PREFALC: summer schools

The French ministry of higher education and research (MESR), the French ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), and the Foundation Maison des sciences de l’homme (FMSH) are launching the 2023 call for projects of the PREFALC programme (France-Latin American Caribbean Regional Programme).

The PREFAL supports every year French higher education institutions wishing to develop partnerships with Latin American/Caribbean universities by setting up missions for teacher-researchers.

These missions aim to promote exchanges and training at the master level in the following areas:

Agricultural and ecological sciences, physical and chemical sciences, humanities and social sciences, digital humanities, medical sciences, human biology, mathematical sciences, earth and universe sciences, information and communication sciences, engineering sciences.

This call is specifically dedicated to the implementation of summer schools within the Prefalc programme.

PREFALC “Summer schools” is :

• Thematic summer schools at the master's level that are part of Franco-Latin American and Caribbean training offers, and give the right to certified credit hours.
• Two summer schools per selected project, organized in Latin America/Caribbean, promoting the mobility of French teacher-researchers.
• Possibility to insert hybrid modules
• A co-financing up to 25 000€ and up to 40% of the total of the budget.

Eligibility criterias

A project must involve at least 3 institutions of higher education: 1 French and 2 Latin American or Caribbean from different countries.

It must contribute to the circulation of French teachers in Latin America, as well as the mobility of Latin American and Caribbean teachers in Latin America.

It must set up at least 2 summer schools, highlight the modules or seminars (number of hours to be completed according to the ECTS nomenclature and topics to be covered) that would be integrated into the master's programme of the French, Latin American or Caribbean partner, in order to make visible the respective contributions in terms of content and methodologies. The partners must indicate the specificity of this module in any multimedia communication support used to promote their master;

It is mandatory to include co-financing from French and Latin American/Caribbean institutions. PREFALC can fund up to 25,000€ and up to 40% of the total budget;

Special attention will be given to projects that create new collaborations or new regional academic networks; and promoting parity and gender balance

The project must be submitted by the French institution, which will be the project coordinator through:

• A project leader, based in the institution, who develops the content and ensures the scientific coordination and evaluation of teaching assignments  (Important: he/she can only coordinate one PREFALC project at a time).
• An administrative manager from the International Relations Office who will be responsible for submitting the application file as well as for the administrative, financial, and accounting follow-up of the project in conjunction with the PREFALC team at the FMSH.

Important:

• The tandem of project leader and IR Office manager is essential to the smooth running of the project. It is imperative to ensure that collaboration between these two actors is possible before applying.
• A project leader must also be appointed in one of the two Latin American/Caribbean partner institutions.

Eligible costs

PREFALC primarily supports the mobility of teacher-researchers in the context of their teaching missions. It is intended to co-finance the travel of teacher-researchers from French, Latin American and Caribbean higher education institutions, as well as part of the related living expenses in the context of a PREFALC master's degree.

The following are eligible for the PREFALC grant (up to €25,000 and up to 40% of the total budget):

Airline tickets at the most advantageous rate for the following flights:

• For French teacher-researchers: France; Latin America/Caribbean (return);
• For Latin American researchers and students from the Caribbean: Latin America / Caribbean

Living expenses excluding accomodation, up to a maximum of 50€/day/person for all expenses related to food, visas and various travel.

These expenses may be reimbursed on a flat-rate basis, with the mission order as proof, or on an actual basis, upon presentation of invoices.

The following costs are not eligible for PREFALC funding (and must therefore be covered by the French and Latin American/Caribbean institutions):

• Personal costs and salaries ;
• Equipment costs
• Possible management costs of the sponsoring or partner institution (e.g. registration fees);
• Accommodation of French and Latin American/Caribbean teachers/researchers on mission.

Costs to be co-financed by French and Latin American/Caribbean institutions for co-financing (non-exhaustive list):

• Airfare for teachers-researchers and students on mission
• Travel and lodging expenses for teachers-researchers and students on mission
• Logistical organization of training/seminar modules
• Linguistic support (translations) and secretarial support
• Organization of conferences/workshops/special events
• Site visits
• Specific educational material (flyers, informative posters)

Administrative and financial terms

A funding agreement will be established for each selected project, between the French institution that is the project's leader and the FMSH. This agreement will clearly indicate the partners' co-financing in the application file.

The grant awarded will be paid in two stages:

• 70% of the total amount of the grant, paid at the time of the signature of the agreement;
• The remaining 30% will be paid at the end of the two-year project, upon presentation of proof of all expenses attributable to the PREFALC grant.

The French institution coordinating the project will undertake to send the FMSH:

• A technical report at the end of the first year of the project;
• A technical and financial report at the end of the second year and no later than 3 months after the end of the project.

Applications terms

Applications must be submitted before April 27, 2023 under cover of the Head of Institution and transmitted through the International Relations Office in collaboration with the Project Manager.

Process :

1. Go to the platform http://projets.msh-paris.fr in the « Project Workspace »;

2. Create an account to obtain the identifiers;

3. Fill in the "Project manager contact information" profile and then ;

4. Click on "Create a project", select the PREFALC 2023 call, then fill in the section. In the "Documents" tab, at the bottom of the page, download a single electronic document in .zip format containing the following documents:

• The completed application form
• The budget forecast duly completed
• A letter of commitment signed by each of the representatives of the partner institutions of the project. This document must specify the objectives and duration of the cooperation, the timetable of actions, the financial arrangements, the possible history of cooperation, etc.

5. Fill in the "Create a coordinator" and "Create a member" sections;

6. Save the application without submitting it to come back to it later or submit it definitively.

For any information on the platform, or in case of difficulty in using it, contact: fadili@msh-paris.fr.

Selection criterias

The selection committee will give special consideration to the following elements:

• The quality and relevance of the educational programme;
• The innovative nature of the project;
• The competence and complementarity of the partner teams;
• Gender balance and parity
• The interest of the project for France and the countries concerned;
• The expected results and the prospects for cooperation between the institutions at the end of the project;
• The budget and the feasibility of the actions in relation to the budget;
• The relevance of the project to the number of students involved.

Particular interest will also be given to projects tha :

• Making clear the link between training and research and participating in the development of a pool of future doctoral students in partner institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean;
• Promoting the implementation of a credit transfer system or the implementation of dual degree training projects.
• Creating new collaborations or new regional academic networks.