TÜBİTAK-MIGHT Collaboration 2.0: Grand Challenge

Dates

Submission Deadline
10:00PM - Friday, 17 March 2023

Awards

The awards jointly funded by both Turkiye and Malaysia, are for the amount of USD300,000 per project.


1. Programme Background
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) and The Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) has signed  a Protocol on Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the two countries in October 2020, to enhance the cooperative activities in the field of research and development. 

This call is aimed at supporting research and development projects to promote the scientific and technological cooperation between two countries through a synergistic collaboration between both countries’ teams.

2. Scope of the Call
Within the framework of  this call, the projects with the following objectives will be supported:
  • Producing a new product
  • Increasing the product quality or standards
  • Developing new techniques to reduce costs and increase standards
  • Developing new production technologies
The projects, focusing on research and experimental development, “technologically new or improved product”, “technological process innovation” are preferred. Basic research projects are not supported within the scope of this call.

3. R&D Stages which are Supported
The projects to be supported under this call are expected to include all or some of the following R&D stages:
  • Concept development,
  • Technological/technical and economic feasibility study,
  • Laboratory (or related) studies in the transition from concept to design,
  • Design, design application and design tests,
  • Prototype production,
  • Establishment of pilot plant,
  • Trial production and type tests,
  • Activities to solve problems related with product design after sales 
Investment-oriented projects for production or production infrastructure (including the purchase of facilities and looms) and projects without R&D content are not supported because of  being not suitable for the purposes of the program

4. Thematic Field

Successful projects prepared in the fields below will be supported within the scope of the program. Proposals submitted in other fields will not be accepted. 

Thematic fields are: 

Food Security
Food security occurs when all people are able to access enough safe and nutritious food to meet their requirements for a healthy life, in ways the planet can sustain into the future. However, food security faces a number of challenges across both production and consumption which research will be essential to solve. Countries that is highly reliant on food imports and has been experiencing a steady food price hike. Majority of food-based SME-s use low end technologies with limited R&D activities. Advanced science and technology need to be injected to ensure food security, consistent supply, quality, traceability for authentication across the value chain and compliance with global standards and export opportunities. 

Healthcare Technology
Across the globe, people are living longer and requiring new solutions to address life as an aged citizen. Furthermore, many countries are expected to be an ageing nation in 2030, when more than 15 per cent of the population would be aged 60 and above. Disease prevalence rates and demand for healthcare, increase cost for healthcare for people aged 60 was estimated to cost two to three times more than that of a younger adult. Medical and Healthcare Sector to leverage the power of advanced technologies to be pre-emptive, agile and adaptive to health crises and overcome rising prevalence of non communicable diseases (NCDs).

Energy
Globally, governments and businesses are pursuing their own paths to achieve net-zero goals. Given that about 80% of total greenhouse emissions are contributed by the energy sector, there needs to be a strong commitment from stakeholders to reduced or near-zero carbon emissions. In order to address this challenge, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) has a target to enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology by 2030. 

Digital Technology
Digital technology can help accelerate progress towards every single one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Transforming a country into a digitally-driven, high income nation and a regional leader in digital economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted connectivity, as more people have moved online to continue working, studying and to stay in touch with friends and family during lockdowns and confinement. Digitalization will likely have profound effects on societies and economies and is expected to be an essential precondition for six major transformations needed to reach the sustainable development goal targets by 2030: improved human capital; responsible consumption and production; a decarbonized energy system; healthy, affordable food and clean water; sustainable cities and communities; and a digital government. 

5. Eligibility criteria 

  • Maximum project duration up to 3 years (36 months); extension beyond this period is not permitted.
  • It is prerequisite that proposals include the participation of the below as submitting and collaborative institutions:
  • At least one Turkish academy partner (including public institutions or organizations/ research institutions/ universities/ training and research hospitals) and Malaysian research institution, public organization or university & At least one Turkish and one Malaysian industrial partners for Academia-Industry Cooperation proposals. 
  • The proposal must be within one or more of the specific research priority areas described in Section 4.
  • Turkish and Malaysian-based teams must each be led by a Lead Principal Investigator (LPI).
  • Each proposal should have a Project Coordinator who will be selected from the LPIs of the proposal and this person is responsible for coordinating the whole consortium.

