FEBS Bursaries

FEBS Congress bursaries are awards funded by FEBS to help early-career researchers from outside the host country participate in a FEBS Congress when submitting an abstract to the event, as set out in more detail below. For the 49th FEBS Congress (FEBS 2025) in Istanbul, FEBS bursaries will cover the early registration fee for such scientists, and make a contribution of €500 towards travel/accommodation (€825 in total).

Please check the eligibility criteria below carefully. A 'FEBS country' is a country where there is a FEBS Constituent Society (Europe and some bordering countries). FEBS bursaries are not available to scientists resident in the country in which the Congress is taking place (i.e. Türkiye in 2025).

FEBS bursary applications deadline: 13 March 2025

Eligibility criteria

2025 FEBS bursary applicants must:

• Be submitting an abstract to the Congress as first author
• Be a registered PhD student or be within 5 years of having received a PhD
• Be a PhD student at an institution of higher learning in a country where there is a FEBS Constituent Society, or be working as a postdoctoral scientist in such a country*
• Be a member of a FEBS Constituent Society*
• Be travelling to the Congress from outside Türkiye
• Not have received a FEBS YTF grant to attend a FEBS Advanced Course in 2025 nor a FEBS YSF 2025 grant

Please note that the number of meeting travel awards you have previously received from FEBS may also be taken into consideration in your selection.

*The Russian Biochemical Society and Belarusian Society of Biochemists and Molecular Biologists are temporarily suspended from FEBS, so members of these Societies and scientists studying/working/living in Russia and Belarus are not currently able to apply for FEBS bursaries.

How to apply

Applications for FEBS bursaries for the 49th FEBS Congress must be made through the Congress registration system before the bursary deadline of 13 March 2025.

To ensure your application is pulled into the data that goes forward to the selection, please make sure you follow all steps below correctly.

1. Select the Young Scientist participant type. (This is the only registration type that can be selected for consideration for 2025 FEBS bursaries.)
2. Click yes to the question in the first section of the registration form about applying for a Congress bursary.
3. Upload the following documents as a single pdf file, presented in the following order:
    
• Proof of Status: PhD student or postdoctoral scientist within 5 years of receiving a PhD
• Proof of current FEBS Constituent Society membership (scanned copy of current membership certificate/letter, dated within the past year, from your FEBS Constituent Society)
• Curriculum Vitae, prepared using the FEBS 2025 Congress CV template
4. Submit your abstract as first author, according to the guidelines on the Call for Abstracts page
5. Complete your registration order including payment of the registration fee by 13 March 2025.

If you are paying by bank transfer, please ensure you forward receipt of the transaction to the Congress Secretariat by 13 March 2025 (see Payment Methods here).

Assessment and notification

Abstracts submitted by FEBS bursary applicants will be considered for scientific quality during the event’s abstract screening and appraisal (see the Call for Abstracts page); in addition, CVs of eligible bursary applicants will be considered.

The outcomes of FEBS bursary applications are expected to be notified via e-mail in mid April 2025.

FEBS is supplying funding for approximately 180 bursaries for the 49th FEBS Congress. Unsuccessful eligible bursary candidates who are unable to attend the Congress without this bursary support can request refund of the registration fee from the Congress Secretariat if necessary immediately after notifications in mid April 2025, according to the Congress’s cancellation policy.

The FEBS bursary reimbursement

Delegates awarded FEBS bursaries will be reimbursed after the Congress by bank transfer from FEBS; more details from FEBS Treasury will be available via your participant account on the Congress website following the notification from the Congress Organizers that you have been selected.