Only under the condition that the implementation of the return grant takes place at one of the faculties that are among the project implementers, i.e. FAFNR, FFWS, FTAS and FES. A supporting statement of the head of the department (an integral part of the project application) can only be issued at one of the faculties that are among the project implementers, i.e. FAFNR, FFWS, FTAS and FES.
No, it is not. The return grant can only be implemented at one of the project-implementing faculties, i.e. FAFNR, FFWS, FTAS and FES.
Yes, it is possible to apply for a grant, provided that all conditions are met.
Yes, be sure to submit an application. The call will be open until 31.1.2026 at 11:59 p.m. and all applications submitted by this date will be evaluated.
No, the call will not be repeated in the coming years. The grant competition will be announced only once as a single-round competition. If the allocation is not fully used, CZU management may decide to announce another round, but this is not expected.
Applications can be submitted until the fixed deadline of 31 January 2026, after which the system will no longer allow submissions. The submission date does not influence the evaluation.
The application for the return grant may be submitted either in Czech or in English; the choice of language is up to the applicant. Likewise, all grant administration will be available in both Czech and English throughout the implementation period.
The date of the announcement of the grant competition (the beginning of the receipt of applications) as well as the deadline for the receipt of applications is set so that after the end of the evaluation process, it is possible to manage the implementation of three-year grants. If the schedule of the grant competition were to be postponed, it would significantly limit the possibility of implementing three-year grants.
Eligible applicants for a return grant are a researcher who meets the following criteria:
The applicant for a return grant must be a person who is enrolled in a doctoral study programme at CZU, both in full-time and combined form of study.
Does this refer to the beginning of the grant implementation (i.e. no earlier than 1 May 2026) or the actual submission of the application?
The requirement relates to the date of submission of the application in the system at www.projekty.czu.cz. On the date of submitting the return grant application, the applicant must provide a certificate from the competent authority (or a similar document) proving that the time since the end of the career break does not exceed 12 months.
Is the end of my career break considering the beginning of my work at the university, or the end of parental leave?
The call assumes a single start date for the implementation of all supported grants, from 1.5.2026. Postponement of the start date is not allowed by default. Only in exceptional cases and on the basis of an approved written request for change is it possible to suspend the implementation of the grant and postpone the date of its commencement. In any case, it would be a postponement of the start/interruption to a maximum of 12 months. Always consult the procedure with the faculty Return Grant Officer.
Yes, you can apply for a return grant. A researcher may perform R&D activities at CZU during a career break at a maximum of 0.3 FTE per month on average across the months in which the activity is performed. At the same time, R&D work may not exceed 0.5 FTE in any month. For the purposes of calculating FTE, the month in which the researcher starts R&D activity during the career break is counted from the start date of this activity, and the month of termination is counted until the end date.
The expected allocation per return grant is at least CZK 448,920.00. Depending on the length of the grant, the maximum budget per grant may reach CZK 9,982,562.00. The total allocation for return grants is CZK 61,474,776.00.
Within The flat-rate costs included in the unit cost per main researcher may include, for example, costs of materials, small equipment, translations, conferences, etc. The amount ranges from CZK 75 to CZK 94 per hour, depending on junior/senior classification. For a full-time workload of 1.0 FTE, this corresponds to approx. CZK 11,000–14,000 per month.
Example when using the average monthly number of productive hours:
Members of the expert team do not need to be current employees of CZU. If the grant is awarded, an employment relationship will be established with them.
"Mentor" is an optional activity within the Return Grant Application. The amount of the mentor's full-time work may reach a maximum of 0.2 per month (for the entire duration of the return grant). The costs of the unit activity "Mentor" include mainly funds for personnel costs (wages/salaries/remuneration from agreements) and are calculated and reported using the so-called productive hours. The mentor must fill in and submit to the faculty Return Grant Officer the P JAC form - Overview of Performed Activities on a monthly basis.
The task of the mentor is to provide methodological and professional guidance and professional feedback to the main researcher. Although the mentor is not the main researcher or project leader, they may contribute to the research and therefore be listed as a co-author, as this is consistent with the nature of their role.
This is not restricted by the call. The mentor’s work is financed from the grant budget, and the mentor will submit a completed and signed Overview of Activities form every month.
The contribution for the care of a child can be can be claimed for children up to 5 years of age who have not yet started compulsory pre-school education.
No, it would be duplicate funding.
Mobility is only allowed to the of the return grant, for any other members of the team, this part of the activity is not an eligible expenditure of the return grant.
The file size limit is set to 50 MB by default.
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