5.1 On Turkish side:

The LPI can be either from academy, public or private sector for Turkish team. For detailed information on the eligibility for Turkish team, please visit https://www.tubitak.gov.tr/sites/default/files/3125/1071_22_surec_dokumani.pdf  Turkish team will receive funding through TÜBİTAK 1071 Program. All Turkish researchers who apply for this Program should be registered to TÜBİTAK ARBIS (Researcher Information system) through the following link: https://arbis.tubitak.gov.tr.

5.2 On Malaysian Side:

The LPI can be either from academy, public or private sector for Malaysian team. Private sector from Malaysia must be a majority Malaysian owned business of any size that is registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia - https://www.ssm.com.my/. 


6. Financial conditions

Financial contributions must be calculated and provided in compliance with the valid national legislation and internal regulations of the partner organisations.
The cost of exchange of experts, scientist and other specialists will be covered on the following basis:
  • The Sending Party will cover all related costs connected with travel, accommodation and daily allowances according to their own regulations and allowances. 
  • The total duration of international visits in one direction should not exceed 60 days per year both Turkish and Malaysian research team of the each supported joint project.
On Turkish side:
  • TÜBİTAK-funded costs of each grant shall be issued and managed by TÜBİTAK in accordance with the rules of TÜBİTAK 1071 Program. TÜBİTAK-funded costs of each grant will be issued and managed by TÜBİTAK according to its funding guidelines and procedures (For detailed information please visit; https://www.tubitak.gov.tr/sites/default/files/3125/1071_22_surec_dokumani.pdf)
  • TÜBİTAK funds up to 2.500.000 Turkish Liras (excl. overhead and Project Incentive Premium (PIP) approximately) per project. 
  • As a rule, Turkish academia/public institution partners that are eligible for funding can receive up to 1.250.000 Turkish Liras (excl. overhead and Project Incentive Premium -PIP) of funding per proposal in total.
  • Turkish small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can receive 75% of the approved   budget; Turkish large-scale enterprises can receive 60% of the approved budget. Higher education institutions, their institutes, public R&D centers can receive %100 of the approved budget. Requested funding from TÜBİTAK is obtained by multiplying the project budget with the support rate. In projects involving more than one executive institution, requested funding from TÜBİTAK is the sum of the amounts obtained by multiplying the project budget of each executive institution with the support rate.
On Malaysian side:
  • Malaysian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can receive 75% of the approved budget; Malaysian large-scale enterprises can receive 60% of the approved budget. Higher education institutions, their institutes, public R&D centers can receive 100% of the approved budget.
  • The Malaysian team from private sector, academy, or public sector, which is eligible for funding, can receive up to USD 150,000 of funding per proposal in total.
The breakdown of the cost are as follows:

Category 

Type 

Percentage Limits 

Notes 

Human Resource costs 

Staff costs for personnel working directly on the grant-funded project.  


Limited to 30% of grant awarded 

This includes on-costs such as superannuation and national insurance payments. 

Operational Costs 

Travel (economy class) and subsistence costs. 

limited to 20% of the grant 

Only covers travel to the partner country (limited to 20% of the grant). 


Visa fees, vaccinations and medical insurance for travel essential to collaboration.


Only covers travel to the partner country 

Costs of meetings, training events, seminars and conferences integral to the collaboration. 

This can include short-term room hire, hire of audio-visual equipment (projectors, etc.) and stationery supplies (flip charts, etc.), refreshments.  

Consumables. 

 

Limited to 40% of grant awarded 

Permission must be obtained from MIGHT before the purchase of equipment.  Criteria are normally: 

1. Equipment is essential to delivery of the project and cannot be expected to be provided by institutions. 


2. Equipment will be used in the partner country and will remain there on project completion.   


Specialist software licences essential to the collaboration. 


