Application guidelines for TIA Professor call
Please fully read the guidelines on this page before completing your application.
You will find a link to the Application Service at the bottom of this page. (The application form will open 4th Sep).
NB. We will be answering questions related to the TIA Professor call live at 9:30-11:00 on Monday 4 September. Click here to register for the info webinar.
Aims
Tandem Industry Academia professors apply for funding to cover their salary and other costs from 12 months of research work with an industrial host. During the funding period the TIA Professor will work on the company’s site, with the company providing the physical workspace and other facilities and resources to support the project. The aim of the funding programme is to give academic partners first-hand knowledge about relevant areas of research interest in industry; and on the other hand, to give industry partners unique access to top-tier research insights in the fields of their interest. Projects may involve joint precompetitive research and/or other supportive activities.
Who is eligible to apply?
Applications will be accepted from applicants holding a professorial position (e.g. professor, tenure-track professor, research director, chief researcher) at a Finnish university or government research institute. The Finnish Research Impact Foundation will assess the applicant’s eligibility and qualifications based on the application submitted. Applicants shall have a named industry partner with which they are applying for funding and which will provide the professor with the necessary working facilities. As a rule the applicant shall have no significant connection with their industrial host (e.g. board membership or more than 5% ownership of the company).
The industry partner must be a Finnish-based company that is a going concern with at least one full-time employee. The company may be active in the international market, but it must have an office or place of business in Finland in the form of a limited company. The contact person for the industrial host shall be employed in the Finnish company. During the funding period the TIA Professor may spend periods of varying length in the industry partner’s other offices or places of business.
The industrial host should be a research-minded company and demonstrate its commitment to doing research. In its application the company is required to clarify its in-kind contribution to the project during the professor’s visit.
Funding period and funding
Funding will be granted for one year (12 months) of full-time work at the industry partner’s site. The funding may be flexibly allocated and spread out over a period of three years from the start date of the project. The latest possible start date is 1 March 2024. If the applicant has valid reasons to postpone the start date of funding already granted, these can be discussed and agreed upon separately with the Foundation.
The funding is intended to compensate the TIA Professor’s salary costs for 12 months. It covers the professor’s salary, indirect employee costs, materials and travel costs, and other costs. It does not include overheads because the TIA Professor will not be working in the university’s facilities. The funding granted can include a maximum increase of 10% to the applicant’s annual salary at the time of application. Acquisitions or investments in equipment are not accepted as materials costs, but costs associated with data acquisition, for instance, may be accepted if deemed appropriate. Regular commute costs are not accepted as travel costs. Other costs may include those arising from publishing, for instance. The applicant is required to complete the project budget in the application form. Applicants have to justify other costs in the freetext field as part of the budget.
Applicability of funding and consent of organization
It is the applicant’s responsibility to check with their academic employer organization that the funding and the terms of the funding agreement are applicable and acceptable to the organization and to contact the organization’s finance office, for example, to seek approval for the project budget, salary and cost estimates. Applicants shall attach a letter of consent from the organization to their application for funding.
Submission of application and application process
Applications are submitted via the Foundation’s online application system. The deadline for applications is 15 October 2023 at 23:59. Saved applications can be edited until the deadline and 24 hours after submission. The call is a two-stage process. The first stage consists of the written application submitted via the application system. The application is completed by the applicant, that is, the professor and a representative of the industry partner. The latter will receive an invitation to complete their own application form after the applicant has submitted their final application. The industry partner will have 7 days to complete their own application after the proper deadline.
The second stage involves interviews with applicants shortlisted based on the first-stage applications. The interviews will be conducted both with the professor applying for funding and the industry partner’s contact person. Guidance on how to prepare for the interviews will be sent separately to those invited to the second stage by the end of October. As far as possible the interviews will take place face-to-face in Helsinki. They will be held on 13 and 17 November. Every effort will be made to accommodate the applicant’s schedule.
The application review process will be organized by the Foundation, which will consult outside reviewers as necessary. The funding decisions will be made as soon as possible after the last interview date, and second-stage applicants will be informed of the decisions in early December.
Content of application
The application shall include the following data and attachments :
To be completed by applicant (professor):
- Applicant’s academic organization
- Applicant’s personal information
- Name of industrial host (company name)
- Name, title and email of industrial host’s contact person
- Title of proposal
- Key words (5-6)
- Main field of science
- Field of science
- Public description of the project (in English)
- Public description of the project (in Finnish)
- Start date of the project (between 1.1.2024 and 1.3.2024)
- Preliminary schedule and division of labour
- Project budget (salary, indirect employee costs, materials, travel costs, other costs)
- Additional information on budget
- Description of relationship with industrial host company
Attachments:
- Letter of commitment from academic host organization
- CV and list of key publications (max 10) – Proven track record of applicant’s research relevant to the project’s theme. See the CV Template instructions at https://tenk.fi/en/advice-and-materials/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae
- Project plan (max 2 pages) that answers the following questions:
- Why is the project important and impactful?
- What are the objectives of the project?
- How will the objectives be achieved?
To be completed by representative of industrial partner:
- Company information
- Address
- Contact information
- Expected impact of the project for the company
- Company’s in-kind contribution
