Who can Apply?

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A. Principal Investigators (PI), Researchers (excluding researchers outside Türkiye) and Consultants:

Principal investigators (PIs) must have 4 year undergraduate degree at least and must be permanent/full-time staff (excluding retirees and postdoctoral researchers not working in any institution/organization) of the host organization of the project.

Researchers and consultants (*) in project team must have 4 year undergraduate degree at least and must be permanent/full-time staff (excluding retirees and post-doctoral researchers not working in any institution/organization) of contributory institution/organization where they are working

In projects to be carried out in a private institution, the project coordinator must work in that institution for at least six months as of the date of the proposal of the project. The researchers who work for non-governmental organizations (foundations, associations, etc.), unions, chambers and commodity exchanges and their economic enterprises; cooperatives, sole proprietorships and ordinary partnerships cannot apply.

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.

Researchers and consultants in project team should be permanent staff (excluding retirees and post-doctoral researchers not working in any institution/organization) of the contributory institution/organization where they are working.

Principal investigator, researchers and consultants (except for researchers and consultants outside Türkiye) should reside in Türkiye.

Retirees who do not work in any organization can take part in the project team as principal investigator, researcher or consultant, and postdoctoral researchers can take part as principal investigator or researcher 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 Turkey, only those who are permanent staff of public institutions or organizations can be paid PTI.) In order for the retirees and postdoctoral researchers to become 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.

People working in TÜBİTAK Headquarters / Institutes cannot take part as PI / researchers / consultants in the projects proposed under this program.

TÜBİTAK ARDEB Governing Board and Advisory Board members can be PI or researcher, but they cannot be consultant (**) if they are still working in those positions during the application.

 

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. Scholar

Undergraduate, graduate students (except for special students and prep students) and “Research Assistants” studying in higher education institutions in Türkiye and post-doc researchers can take part as scholar in projects.

Undergraduate scholar should not work in any institution. If the student fails the class, scholarship is stopped. At most, 4 undergrad scholars can take part in one project.

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 date when the person will be assigned in the project (petition date). (In case our female researcher takes leave due to childbirth within the specified period; If the birth certificate or the identity document of the children is sent to deik@tubitak.gov.tr ​​by e-mail in the attachment of the petition, one year will be added to this 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.

(**) TUBITAK ARDEB Governing Board and Advisory Board members can take part as consultants in projects submitted to calls opened within the scope of European Union Framework Programs (projects where joint evaluation is carried out by international independent reviewers).

(***) International projects, 1000 and 1002 projects are not included in quota.