Grant
A call for Young Researcher and Innovator (YRI) Conference grant is currently open until 30/09/2025, for participation and giving an oral or poster presentation at renowned scientific conferences organized till 15/10/2025. The call is open for applicants aged below 40 yrs.
Responsible
Miklós Veres (veres.miklos@wigner.hun-ren.hu)
What is YRI Conference grant?
YRI Conference grant funds a presentation (poster/oral presentation) of their own work by a Young Researcher and Innovator (YRI) in a high-level conference fully organized by a third party, i.e. not organized nor co-organized by the COST Action.
Young Researchers are researchers aged below 40 yrs.
YRI Conference grant:
- Serves COST Excellence and Inclusiveness Policy;
- Supports Young Researchers and Innovators to establish a strong network and increase their visibility in the research community through sharing their work and to gain knowledge;
- Can contribute to increasing visibility of the Action. More information can be found in Annex 2 of the Annotated Rules for COST Actions.
Funding Scheme
The YRI Conference grant provides a contribution for travelling, accommodation and subsistence expenses, registration fee, printing of scientific poster and overall effort. The grant is decided by the Action MC or Core Group on proposal of the evaluators and should reflect the duration and location of the Conference and the actual conference fee.
The maximum amount of the YRI Conference grant is EUR 2,500 for face-to-face conferences and EUR 500 for online conferences. Upon approval of the Grant, the Action MC can decide to lower the requested grant amount.
Eligibility
Eligible individuals to apply for a YRI Conference grant must be affiliated with a legal entity in
- COST Full Member Countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Republic of North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine and United Kingdom.
- COST Near Neighbor Countries: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, the Faroe Islands, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia
A complete definition of the terms used above is given in the document “Country and organisations table”.
The affiliation of an individual or a legal entity is determined as per Article 4.1.1.1.1 of the Annotated rules for COST Actions.
Application
Calls for YRI Conference grant applications are periodically shared amongst the participants of the COST Action. In response to a call, the YRI Conference grant application shall be submitted online in e-COST using dedicated forms:
https://e-services.cost.eu/activity/grants/add.
Information to be provided in the application:
To be filled in e-COST:
- Title of the presentation
- Conference title, date (within the active Grant Period, i.e.no overlap across two consecutive Grant Periods) and country;
- Budget requested;
- Attendance Type (face to face or online)
To be uploaded to e-COST:
- Application form (template available on e-COST) describing: Relevance of the conference topic to the Action and Motivation describing the potential for impact on the applicant’s career.
- Copy of the abstract of the accepted oral presentation;
- Acceptance (or invitation) letter from the conference organizers.
The above information will be visible to the holders of leadership positions and any evaluation committees in the Action for evaluation purposes.
The applications will be evaluated by an ad-hoc committee formed by 2-5 MC members of the COST Action based on
- scientific quality of the presentation (based on the abstract);
- quality and relevance of the conference for the topic of the COST Action;
- benefit of the presentation to the development of the COST Action.
The selection will follow the COST policies on inclusiveness (gender, age, geography).
The applicants will receive the results of the evaluation by email. The selected applicants should wait for the official invitation from the Grant Holder before booking any travel arrangements.
Implementation
- Upon approval of the application, the Grantee receives a Grant Letter from the Grant Holder stating the approved amount and the conditions for receiving the grant.
- Grantee delivers the approved oral or poster presentation, following any specific request of acknowledgement set by the Action MC.
- Once the activity has ended, the grantee submits the required reports and relevant documentation in e-COST within 30 days after the end date of the activity or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period, whichever date comes first;
- The grantee claims the payment by submitting the report via e-COST.
The required report/documentation for claiming a YRI Conference grant is:
- Report to the Action MC on the outcome of the presentation of the accepted contribution, in terms of grantee’s visibility, including the establishment of new contacts for future collaborations,
- The certificate of attendance,
- The programme of the conference or book of abstracts / proceedings indicating the presentation (oral or poster) of the grantee,
- Copy of the given presentation (oral or poster).
Selection criteria and scoring
The YRI Conference grant applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria and scoring.
| Criteria | Max. score, points |
|---|---|
| Scientific quality of the presentation | 5 |
| Quality and relevance of the conference for the topic of the COST Action | 5 |
| Benefit of the presentation to the development of the COST Action | 5 |
| Threshold | 12 (of max. 15) |
www.cost.eu