At the center of the image is a girl in her 20s. Her dark brown hair is hold back. She wears glasses with a square shape and a burgundy color. The girl has a white, collared shirt. The background is blurred and various test tubes appear tens of bottles on the shelves with dozens of blue caps.

ABOUT NEWTON-KÂTİP ÇELEBİ FUND

The Newton-Kâtip Çelebi Fund Institutional Links Grant Programme is part of the wider Newton Fund Research and Innovation Collaboration Programme which aims to build UK-Turkey research and innovation partnerships centred on shared research and innovation challenges which have direct relevance to the Turkey’s social welfare and economic development. The Institutional Links Programme is designed to establish links beyond the level of the individual researcher, giving opportunities for more sustainable research collaboration.

The programme will provide small-scale seed funding to:

  • Initiate new research and innovation partnerships between groups, departments and institutions in Turkey and the UK
  • Develop existing partnerships at group, departmental and institutional level
  • Establish local hubs for UK-Turkey activity in a particular research area, enabling engagement from the wider research community

These grants are delivered under the Newton-Kâtip Çelebi Fund and are supported by the both the UK and Turkish governments, delivery partners being the British Council and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) respectively. The fund aims to promote the economic development and welfare of Turkey and, through working together, to address the problems of low-income and vulnerable populations in Turkey.

Size of the grant

  • Up to £150,000 for the UK institution
  • Up to 720.000 TL for the Turkish institution

For a detailed overview of eligible costs to be covered by the Institutional Links grant please see guidelines.

Priority areas:

  • Information and Communications Technology 
  • Machine Manufacturing
  • Robotics and mechatronics     

     - Manufacturing automation systems     

     - Additive manufacturing     

     - Machine design and manufacturing     

     - Fluid power, dynamics and fluid machines     

     - Manufacturing technologies     

     - Casting technologies 

  • Energy
  • Automotive
  • Health

     - COVID-19

  • Agriculture and Food
  • Social Sciences
  • Other

     - Metallurgy     

     - Advanced material technologies     

     - Chemistry

ODA (Official development assistance) requirement: All applications must meet the required relevance to economic development or social welfare (see guidelines for further information) of Turkey.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Each proposal must have one principal applicant from the UK and one principal applicant from Turkey.
  • All principal applicants must be either leading researchers or established researchers as defined by the EC.
  • Please see the list of eligible UK research institutions available in the download section below. 
  • Other eligibility criteria apply. Please refer to the guidelines document available from the download section below for full eligibility criteria.

Deadline

12 June 2020, 16:00 UK time/17:30 Turkey time.  

How to apply

Applications have to be submitted to the Scientific and Technological Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and the British Council by the Turkish Project Investigator (PI) and the UK PI respectively. 

  1. Download and read the guidelines document fully from the download section.
  2. Turkish project investigator application

The Turkish project investigator should complete the online application through UİDB PBS. Please note that all Turkish researchers who apply must be registered on TÜBİTAK ARBİS (Researcher Information system).

Important Notice: After submission of the application by the Turkish  project investigator, the TÜBITAK application form should be saved as a PDF document and shared with the UK partner to be uploaded as an annex with the UK application.

3. UK  project investigator Application

The UK  project investigator should complete the online application form here. A word version of the application form is available from the downloads section. This is intended to give applicants knowledge of the questions in the online application form only and cannot be used to submit an application. UK applicants must submit the TÜBİTAK application form, provided by their Turkish partner in PDF format, as an annex to their UK application.

Important Notice: The UK  project investigator must submit the completed TÜBİTAK application form, provided by their Turkish partner in PDF format, as an annex to their UK application. Otherwise, the application will not be considered as eligible.

If you are experiencing issues with downloading the budget spread sheet, please try using a different browser (Google Chrome) or email UK-InstitutionalLinks@britishcouncil.org to receive a copy.

Contact

All queries from Turkish project investigators related to the TÜBİTAK application should be addressed to Eylem İstem Atay, Scientific Programmes Expert at uidb@tubitak.gov.tr. Please specify that you are enquiring about the Newton Institutional Links call. 

All other queries or comments about this call should be addressed to the Institutional Links email address on UK-InstitutionalLinks@britishcouncil.org. Please specify that you are enquiring about the Newton Institutional Links call.