SysSec Researcher Mobility Program for Systems Security

To stimulate the mobility of researchers and strengthen the community of European system security groups, the European Commission provides scholarships for short-term exchanges. The scholarships cover travel and living expenses (up to 3600 euros) for visits to one of the research organisations that constitute the SysSec Network of Excellence in System Security:

• FORTH-ICS (GR)
  Contact Point: Prof. Evangelos Markatos <markatos -AT- ics-forth-gr>
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
  Contact Point: Prof. Herbert Bos <herbertb -AT- cs-vu-nl>
• Institut Eurecom (FR)
  Contact Point: Prof. Davide Balzarotti <Davide.Balzarotti -AT- eurecom-fr>
• IPP - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BG)
  Contact Point: Prof. Vladimir Dimitrov <vgd -AT- acad-bg>
• TU Vienna (AT)
  Contact Point: Prof. Christian Platzer <cplatzer -AT- seclab-tuwien-ac-at>
• Chalmers University (SE)
  Contact Point: Dr. Magnus Almgren <magnus.almgren -AT- chalmers-se>
• Politecnico di Milano (IT)
  Contact Point: Prof. Stefano Zanero <zanero -AT- elet-polimi-it>

The scholarships are available to researchers of European universities and research organizations. The fund is primarily aimed at Ph.D. students and research staff, but master students doing their thesis projects will also be considered. The purpose of the visit should be related to system security.

Prior to applying, you should check with the contact point in the receiving organization of your choice whether they will be able to host you and obtain the required invitation letter (see below).

Duration and amount

The application process has been deliberately kept lightweight. To apply for a scholarship, the applicant should submit only the following items to the SysSec Scholarship Committee:

• motivation letter explaining the purpose of the visit
• up to date CV
• duration of visit
• invitation letter from hosting organization

The invitation letter should come from a staff member of the hosting organisation, as evidence that the organisation is willing to receive the applicant for the indicated period of time.

Amount of scholarships

The scholarship comes in the form of a fixed amount of at most 900 euros per month which should cover all expenses. The maximum funded duration of the visit is four months. Thus, the total maximum amount covered by the SysSec Scholarship should not exceed 3600 euros.

Application evaluation process

The application procedure runs continuously throughout the year. There is no deadline and applications will be considered on (at least) a bi-monthly basis. The scholarships are competitive; after evaluation by the SysSec scholarship committee, only the best applications will be funded.