Brepols-SIEPM Stipends

1. What?

To facilitate attendance at the Annual Colloquium or the International Congress, Brepols-SIEPM stipends are available for researchers under the age of 35 or from low-currency countries. The stipends are € 250, € 500, or € 750 if the journey is transcontinental. One need not be a current SIEPM member to apply for these stipends. Applications should be submitted via e-mail.

 

2. Deadline

The deadline for applying for a stipend for the Annual Colloquium 2025, to be held in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in September 2025, is April 15, 2025. Applications that reach us after this date or that are at that date incomplete will not be taken into consideration.

 

3. Conditions

These rules apply to all recipients, without exception.

  1. The Stipends may only be used to pay costs associated with attending SIEPM Colloquia or Congresses. In case applicants have special costs to cover, please, contact the Secretariat.
  2. In order to receive the Stipend after having been awarded it, the recipient (i.e the Stipendiary) must provide his or her bank account number, referring to IBAN and BIC if applicable. Otherwise he or she must provide the relevant routing numbers or any other international bank account numbers. If this information is not provided, the Stipend cannot be paid out and is considered not to have been awarded.
  3. Payments can be made only by bank transfer to the Stipendiary who has been awarded the Brepols-SIEPM Stipend. Any tax implications associated with a Stipendium are the responsibility of the Stipendiary.
  4. Upon receiving a Brepols-SIEPM Stipend and upon the Stipendiary making available the relevant bank account information, an initial payment of 60% of the Stipend will be paid to the Stipendiary.
  5. The remaining 40% of the Brepols-SIEPM Stipend will be paid upon receipt of the relevant invoices, documenting attendance of the SIEPM Colloquium or SIEPM Congress and its associated costs. The respective invoices should be sent via email to the SIEPM Secretariat in Leuven, a month after the end of the conference at the latest.
    Note that only second class tickets for train and flight will be reimbursed, not first class. 
     

4. Selection Procedure

  1. Elegibility
    1. BREPOLS-SIEPM Stipends are designed for researchers under the age of 35 or from low-currency countries.
    2. Applicants need not be SIEPM members.
    3. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
    4. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
    5. If the total sum of available funds cannot be paid out because the number of applicants under the age of 35 or from low-currency countries is too low, candidates under the age of 40 will also be considered. However, such applications will only be considered if the applicant is presenting a paper at the specific SIEPM Colloquium or Congress.
       
  2. Amounts available
    1. Each Stipend carries the base value of € 250 or € 500. If intercontinental travel is necessary, the value will be raised to € 750.
    2. The total amount available for Stipends in any given year is € 3.250 allotted for annual SIEPM Colloquia and € 13.500 for years in which a SIEPM Congress is held.
       
  3. SIEPM Stipend commission
    1. Each year, by blind vote, the SIEPM Board elects from its officers a SIEPM Stipend commission. The Secretary General counts the votes and announces the results to the members of the Board.
    2. In any given year, the SIEPM Stipend commission consists of three members.
       
  4. Procedure for ranking the applications
    1. Upon closure of the application period, each member of the SIEPM Stipend commission receives a copy of all complete applications from the Secretary General.
    2. Each member of the SIEPM Stipend commission then ranks the applications numerically from most deserving to least deserving (the first most deserving put at the top and numbered 1, the second most deserving numbered 2, etc.) and sends his or her ranking back to the Secretary General within 10 days. Committee members may not rank applicants ex aequo.
    3. The members of the SIEPM Stipend commission apply the following criteria when ranking applications:
    • The individual qualifications of the applicant. It is not necessary that the applicant have publications.
    • The strength of the letter of recommendation.
    • The relevance of participation in the Congress or Colloquium to the applicant’s current research.
    1. The Secretary General then compiles the rankings of the three members of the SIEPM Stipend commission by adding up the numbers awarded to each application. The total score received by each applicant constitutes their final and definitive ranking.
    2. The first Stipend is awarded to the applicant with the lowest number, the second to the applicant with the second lowest number, and so forth until the total sum of funds available (€ 3.250 or € 13.500) is exhausted.
       
  5. Announcement of the results
    1. The Secretary General announces the final rankings to the members of the SIEPM Board and to Brepols, indicating the names of applicants who will be awarded a Stipend.
    2. Upon confirmation by Brepols, the Secretary General announces the results to the applicants.

 

5. How to apply?

Your application basically consists of two parts: the first part must be sent by you to the General Secretariat, the second part - a letter of recommendation by an SIEPM-member - must be sent directly on your request by this member to the General Secretariat.

  • Part one (to be sent by the applicant to the General Secretariat)

Please send the following documents to the General Secretariat by e-mail - siepm(at)kuleuven.be.

  1. Letter of motivation, explaining, among other things, the reasons for applying for a stipend, the estimated budget of your stay, the importance of the SIEPM conference for your research, and your link with SIEPM. Please use this template.
  2. A detailed CV including, if applicable, a list of your publications and your date of birth.
  • Part two (to be sent by the sponsor to the General Secretariat)

Contact a member of the SIEPM and ask her/him to write a short letter of recommendation for your support and to send it directly to the general secretariat by e-mail, siepm(at)kuleuven.be. Note that this letter must reach us before the deadline for applications.

Note that you are responsible for the completeness of your dossier (both parts 1 & 2)! Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

 

Last update: May 09, 2025

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