 

 

Communication costs 

Access fees to facilities or library services. 

Limited to 10% of grant awarded 

This includes web page development by external providers, if appropriate.


Virtual delivery costs, which may include but not limited to cost of facilitators and technicians who are recruited to manage the virtual platform, translators and/or digital tools to provide easier access for people with disabilities. 


We encourage open access publishing, and publication-related costs such as author payment charges (APCs) can be included. MIGHT must be notified prior to publication and reserves the right to approve APCs or other publication costs before they are incurred.  


Use of telecommunications such as video / audio / web conferencing. 


7. Project proposal submission 
  • Project proposals must be submitted to both TÜBİTAK and MIGHT in parallel.
  • The partner organisations should come to an agreement with each other using their own means of communication and jointly develop and complete their project proposals before submitting them to TÜBİTAK and MIGHT. TÜBİTAK and MIGHT do not match the collaborating partners.
  • Project proposals must provide detailed information on the objectives and justification of the planned joint research work, the methodology to be followed, the composition of each research team, and the intended time schedule.
  • Because projects are bilateral, they must demonstrate equivalence in effort from the Malaysian and Turkey partners. The project must have one common work plan with both the Malaysia and Turkiye partners having main roles and responsibilities.
  • The size of the grant may vary depending on the needs of each project and must be fully justified. Applicants need to ensure that supported elements of the proposal abide by all regulations for both funding agencies.
7.1 On Turkish side 

8. Evaluation and Selection
Projects are evaluated by TÜBİTAK and MIGHT independently using their own evaluation procedures. Only the proposals which are accepted by the two sides will be funded. The proposals will be reviewed based on the following set of evaluation criteria:
  • Scientific/Technological Excellence
  • Methodology
  • Project Management
  • Importance of International Collaboration
  • Impact

9.0 Research Ethics and Regulatory Requirements 

As the research projects will be carried out by multiple project partners, the basis of collaboration between the project partners, including ownership of intellectual property (IP) generated during the project and rights to exploitation, and IP management is expected to be set out in an Intellectual Property Management Agreement between the LPIs involved. It is the responsibility of the LPIs to put such an agreement in place and to be provided when requested by funding agencies. The funding for approved projects will be released upon submission of the IP Management agreements to the respective funding agencies on both sides. The terms of collaboration must not conflict with the funding agencies' terms and conditions and national law.

9.1 On Turkish Side:
For the Turkish team, please refer to the Ethics Committee Approval Document, Official Permission Document and Research and Publication Ethics Committee Regulation as you can find on the link: https://www.tubitak.gov.tr/sites/default/files/3125/1071_22_surec_dokumani.pdf

9.2 On Malaysian Side:
The Malaysian team shall comply with the principles and practices as stated in the Malaysian Code of Responsible Conduct in Research.

For Turkish Side

TÜBİTAK funds up to 2,500,000 Turkish Liras (excl. overhead and Project Incentive Premium (PIP) approximately) per project. As a rule, Turkish academia/public institution partners that are eligible for funding can receive up to 1,250,000 Turkish Liras (excl. overheads and Project Incentive Premium (PIP)) of funding per proposal in total.

For Malaysian Side

MIGHT funds up to USD 150,000 per project.

 

On Turkish side:

On Malaysian side:

Contact person

Güliz SÜTÇÜ, Phd.

 

Directorate for International Cooperation

TÜBİTAK

Mr. Ahmad Razif Mohamad

 

President & CEO’s office

MIGHT

Address

Tunus Caddesi
No:80 Kavaklidere, Ankara 

Turkey

Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT)

 

MIGHT Partnership Hub. Jalan Impact Cyberjaya, Selangor 63000 Malaysia

 

Telephone

+90 312 298 1881

+60197783517

E-mail

uidb@tubitak.gov.tr

razif@might.org.my

URL

www.tubitak.gov.tr

www.might.org.my



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Enquiries



Contact Person:
Mr. Ahmad Razif Mohamad

Telephone:
+60197783517

Email:
razif@might.org.my / international@might.org.my