FAQ FWO Odysseus programme

Supervisor

Q Applicants for an Odysseus Type II-grant have maximum 12 years of postdoctoral seniority. But what if a researcher has taken a period of e.g. parental leave after obtaining their PhD?

A For each continuous period of 365 days between the date on which the PhD degree was awarded and the application, a maximum of one extension of one year may be granted. This extension can only be granted if during this period continuous periods of at least 3 months, regardless of the number, occurred because of maternity leave, full-time parental leave, full-time sick leave or military service/compulsory civilian service in the country of which they are citizen. The maximum extension of the limit is three years.

Q There was a short period of appointment in a non-postdoctoral research position between the date of the PhD degree and the first appointment as a postdoctoral researcher. Does this period also count as “postdoctoral seniority” (max. 12 years)?

A Yes, it does. Only the date of the PhD counts, not the appointment held.

Local co-supervisor

Q Can a researcher act as local co-supervisor in more than 1 proposal?

A No, this is not allowed.

Q How many local co-supervisors can be involved in an application?

A One local co-supervisor is involved in each application. A second co-supervisor can only be appointed in the case of interdisciplinary research.

Q Does a local co-supervisor need to have a specific appointment at Ghent University? Or is any ZAP appointment sufficient, regardless of the percentage?

A A permanent appointment as ZAP is sufficient to act as local co-supervisor.

Q Can a local co-supervisor be replaced during the project in case of retirement?

A Yes, this is not a problem.

Project budget

Q Is it allowed to budget for an administrative assistant/secretary on an Odysseus project proposal?

A No, you can only request funding for scientific and technical staff on a research grant.

CV

Q Does an applicant for the Odysseus Programme have to upload a CV or is the information provided in the e-portal sufficient?

A The information provided in the e-portal is sufficient, but must be kept up to date.

Publications

Q How can researchers from abroad enter their publications in the FWO e-portal?

A Researchers without an appointment at a Flemish host institution are advised to copy and paste all publications of the same type (e.g. A1, B2, …). It does not matter which publication date they choose, as the correct date is included in the bibliographic reference. This entry will appear as 1 entry in the e-portal, but when downloaded as a pdf, all publications will be listed separately.