for Launching Experimental Research Laboratories

The purpose of the Competition is the establishment, provision of support to, and development of excellent academic fields and schools at HSE University, along with the development of advanced infrastructure for the University’s natural sciences cluster, as a key element in the University’s involvement in the global academic process. The competition is aimed at creating experimental research laboratories at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow in accordance with the procedure established at the University.

The competition aims to support research in the following areas:

• Biophotonics;
• Ageing: biology, physiology, biomedicine, biostatistics, bioinformatics.

The Competition is open to scientific teams led by leading researchers in priority areas with a candidate of science / doctor of science / PhD degree and a Hirsch index of at least 7 according to the Web of Science Core Collection without the Emerging Sources Citation Index (hereinafter ESCI), work experience of at least 5 years, at least 15 articles in publications indexed in the WoS database (Web of Science without ESCI) over the past 5 years.

The Head of the Laboratory and key members of the research team have the right to participate in one application submitted to the Competition.

The amount of funding for each project based on the final Competition results must not exceed:

• in 2022 for the purchase of equipment for the implementation of scientific activities of the Laboratory 90,000,000 (Ninety million) rubles, including overhead and customs costs, delivery and installation;
• in 2023, 90,000,000 (Ninety million) rubles for the purchase of equipment for the implementation of scientific activities of the Laboratory, including overhead and customs costs, delivery and installation;
• in 2022 - 2023 - 13,000,000 (Thirteen million) rubles per year, of which 10,000,000 (Ten million) rubles per year for the remuneration of employees of the Laboratory (including the head of the Laboratory), including deductions to extra-budgetary funds, and 3,000,000 (Three million) rubles - per year, respectively - for academic mobility, consumables, equipment operation and other expenses;
• in 2024 - 2026 - 17,000,000 (Seventeen million) rubles per year, of which 12,000,000 (Twelve million) rubles per year for the remuneration of employees of the Laboratory (including the head of the Laboratory), including deductions to extra-budgetary funds, and 5,000,000 (Five million) rubles - per year, respectively - for academic mobility, consumables, equipment operation and other expenses.

The laboratory will be allocated funding for the period until 12/31/2026.

The activities of the Laboratory can be continued based on the results of an international independent assessment, which is carried out every five years.

Based on the results of summing up the results of the Competition, the Laboratory is created as a structural unit of the specialized faculty / institute of the HSE University in accordance with the procedure established at HSE University.

The laboratory should be located on the premises of the relevant faculty / institute. The application must be accompanied by a letter of guarantee / letter of support from the dean of the faculty / director of the institute on the allocation of the necessary premises for the Laboratory in case of winning the Competition.

The declared scientific research should not repeat scientific research carried out presently or in the past within the framework of other projects implemented at the University and outside it at the expense of the budgetary funds of the Russian Federation of various levels and other sources.

The Head of the Laboratory assumes the following obligations:

• to form a scientific team to conduct scientific research;
• to form the scientific agenda of the Laboratory; supervise the implementation of research and other works of the Laboratory and take direct part in the most important of them;
• ensure the achievement of the declared performance indicators of the Laboratory and research results;
• directly supervise the Laboratory, organize the work of the scientific team, including the preparation of plans for the conduct of scientific research and the preparation of cost estimates for the conduct of scientific research, the execution of the annual project budget, the targeted and efficient use of the allocated funds, the provision of reporting documentation in accordance with local regulations of HSE University;
• interact with an employee of a specialized faculty / institute and structural divisions of HSE University on the procurement of the declared equipment and preparation of premises for the equipment;
• ensure the efficient use of the purchased equipment; determine the need of the Laboratory for additional equipment, materials and other resources, organize the provision of the Laboratory with these resources;
• to provide the necessary grant activity of the Laboratory and attract external resources from specialized sources;
• to ensure the integration of the Laboratory into the educational process and to attract HSE University students and postgraduates to work in the Laboratory;
• to organize the interaction of the Laboratory with other structural divisions of HSE University, including with the related basic departments of the institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences of the corresonding faculty / institute of HSE University, as well as with other scientific and educational organizations.

In case of winning in the Competition, the Head of the Laboratory must be employed full time by the Laboratory.

