RI Internships
The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) announces the «Research and Innovation Internships» Call and invites beneficiaries to submit an expression of interest. Through the Call, RIF invites innovative enterprises to express their interest to host students for the purposes of providing opportunities for preliminary training in Research and Innovation (R&I) activities.
BENEFICIARIES
Expressions of interest can be submitted by enterprises that at the time of expression of interest have:
- either acquired a certificate of innovative enterprises,
- or are currently implementing a R&I project funded by the EC (either through the framework programme for Research & Innovation or through a European Partnership) and/or the Research and Innovation Foundation, excluding the programme “Innovation Vouchers”.
The enterprises must be legally established and active in territories under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.
The submission of expressions of interest by natural persons is not permitted.
In the framework of the R&I Internships Call, enterprises may host undergraduate and postgraduate students regardless of the year of study, while it is also possible for students from abroad to take part in internships.
Duration of Intrerships
The minimum duration of each internship is thirty (30) consecutive working days, between 15/05/2023 – 30/09/2023 and activities must take place during the working hours of each enterprise.
Budget
The total budget of this Call is €100.000 and the funding amount per student is €1.400.
The funding will be provided to the students as a sponsorship following the completion of the internships and the submission of an Activity Report.
PARTICIPATION PROCEDURE
1st STAGE: SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
For the submission of an Expression of Interest, enterprises are required to complete an online form by the 7th of February 2023, providing the following information:
- General Information and Description of Entity
- Contact Person and Details
- Number of interns that may be hosted by the Entity
- Internship Start and End Date
- Area of activity
- Internship objectives and Job Description
- Minimum Required Qualifications
2nd STAGE: PUBLICATION OF LIST OF PARTICIPATING ENTERPRISES
Following the completion of the submission of Expressions of Interest, the RIF will publish a list of participating enterprises on its website for students to choose the enterprises they wish to apply to for an internship. At this step, RIF will decide the initial number of interns each enterprise can host.
The list of participating enterprises for 2023 is available here.
3rd STAGE: SELECTION OF STUDENTS FROM ENTERPRISES
The choice of students to take part in internships will be up to the participating enterprises, as announced on the RIF website.
For the purposes of participating in internships, students will therefore need to contact enterprises directly using the contact details of the persons in charge of the participation of each enterprise in the Call. Upon contacting enterprises, students will need to submit their Curriculum Vitae, a copy of their degree and/or Registration Certificate. The enterprises will then proceed to choose the students to undertake internships taking into account their CVs, the extent to which the minimum required qualifications are addressed and/or an interview procedure.
4th STAGE: INFORMATION TO RIF ABOUT CHOICE OF STUDENTS
Participating enterprises will be required to inform the RIF regarding the students chosen for the purposes of carrying out an internship by the 10th of April 2023 through the relevant online form. This selection will follow the initial number of available interns decided during the 2nd step. In case the budget of the programme is not fully exhausted, RIF may allocate additional interns, taking into account the date and time of submission of the form informing RIF of the students chosen to participate in internships.
5th STAGE: SUBMISSION OF AN ACTIVITY REPORT
At the end of each internship, the students are required to submit within one (1) month, an Activity Report to the RIF, including the extent to which the objectives of the internship were reached and a description of their overall experience. The Activity Report must be signed both by the student and the person in charge of the internship from the part of the enterprise.
INFORMATION – CONTACT DETAILS
For more information, interested parties should contact the RIF’s Partner Support Center (tel: 22205000, email: [email protected]).
FOITO Competition
The aim of the “Students in Research – FOITO” Competition is to involve young scientists from the early stages of their career in research activities and at the same time to publicize their achievements.
The Competition foresees the award of prizes to individual students or teams of students, whose work will achieve the highest marks following the evaluation procedure.
The prizes include:
- honorary awards
- financial awards
The Competition is aimed at the following two categories of students:
- CATEGORY A’: undergraduate students (in their last year of studies)
- CATEGORY B’: postgraduate students (doctoral candidates are excluded)
Students of any nationality who are studying at a public or private University or Higher Education School in Cyprus can participate in the Competition.
The Call for Proposals for the Competition “Students in Research Competition – FOITO 2020”.
Procedures
Submission
A team of one to five students submits the research projects. An experienced researcher with an advisory role should support each team.
The research projects should fall under one of the following three thematic areas:
Life Sciences
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Social Sciences and Humanities
Evaluation
Two (2) Independent international experts evaluate each one of the submitted Research Projects.
The evaluation criteria are:
1. Excellence
- Investigation of state-of-the art knowledge and existing scientific information.
- Documentation of importance, originality and innovative elements of the project.
2. Added Value and Benefit
- Critical evaluation, documentation and interpretation of research results.
- Added value of knowledge and benefit stemming from the results of the research / Possibilities for dissemination and exploitation of research results.
3. Implementation
- Ability and care exercised in the design of the research project – methodology for the implementation of the work: from the conception of the idea up to its application. Thorough report of the research restrictions.
- Effectiveness of the collaboration of the student(s) with the experienced researcher and Experiences that were acquired by the student(s).
The Winners
The students awarded in the FOTO Competition the previous years were:
2019 Awards
Postgraduate Students
- 1st AWARD – Life Sciences
Maria Kyriakou of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Paris Skouridis
- 1st AWARD – Social Sciences and Humanities
George Demosthenous of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Chryssis Georgiou
- 1st AWARD – Physical Sciences and Engineering
Konstantina Barnava of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Costas Patrikios
Undergraduate Students
- 1st AWARD – Social Sciences and Humanities
Andreas Antonopoulos of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Louis Philippos - 1st AWARD – Physical Sciences and Engineering
Katerina Ioannou and Agni Michailidou of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researchers: Dr. Ioannis Paschalidis and Dr. Anastasios Tassiopoulos
2018 Awards
Postgraduate Students
- 1st AWARD
Rania Hadjisavva of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Paris Skouridis
- 2nd AWARD
Konstantina Sofroniou of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Epamineondas Leontidis
- 3rd AWARD
Marina Democrat of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Simoni Symeonidou
- CREDITS
Nikolaos Petrotos of the European University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Maria Meletiou MavrotheriHaria Hadjipakkou of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Eftychia Pinakoulaki
Undergraduate Students
- 1st AWARD
Agathangelos Hadjichristofi of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Vassilios Probonas
- 2nd AWARD
Zoe Grigoriou and Dimitris Apostolidis of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Costas Patrikios
- 3rd AWARD
Stavros Patsalidis of the Cyprus University of Technology
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Diofantos Hatzimitsis
- CREDITS
Konstantina Kyprianou of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Angelos EfstathiouMichael Papacharalambous of the University of Cyprus
Experienced Researcher: Dr. Paris Skouridis