Nippon Sheet Glass Foundation for Materials Science and Engineering (NSG Foundation) was established in 1979 for celebrating the 60th anniversary of Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. Main activity of NSG Foundation is to offer the research grant to the research on inorganic materials which is carried out in universities. Funds for the research grant is supplied by the interest of NSG Foundation’s assets and annual donation given by Nippon Sheet Glass and other companies. Since 1979 NSG Foundation has granted the total sum of 1,788 million yen to 1,403 research projects in Japan. NSG Foundation started the overseas research grant to researchers in Malaysia in 1992 and to Vietnam in 2006. The total amount of the overseas research grant exceeded 1,036 thousand US dollars to 169 research projects. NSG Foundation will provide the overseas research grants for universities continuously in 2023.

Scope:

As a general principle, any research project on Science and Technology of Inorganic Materials is covered. Fundamental and applied researches on amorphous and crystalline solid materials including inorganic-organic hybrid technologies are typical subjects for the research grant.

Applications Instruction:

1. Describe the proposal in English using “Application for Research Grant” form of 4 pages.

2. Send proposal hardcopy to NSG Foundation until September 30, 2022 that is the DATE OF RECEIVABLE.

3. Append a recommendation letter signed by Chancellor (or Deputy Chancellor in charge of academy affairs)

4. Append a copy of curriculum vitae of the applicant, 5 pages in maximum (CVs of co-researchers are NOT required).

5. The maximum number of reprints of representative research papers that can be attached is five, but full pages are allowed only for two papers. Only first page can be attached for another three papers. (Please pay attention that pages exceed the page limitation will NOT be sent to Evaluation Committee.)

6. Send "Applicant_Info.xls" by e-mail, which can be downloaded from NSG homepage.

7. After receiving both hardcopies of the Application Form, the recommendation letter, the CV, and the reprints of the papers and "Applicant_Info.xls" sent by e-mail, application number will be sent to applicant within three working days as confirmation of the acceptance.

8. You are requested to send "Applicant_Info.xls" to kenjiro.hamanaka@nsg-zaidan.or.jp as the attached file of an e-mail and;

You are requested to send 1) Application Form, 2) Recommendation Letter, 3) Curriculum Vitae, 4) Two Full Papers, and 5) The First Pages, not exceeding three, as hard-copies at 5-27, Mita 3-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-6321 Japan.

Note that the researchers who received this research grant after 2020 are ineligible to apply for the overseas research grant this year.

Grant Size:

• An amount of US $2,000～6,000 is provided for one research project.

Grant Duration:

• 12 to 24 months (from January, 2023 through December, 2023 -- December, 2024).

The Merck research grants program is open to scientists in all career stages who are affiliated with any research-based institution, university or company.

In the first stage of the Research Grants applications process, applicants submit their application containing non-confidential information only. You may apply for more than one grant or submit your application for more than one category. If your application is successful, you are invited to submit a full proposal under confidentiality and join a deep-dive workshop. All applicants are informed about the decision of the selection committee.

Objective Of The Grant:

The aim of the Research Grant is to create new sustainable partnerships with leading global science and technology players to work on breakthrough science and to generate valuable seeds for future business.

Research Area :

1. Drug Discovery

2. AI for predictive diagnostics & therapeutic target discovery

3. Chemistry in the cloud - Rapid synthesis through automation

4. Innovation within green chemistry

5. Sustainability in healthcare R&D

Grant Procedure:

• Applicants submit their application online (https://research-grants-challenges.optimytool.com/en). The application form which is available online under the link https://research-grantschallenges.optimytool.com/en (hereinafter the “Application Form”) must be filled out with the submitter’s research proposal.

• Only non - confidential information should be submitted in the research proposal. The submission date for research proposals is August 31st, 2022. You may apply for more than one grant or submit your application for more than one focus topic

• Only proposals submitted within the competition timeline will be considered. Applications for the Research Grants will be reviewed by dedicated Research Grant committees. All research applications will be scored based on the following criteria: innovativeness, commercial potential, path forward after 3 years, probability of success, team strength, strategic fit.

• In case applications are received from Healthcare Professionals1 , in addition to these T&C, the applicable Healthcare Compliance principles, rules and regulations will be followed. Submitters of the best applications will be invited to a deep dive workshop to further advance the proposals together with scientists at our company.

• For this purpose, a Participant’s Agreement will need to be signed. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany will cover travel and accommodation costs on conditions as covered in the participation agreement. During the deep dive workshops, the grant awardees will be announced. Subsequent to the grant awardees being announced, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany will enter into bilateral research grant agreements (hereinafter the “Research Grant Agreement”) with the selected awardees prior to payout.

Grant Size And Duration:

The amount of the grant(s) is 100,000 EUR to - 500,000 EUR per year for up to 3 years, or any other amount or time that will be determined based on the recommendation of the research grant committees. The award may fund all or part of the proposed project and for all or part of the requested time period. Grants may be awarded on the basis of conditional milestones as contained in the Research Grant Agreement.

NEF Research Grant Programme financially supports academic and scientific research that will deepen knowledge of the nature conservation in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Objective Of The Grant:

The aim of strengthening research capability of young researchers in that region, grants are available only for individual researchers, but not for groups/organisations to upgrade their skills, knowledge, and experience through their own research work.

Research Fields Supported in the past :

1. Ecology, Taxonomy, distribution, and current status of wildlife

2. Biodiversity (e.g., species diversity, genetic diversity, ecosystem diversity)

3. Wild flora and fauna

4. Gathering information on threatened species and for recovery of ecosystem Sustainability in healthcare R&D

5. Relationships between nature and humans (e.g., mutual interference, sustainable use of natural resources)

6. Economic valuation of natural environment

Eligibility Requirements:

Eligible Applicants

• Be a national of developing country in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Be a young researcher/scientist, who works full-time or is enrolled in a doctoral course, conducting research at a research institution or relevant organisation in one of the countries

• Have sufficient experience and skills in conducting and managing the proposed research

• Be able to communicate in English

• Not have another application to the NEF

• Not have another on-going research or publication project funded by the NEF at the time of application submission

Eligible Research Projects

• Be a scientific research contributing to the NATURE CONSERVATION of the country where the applicant currently works or studies

• Put its main focus on LIVING ORGANISMS

• Be carried out in the country where the applicant currently works or studies

• Involve fieldwork for collecting data

• Be the applicant’s own research work (team project is ineligible)

• Achieve its objective(s) and submit reports within a scheduled project period of not less than one (1) year and not more than two (2) years

• Be exclusively funded by the NEF Research Grant Programme, or co-funded with the applicant’s institution

Grant Size And Duration:

The maximum grant size in this programme is 500,000 Japanese yen per project for a maximum duration of two years.