Frequently Asked Questions

Who can take part in the competition?

Young scholars focusing on quantum technologies and new functional materials, whose professional experience does not exceed 15 years after getting a Candidate of Sciences/PhD degree, are eligible to take part in the Competition.

What status will the competition winner have at the University?

The winners of the Competition will be hired full-time as Laboratory heads at HSE, which will become their primary place of employment for the period from June 10, 2019 to December 31, 2024. To continue working at HSE in 2025 and beyond under a tenure contact the Laboratory head may re-apply via the University's international recruitment programme as per the established procedure.

What will be the leading researcher's responsibilities if he/she wins the competition?

The leading researcher undertakes to:

set up a research team for conducting research;
serve as the academic supervisor of the laboratory;
purchase the equipment and ensure its rational and reasonable use;
formulate the lab’s research agenda;
lead the lab's grant activities and attract external resources from field-specific organisations;
blend the lab's operations with HSE educational processes and streamline the involvement of the University's (doctoral) students in the lab's operations.

What are the qualification requirements to the Lab team?

The Lab team must include at least two Doctor of Sciences / Candidate of Sciences / PhD holders employed at HSE full-time (primary place of employment), as well as at least 3 HSE (doctoral) students.

How will the winning project be financed?

Each project supported in the framework of the Competition will be financed as follows:

up to 150 million roubles (including overhead charges, customs fees, delivery and set-up costs) will be allocated for the acquisition of research equipment in 2019-2020;
salaries and other research-related expenses:

up to 7 million roubles (gross) will be available in 2019; up to 50% of this amount may be allocated for the Laboratory staff wages (including the Laboratory head's and other team members' salaries and all social payments);
up to 13 million roubles per year will be available in 2020 – 2024; 8-10 million roubles may be allocated for the Laboratory staff wages (including the Laboratory head's and other team members' salaries and all social payments) and 3-5 million roubles per year - for other expenses, including research mobility, expendables, equipment maintenance, etc.

Does the annual financing include expenses related to setting up the Lab?

All expenses related to setting up and equipping the Laboratory are not included in the annual budget and will be additionally covered by the University.

Will the Lab have any obligations in terms of co-financing arrangements?

The winning laboratories undertake to secure co-financing as follows:

in 2022 – at least than 30 % of total funds, provided by HSE;
in 2023 – at least than 65 % of total funds, provided by HSE;
in 2024 – at least than 100 % of total funds, provided by HSE.

Will the Lab have any obligations in terms of publication activity?

Based on the research results, the Laboratory's team undertakes to publish a certain number of academic papers in a relevant research field, as set out in the proposal, in scientific journals indexed in Q1 and Q2 of the Web of Science in at least one WoS subject area, featuring HSE affiliation and references to the source of financing, but no less than:

in 2020 – 1 paper
in 2021 – 2 papers
in 2022 – 3 papers
in 2023 – 4 papers
in 2024 – 4 papers

Can the Lab continue its operations beyond 2024?

An international expert review of the Laboratory’s operations in 2019 – 2024 will be conducted to verify the attainment of the proposed research outcomes and approved annual KPIs. Subject to successful completion of the review, the Lab may continue its operations. After that, an expert review of the Laboratory’s performance will be conducted every five years.

What are the proposal submission deadlines?

Candidates must send their full name, ORCID and research topic to concurs_labs@hse.ru by March 1, 2019.

The proposal should be submitted by email to concurs_labs@hse.ru by April 01, 2019 and must include the following files:

Proposal in English (Word file);
Proposal in English (PDF file with the candidate’s scanned signature).

How will the proposals be assessed?

All proposals will be checked for compliance with the established requirements, as well as qualification requirements to the Laboratory out in the Regulations. Incomplete or improperly executed proposals will not be accepted.

Upon completion of the technical review, which is carried out to establish whether or not the competition proposals meet all competition requirements, they will be submitted to independent experts for review as per the established criteria.

Successful candidates will be invited for an interview by conference call, or in person (all expenses will be covered by the University). The time and place of the interview will be agreed by the parties.

Competition proposals submitted by the participants will not be returned and no peer reviews will be provided. All expenses related to the proposal submission should be covered by the participants.

When will the results be announced?

The Competition results will be announced by July 1, 2019.