ESACT Grants & Bursaries
Support for early career scientists
ESACT Grants
What is the purpose of an ESACT Grant?
ESACT Grants are intended to support early career scientists to participate in scientific conferences to present research and results related to the advancement of animal cell technology. Grants can also be given to support attendance at courses or short research-based internships. ESACT Grants are limited to activities not organized by ESACT (see bursaries below for support at ESACT activities).
Grant Rates
A grant provides a contribution towards expenses of travel, registration or accommodation at fixed rates (500,00 EUR grant for events in Europe, 1.000,00 EUR grant for overseas events).
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be ESACT members. The advantages of membership can be found here .
- Applicants must be enrolled in a Ph.D. program or employed in an early-stage PostDoc position (within the first two years after graduation). Well-argued and documented exceptions may apply, such as maternity leave – please contact us directly to provide corresponding documents in such a case.
- The applicant may not be an employee of a company.
- Each individual can receive a grant only twice.
- For applicants applying for the same conference and from the same working group, only one grant will be given and the first come, first served principle applied.
- Profit-oriented events are excluded from support. Well-argued exceptions may be possible if the applicant clearly demonstrates the scientific and career benefits of participation.
- If the application is for conference attendance, applicants must present a poster or an oral presentation.
- The topic of the presentation must bear relevance to the field of animal cell technology and the goals of ESACT as specified o
in our webpage. Whether the conference or event attended is dedicated to this field or a broader scientific area is not a criterion. - Participation in the event or activity must have a clear benefit to the career development of the applicant.
- Applications must be submitted at the latest 3 months before the conference. Applications may be submitted before acceptance of the presentation, however, the grant will be conditional on the acceptance.
- Grant recipients must display the ESACT Grant logo on their poster or on the acknowledgment slide of their presentation. A copy of the poster must be provided as a pdf for the ESACT Archive.
Application Procedure
Your application must be made in the structured form below, failure to conform with this will disqualify your application. All applications should be made at the latest 3 months before the conference you plan to attend. Turnover time for application review may take up to 6 weeks. To receive reimbursement, the applicants need to provide the following documents:
- Documentation for all criteria must be provided in the application, such as abstract or course acceptance.
- Documentation of expenses exceeding the grant amount (these can be for registration, travel or accommodation)
- Account information for the transfer
Apply here
ESACT Bursaries
A number of bursaries for early career scientists are provided for activities directly organized by ESACT. To apply for these bursaries, please go to the respective page:
Bursaries may help defray the cost of registration and accommodation, depending on the event. They are granted at the discretion of the event organizers and may be applied for at registration of the respective event.
Travel cost are typically paid by the participant as they are considered to demonstrate dedicated interest in the event. In exceptional cases, if well argued, some contribution to travel will also be awarded.
Grant Winners 2024
In the year 2024 the following grants have been awarded.
Marie Dorn
EngD Biochemical Engineering student | University College London
“I am grateful for the support of the ESACT Travel Award, which enabled me to attend the ECI Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing Conference VI in Leesburg, Virginia, in 2024. This was my second time at the conference, and I had the opportunity to present the progress of my research. The engaging discussions with the scientific community provided me with fresh inspiration and valuable insights. In addition to sharing my own work, I attended sessions and workshops covering a wide range of topics, which expanded my knowledge and allowed me to network with experts from both industry and academia.”
Lennart Jacobtorweihe
PhD Student | Bioprocess Engineering group
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems
“Thanks to the ESACT grant, I was able to present my research at the ECI Vaccine Technology Conference in Los Cabos. The experience was outstanding with meaningful discussions and excellent networking, resulting in new collaborations that have enriched my project. Especially for me, as an early-career scientist, ESACT helped me to develop both scientifically and personally through this conference.”
Alice Johnson
PhD Student – College of Engineering and Physical Sciences | Aston UniversityMax Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems
“The International Scientific Conference on Cultured Meat is a major event for professionals in the cultivated meat industry. Thanks to the ESACT travel grant, I have the opportunity to present and discuss my research findings with leading scientists from both academia and industry. I am deeply grateful to ESACT for this chance to advance my work and further my career.”
Grant Winners 2023
In the year 2023 the following grants have been awarded.
Tilia Zinnecker
Doctoral Researcher at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems
“Receiving the ESACT grant allowed my participation in the ECI Vaccine Technology Conference in Los Cabos, Mexico, in 2024, serving as an ideal knowledge hub for the most recent trends and breakthroughs in vaccine development and manufacturing. This opportunity provided an outstanding platform to present my latest research, actively engage in discussions, attend sessions, and network with experts from both academia and industry.”
Nikolaus Virgolini
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
“Thanks to the support of the ESACT travel grant I was able to share our latest research at the 30th congress of the European Society of Cell and Gene Therapy (ESGCT) in Brussels. I am truly grateful for this excellent networking opportunity and the possibility to discuss with experts from both academia and industry.”
Sergio Alonso
PhD student at University of Oviedo
“The ESACT travel grant has allowed me to attend ARVO, the most important ophthalmology and vision science congress in the world, where I have shared some of the results obtained during my PhD with my scientific colleagues. The motivation always increases after exchanging ideas in an international congress of this level, that is why I can’t thank ESACT enough for this opportunity.”