A. Principal Investigators (PI), Researchers (excluding Researchers outside Türkiye) and Consultants:
Principal investigators;
- They must have a degree of doctorate / proficiency in art / specialty in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary. In projects which are carried out in public or higher education institutions, the principal investigator (excluding retirees) must be permanent staff of the institution in question.
- Principal investigator have to be employed at least for 6 months at the private corporation where the project will be carried out. Applications from charitable foundations, associations and their commercial enterprises, corporations, sole traders and ordinary partnerships are not accepted in the scope of this program.
Researchers and consultants in project team;
- Should have a 4-year undergraduate degree at least and should be the permanent staff of the participant institution
Principal investigator and researchers (except for Researchers outside Türkiye) should reside in Türkiye. Non-Turkish citizens can be principal investigator or researcher in a project if they are working in an institution located in Türkiye.
A person who has a contribution less than 10% of the project workload cannot be researcher in projects but can be consultant. A consultant (*) is allowed if the project requires special expertise on a specific subject. The number of consultants in a project is limited to the number of specific subjects in the project. The role of consultant in the project should be explained in detail in the project proposal.
Retirees who do not work in any organization can take part in the project team as principal investigator, researcher or consultant, provided that they do not receive Project Incentive Bonus (PTI). (In accordance with paragraph 2 in Article 16 of The Law on the Establishment of The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye, only those who are permanent staff of public institutions or organizations can be paid PTI.) In order for the retirees to be principal investigator, it is necessary them to get approval on that they can take part in the project from the senior authority of the institution / organization where the project will be carried out.
Members of the Group Executive Board and Advisory Board working in ARDEB can take part as a PI or researcher while their duties continue during the application, but not as a consultant (**).
Project team members employed at TÜBİTAK headquarters/research institutions can participate in projects as principal investigator/researcher/consultant only if the proposal is a medium-scale or large-scale project.
Medium-scale or large-scale project proposals can be composed of sub-projects conducted at different institutions/organizations. At such project proposals one of the principal investigator of sub-projects is assigned as the project manager.
Medium-scale or large-scale project proposals are supposed to have private sector participation. Necessity of private sector participation is notified at the relevant call announcement.
B. Researchers outside Türkiye
The requirements for researchers outside Türkiye to take part in Project;
In supported projects, researchers outside Türkiye may take part as researchers, provided that they work in the project for 30 days or more including travel at each visit, provided that their legal obligations belong to the organization where the project is carried out.
The researchers outside Türkiye who will take part in the project must be qualified to carry out and lead/guide a part of the project, where the competence of researchers in our country is limited, with the project team in the institutions of our country.
The travel expenses of the researchers in question and 50% of the full-time monthly gross fees they receive abroad in the same period of time, for the time they take part in the Project, are covered as service cost from the project. If the 50% of the full-time monthly gross fee that the researcher receives abroad is less than the “2221-Konuk veya Akademik İzinli (Sabbatical) Bilim İnsanı Destekleme Programı” coordinated by BİDEB, the highest monthly fee provided under that program is used.
These researchers can take part in more than one project supported by TÜBİTAK however they can get fee only from one project. The number of researchers outside Türkiye that can take part in a project is limited to one.
C. Scholars
Undergraduate, graduate students (except for special students and prep students) and “Research Assistants” studying in higher education institutions in Türkiye (in the TRNC for projects submitted from TRNC) and post-doc researchers can take part as scholar in projects.
Undergraduate students who take part as a scholar in projects must be unemployed. In case the student fails the class, the scholarship ceases. At most 4 undergraduate students can take part in a project as an undergrad-scholar simultaneously.
The requirements to be a post-doc researcher scholar;
- Scholar should have a PhD but not work in any institution/organization,
- Scholar should not have an academic title of associate professor or higher,
- There should not be over 7 years between the date of getting PhD and the last submission date of the relevant funding program (within the time period mentioned above, if a woman reseacher take maternity leave; if the relevant maternity document or identity certificate of child is sent to deik@tubitak.gov.tr in the attachment of a relevant petition, 1 year is added to this time period for each birth.).
Who cannot be Principal Investigator?
The highest level managers of the public institutions/organizations, deputies and assistants of them (Rector, Vice Rector, Chief Physician, Deputy Chief Physician, Hospital Director, Minister, Deputy Minister, General Manager, Deputy General Manager, Provincial Director of National Education, etc.) cannot act as PI if they are still working in those positions during the application, but they can be researchers in 3 (***) projects at most.
Conditions to Apply for ARDEB-BİDEB Programs simultaneously (Table)
Limits for taking part in projects (Table)
(*) Consultant: researcher or expert whose knowledge is used for a secondary subject of project, requiring special expertise.
(**)TÜBİTAK Governing Board and Advisory Board members can take part in projects applied to the calls under EU Framework Programs (calls where joint evaluation is carried out by international independent reviewers) as PI, researcher or consultant.
(***) International projects, 1000 and 1002 projects are not included in quota.