Call for Educational Research Grants – MinCiencias

THEMATIC

Scope

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The research proposals to be developed, as the thesis project to be submitted by applicants to the programs funded under this call, must address one of the territorial demands established in the Biennial Plan of Calls 2023–2024, based on the thematic scopes defined in the “Convocatoria para la asignación para la ciencia, tecnología e innovación del sistema general de regalías para la formación de capital humano a nivel para las regiones” (Call for the Allocation of Science, Technology, and Innovation Resources from the General System of Royalties for High-Level Human Capital Training for the Regions), addressed by each doctoral program as specified in ANNEX 3 of this call.

PARTICIPATION

Requirements

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Colombian professionals wishing to participate in this call must meet the following requirements:

1. Be born in Colombia.
2. Be admitted to one of the doctoral programs offered by the Universidad Industrial de Santander, listed in section 6 of this document.
3. Submit a doctoral thesis proposal that complies with the conditions established in section 11 of this call.
4. Complete the registration process and submit all required documents within the deadline set by the University in the call, following the procedures described in section 11 of this document.

PROGRAMS TO BE FUNDED AND

Number of Available Slots

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The doctoral programs and the number of funded slots correspond to those defined and approved within the framework of project BPIN 2024000100124, titled “Formación de Capital Humano de Alto Nivel para la Subregión 2 Centro Oriente Naciona” (High-Level Human Capital Training for the Central-Eastern Subregion 2), as shown in the following table:

Note: In the event that a doctoral program does not allocate the available slots for the forgivable education loans within a maximum of two calls for the selection of beneficiaries, these slots may be reassigned among doctoral programs that request them, based on the following criteria:

1. Whenever feasible, one (1) forgivable loan will be reassigned to each doctoral program that demonstrates the need for additional education loan slots.

2. If the number of slots to be reassigned under the previous criterion is insufficient, priority will be given to doctoral programs that hold accreditation and have greater seniority, until all available slots have been allocated.

DISQUALIFYING

Conditions

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These are all the objective or subjective conditions of manner, time, and place, antecedent or concomitant, attributable to the applicant registered for the Call or to the project under consideration, which prevent the continuation of their participation in the selection process, or which, having obtained the benefit in question, make it impossible for them to enjoy it:

1. Having another source of funding for doctoral studies.
2. Holding a doctoral degree.
3. Having already completed semesters in the doctoral program for which funding is requested.
4. Being admitted to a program that is not included in the list of doctoral programs presented in the section “Programas a Financiar y Número de Cupos” (Programs to Be Funded and Number of Available Slots).

5. Submitting a research proposal that is outside the thematic scope defined in section 4 of this document.

6. Having received or currently receiving funding for a doctoral program with resources from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation or from the General System of Royalties.

7. Altering any of the documents submitted to participate in the call.

8. Being subject to any of the causes for disqualification or incompatibility established by the Constitution, the Law, or the Regulations.

FUNDING

Conditions

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1. Funding is granted through a forgivable education loan, under which the beneficiary may be exempted from up to 100% of the total debt. Loan forgiveness is the mechanism defined by the Colombian State to encourage the training and integration of highly qualified human capital in the country’s productive and scientific sectors. In the event that 100% loan forgiveness is not granted, the beneficiary must repay the remaining debt. The forgiveness conditions are established in the section “Condiciones de Condonación” (Loan Forgiveness Conditions).
2. Funding is granted exclusively for what is stated in the section “Duración y Financiación” (Duration and Funding). The benefit is personal, and neither MinCiencias nor UIS will assume any additional costs.
3. Tuition payments will be made directly from the Ministry of Finance to the University.
4. The funds corresponding to living expenses will be transferred directly to the beneficiary every semester by the Ministry of Finance.
5. During the program, the beneficiary must maintain a minimum semester GPA of 4.0 or its equivalent, on a grading scale from 0.0 to 5.0.

LOAN FORGIVENESS

Conditions

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The contribution granted to each beneficiary corresponds to a forgivable education loan, which will allow beneficiaries to be exempted from up to 100% of the acquired debt, upon presentation of the diploma, the graduation certificate from the completed doctoral program, or an official certification from the university stating that only the graduation ceremony is pending.

In the event that the doctoral program is not completed within the time established by the alliance under the Operational Regulations of the Education Loan, beneficiaries may obtain up to 80% loan forgiveness upon submission of R&D&I (Research, Development, and Innovation) products, under the conditions established in Annex 7 of MinCiencias Call No. 35.

COORDINATORS

Directory

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