FAQ

There are no strict criteria for eligibility. However, applicants should have finished at least their undergraduate studies (BA degree) and have a certain command of scientific work and an idea of scientific projects.

You should have some knowledge of and experience in either CSS methods or the research topic of the summer school.  You should be willing to learn a new method and/or engage with a new research topic. Some basic understanding of a programming language (R or python for data science, NetLogo for agent-based modeling) will be of advantage for most projects though not a necessity.

We recommend to all applicants describe their experience with and knowledge of the research topic and/or CSS methods as well as programming languages and statistical software.

No, not in general.

The main target group is, however, advanced MA-level and doctoral students. We also invite postdocs who want to engage in a new field of research or method to apply.

You must apply online via the OpenReview: openreview.net/group?id=BIGSSS-CSS/2023/Summer_School

You can find instructions for application on the application instructions page.

Please note that we do not offer doctoral degree or postdoc programs. The research incubator project features a series of four summer schools. As a researcher, independent of your stage, you can apply for participation in a summer school.

In a first step, we select participants based on their general fit to the summer school. In this stage, participants are not finally tied to a project team. Experts will be involved in reviewing applications. These will likely (but not necessarily) be leaders of the projects, the applicant has selected in his or her application. In a second step, the matching with the project is considered.

The organizers will make the final decision of acceptance.

Once participants are selected, we will do a preliminary matching of participants and projects. We will inform you about your assigned project with the invitation to the summer school or shortly after. Changing a project may be possible if you find another participan who is willing to switch projects with you.

The targeted size of each team is five, including two experts and three participants.

The proposed projects are preliminary. Project leaders offer a project on a topic on which they can supervise participants and we ask our experts to be open for proposals of their team members. However, the decision if a proposal of a participant can be integrated is up to the project leaders.

Once participants are selected and the project teams are matched, hypotheses, data sources, and/or methodologies might be developed further. This could differ between projects and is decided by the project leaders.

No. The experts are also involved in the reviewing process. Therefore, we ask you to refrain from contacting the experts on inquiries about selection or your project proposal. You can ask questions about the project, but we do not oblige them to answer questions.

You are only eligible for a travel grant if your home institution does not cover your travel expenses. You have to give proof of this in your application. You also have to briefly explain your need of a travel grant.

If you receive a travel grant, your travel expenses are reimbursed up to a country-specific cap, based on the caps of the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD travel allowance in the column “Outward and return travel allowances for stays of up to 12 months”. Refunds of travel expenses will be after the summer school has ended and if you have handed in all original travel receipts and tickets together with a travel reimbursement form (which will be provided by us).

A letter stating that your home institution (i.e. institution that you are affiliated with or are enrolled at) does not cover your travel expenses. The letter needs to be issued by your home institution and signed by a representative of this institution.

We do not have templates for this.

Yes, the travel grant is capped at country-specific caps. The country-specific caps are derived from the rates of the German Academic Exchange Service. Find your country in DAAD travel allowance in the column “Outward and return travel allowances for stays of up to 12 months”.

We do not charge an application fee. The participation fee will be charged only after you have accepted our invitation to participate in the summer school.

The registration fee can be waived if you are from a low-income country. We refer to the official list of the World Bank differentiating countries into the categories low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and high-income countries.The following countries belong to the group of low-income countries: Afghanistan, Guinea-Bissau, Somalia, Burkina Faso, Korea (Dem. People’s Rep), South Sudan, Burundi, Liberia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Syrian Arab Republic, Chad, Malawi, Togo, Congo (Dem. Rep), Mali, Uganda, Eritrea, Mozambique, Yemen (Rep.), Ethiopia, Niger, Gambia, Rwanda, Guinea, Sierra Leone.

Yes. We cannot allocate laptops to participants.