Notice of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology on the call for projects under the “China-France Research Partnership Exchange Program” for 2024
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China and the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEFA) have jointly established and implemented the “China-France Research Partnership Exchange Program”, which aims to promote exchanges and visits between Chinese and French research teams and strengthen cooperation between research institutions of the two countries. The competent department of the Chinese side is the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the executive management body is the China Association for International Science and Technology Cooperation. The competent authority of the French side is the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and the executive management agency is the French Agency for Higher Education. According to the relevant agreements and working arrangements between France and China, the call for projects for 2024 is now launched.
- Area
In the framework of the 2024 Program, both parties intend to jointly fund 15 research exchange projects, 10 of which are in all fields of science and technology (excluding humanities and social sciences) and 5 in the field of carbon neutrality.
- Application Method
Each project will be jointly submitted by Chinese and French research teams and will be based on the principle of reciprocity (see Annex 1 “Call for applications” for details).
- Funding Size and Period
The Chinese authorities will provide a total of 150,000 RMB per project for the selected Chinese teams to conduct research and exchange activities in France for a period of 2 years (January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025). The French authorities will provide financial support for the French research team to come to China.
- Application Requirements
(1) The Chinese sending institution must be a legal research institution or university established in China.
(2) This exchange program supports the exchange of French and Chinese research teams around the same research content. The number of Chinese and French teams participating in each exchange program should be equal or similar, with similar research level and the same or similar duration of exchange in the other country. The Chinese research team should be composed of at least three people, including one senior researcher (equivalent to associate senior title or above), one young researcher (equivalent to intermediate title or above) and one doctoral student or postdoctoral fellow.
(3) Chinese personnel participating in the exchange program must meet the following conditions:
- nationality of the People’s Republic of China;
- regular staff or doctoral students engaged in scientific research in the sending unit;
- the researcher should have a doctoral degree in natural science or engineering technology;
- be physically and mentally healthy, with good communication skills in English or French;
- undertake to abide by local laws and respect local customs during the exchange period in France.
(4) The project implementation period is two years (January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025).
(5) The Chinese and French research team should have a clear agreement or intentional agreement on the ownership of future intellectual property rights and income from the transformation of results, and comply with the relevant provisions of China’s laws and regulations on the ownership of intellectual property rights and income from the transformation of results (the intellectual property rights agreement or relevant intentional agreement, memorandum of understanding, letter of certification, etc. must be attached as an annex to the application form).
- Application Procedure
(1) The two sides of the Sino-French cooperation need to submit the application materials respectively in accordance with the relevant requirements of the competent authorities of their countries, and the application contains the content of cooperation agreed by both sides, unilateral application of the project is invalid. The link to the French side guide: https://www.campusfrance.org/fr/caiyuanpei , the French side application consultation contact email: science.pekin-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr
The application deadline is July 12, 12:00, 2023.