Call Brilliant Marine Research Ideas 2021

What is a Brilliant Marine Research Idea grant?

The philanthropy program of VLIZ, The Sea as a Good Cause, launches an annual call for Brilliant Marine Research Ideas. With the BMRI grant, worth EUR 5.000, we want to inspire and help young, original thinking marine scientists to explore and develop a brilliant research idea. We seek to fund a marine research idea that can contribute to solving a hypothesis-based marine research question. Topics of interest are (amongst others) the themes identified in the philanthropy research agenda including pollution, ocean and human health, marine biodiversity, climate change, ocean related disasters and marine explorations.

The BMRIs are unique in Flanders and distinguish themselves from other funding grants by their focus on out-of-the-box thinking, the elaboration of an additional research topic but always framed within the current personal marine research field of the scientist. The grant can be used to assist researchers with lab and/or fieldwork, data acquisition and analysis, visits to other institutions for the use of specialized facilities, for the acquisition of equipment or software needed for a certain analysis, etc. The fund cannot be used to reimburse the use of existing lab infrastructure within the own research group/department, for personnel costs, to pay for travel costs that amount to more than 50% of the grant or to attend conferences.

Who is eligible for a BMRI grant?

• PhD students affiliated to a Flemish university or a Flemish university college with, at the time of the application, less than 6 years of research experience at predoc level (i.e. since starting their PhD research).
• Junior postdocs affiliated to a Flemish university or Flemish university college with, at the time of the application, less than 3 years of research experience at postdoc level (i.e. after obtaining the doctoral degree).
• PhD students from the South* with, at the time of the application, less than 6 years of research experience at predoc level (i.e. since starting their PhD research), with a strong demonstrable link with a researcher from a Flemish Marine Research Group. An additional condition: the candidate has a diploma obtained from an international marine-related master's program in Flanders** or the candidate carries out research via a sandwich doctoral grant.
• * South: countries bordering a sea or the ocean in Africa, Asia, Oceania, South or Central America (see: country list)
  ** List of international master's programs with a marine component

Modalities for the BMRI call 2021

For the call 2021, we open at least the following positions:

• three BMRI grants for predocs at the Flemish level
• one BMRI grant for a junior postdoc at Flemish level
• one BMRI grant for a predoc from the South

Call for proposals & application BMRI 2021

• Call for proposals for a BMRI grant 2021 open to PhD-students affiliated to a Flemish university or to a Flemish university college
• Call for proposals for a BMRI grant 2021 open to junior postdoctoral researcher affiliated to a Flemish university or to a Flemish university college
• Call for proposals for a BMRI grant 2021 open to PhD students working in the South and with a strong demonstrable link with a Flemish Marine Research Group, Flemish university or a Flemish university college
• Application form BMRI grant 2021

You can apply for one of the BMRI grants by sending the following to :

• Application form (fixed format, download the form here)
• CV (free format)
• Form of consent from the student his/her supervisor affiliated to a Flemish university or Flemish university college (free format)
• Letter of recommendation from the researcher of the Flemish Marine Research Group with whom there is a strong demonstrable link (only for the BMRI grant for a predoc from the South)

The deadline for entering the competition: Friday January 29, 2021

Contact person: Karen Rappé
E:   karen.rappe@vliz.be
T:   +32 (0) 59 34 14 94
M:  +32 (0) 498 72 60 23