Conditions for MD Fellowships
The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds must be notified if an application is submitted to any other research-sponsoring institution. Should an applicant take up an award from another institution prior to the Foundation's decision, the application to the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds is considered withdrawn and the Foundation must be notified without delay.
Please note that only written notification is legally binding and that the decisions of the Foundation are incontestable.
The fellowship expires if not taken up within 6 months.
On accepting the MD fellowship, the fellowship holder agrees to the following conditions:
The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds does not intervene in the work of fellows who, in turn, are obliged to make proper use of the allocated funds. Each fellow must devote his/her whole energy to his/her particular MD project. In the laboratory, fellows should only be assigned tasks directly connected to their MD projects.
If a fellow changes the topic of the MD project or the laboratory, he/she must inform the Foundation without delay. If the project is successfully completed before the fellowship expires, payment will be discontinued.
The monthly stipend amounts to 900 euros in countries of the European Monetary System, and to 1,200 euros in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA. Depending on the cost of living, all further countries are grouped into one of these categories. MD fellowships are granted for 10–12 months, an extension up to 3 months is possible. The stipend is transferred to the fellow's personal bank account by the middle of each month.
Tuition, bench fees and overheads are not reimbursed by the Foundation.
The fellowship is intended to cover the living expenses of the recipient. A Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds stipend may therefore not be held while receiving a regular personal income from any other institution or research institute. Any labour or other contracts yielding a regular income must be cancelled upon accepting the stipend. However, fellowships from other institutions to cover exclusively tuition fees may be accepted.
Fellowships awarded by the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds do not constitute any form of employment. In the Federal Republic of Germany and in countries which have signed a double-taxation agreement with Germany (for example, USA, UK, France, Austria), fellowships are exempt from tax. A grant is not considered to be remuneration as defined by Article 14 of the German Social Law IV and is therefore not liable to social insurance. Provision of laws governing formation of capital, saving premiums and residential building premiums do not apply.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds does not provide any kind of insurance for its fellowship holders. They must insure themselves and their families against any possible costs and consequences incurred by illness, accident, personal liability, etc.
In the event of illness, the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds continues payments for 2 months, after which time assistance would cease. Upon recovery, the fellowship may be extended by the period of absence due to the illness.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds expects each fellow to supply reprints of any publication prepared with the Foundation's assistance. Furthermore, fellows must present a final report, no later than 2 months after the end of the fellowship.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds reserves the right to reclaim any surplus payment or money paid in error. Furthermore, the Foundation may cancel the fellowship and demand repayment if the fellowship was obtained under false pretences, if not used for its intended purpose, if the obligation to submit the final report is not fulfilled, or for any other sound reason.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds collects and electronically stores data required to process fellowship holders' applications and to provide continuous support. These data include personal information (name, address, birthday, nationality, phone numbers and e-mail of the fellowship holders) as well as information on the MD project and the granted support.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds reserves the right to publish your name, your place of work and the title and abstract of your thesis on the web (https://bifonds.de/cgi-bin/show.pl/publications/) and in printed publications.