• the staff of the Laboratory must include at least two Doctors of Science / Candidates of Science / PhD working full-time at HSE University at the main place of work, and at least 3 postgraduate students / students of HSE University;
• the number of members of the research team who, in case of winning the Competition, will be issued to the Laboratory on the terms of their work in the Laboratory at the main place of work in a position not lower than a researcher, must be at least two (excluding the head of the Laboratory);
• replacement of key members of the research team, information about which is presented in the application for participation in the competition, is allowed in exceptional cases by agreement with the approval of the respective line manager;
• the share of members of the research team under the age of 39 years inclusive in the total number of members of the research team should be at least 60 (sixty) percent during the entire period of the practical implementation of the project.

To perform organizational functions for maintaining the laboratory's workflow, submitting a project to the structural divisions of the HSE in accordance with the local regulations of the HSE, a project manager is hired in the Laboratory.

Based on the results of the work, the laboratory team must publish the number of articles in the area of scientific research, specified by the application, indicating the affiliation with HSE University and the obligatory indication of the source of research funding, but not less:

• in 2022 - 4 articles;
• in 2023 - 5 articles;
• in 2024 - 8 articles;
• in 2025 - 10 articles;
• in 2026 - 10 articles.

Based on the results of the work, the laboratory team must submit the number of applications for the grant of a patent and / or registration of a database (computer programs), as determined by the competitive application, provided that HSE University becomes the copyright holder - at least once every year.

Each of the Laboratories created as a result of the Competition undertakes to attract extra-budgetary funds for additional financing of its activities from research and development, incl. from granting the right to use the equipment to third parties in the following amount:

• in 2023 - at least 15,000,000 (fifteen million) rubles;
• in 2024 - at least 15,000,000 (fifteen million) rubles;
• in 2025 - at least 20,000,000 (twenty million) rubles;
• in 2026 - at least 20,000,000 (twenty million) rubles.

The entire list of performance indicators is provided in the form 5 of the bid.

If the Laboratory does not meet the annual performance indicators specified in the application for the Competition, the University has the right to reduce the funding of the Laboratory, or completely terminate it.

The current monitoring of the Laboratory's activities is carried out by the scientific commission of the specialized faculty / institute of HSE University with the involvement of international independent experts on the subject of the Laboratory.

The laboratory submits an annual activity report, which is reviewed and approved by the scientific commission of the relevant faculty / institute of HSE University.

Based on the results of the Laboratory's work for the period from 2022 to 2026, an international independent expert assessment of its activities will be carried out, taking into account the achievement of the declared results and approved annual performance indicators. International independent experts on the subject of the Laboratory are involved in the assessment. The laboratory's scientific results will be considered at a meeting of the HSE Advisory Council for Scientific Research.

All costs associated with participation in the Competition, including the costs associated with the preparation and submission of applications for participation in the Competition, shall be borne by the participants of the Competition.

An application for participation in the Competition must be prepared and submitted in Russian and English. In the event of any discrepancies, including discrepancies in the semantic content of the paragraphs of the application, the text of the application in Russian shall prevail.

The application for participation in the Competition should be sent in electronic form to 2konkurs@hse.ru until 23:59, September 30, 2021 (Moscow time). The application should include the following documents:

• application in Russian in MS Word format;
• application in Russian in PDF containing a scan of the signature of the proposed head of the Laboratory;
• application in English in MS Word format;
• application in English in PDF containing a scan of the signature of the proposed head of the Laboratory;
• letter of guarantee / letter of support from the dean of the relevant faculty / director of the Institute of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University) on the allocation of the necessary space for the Laboratory in case of winning the Competition.

Applications for participation in the Competition, received after the expiration of the period established by the Regulation, will not be considered.

The application for participation in the Competition must contain:

• completed Form 1 "Key Information for Participation in the Competition";
• completed Form 2 "Laboratory Head’s CV";
• completed Form 3 "Research Proposal";
• completed Form 4 "Research Plan";
• completed Form 5 “The Laboratory’s Performance Indicators”;
• completed Form 6 "Equipment for Procurement";
• completed Form 7 "Estimate of Payroll Budget for Laboratory Staff Members".
• letter of guarantee / letter of support from the dean / director of the specialized faculty / institute of the Higher School of Economics on the allocation of the necessary areas of the Laboratory in case of winning the Competition.

The submitted applications are reviewed for compliance with the formal requirements for processing applications established in the Regulations. Incomplete or incorrectly completed applications for participation in the Contest are not accepted.

Technical expertise for compliance or non-compliance with the Regulation is carried out by the Office. The results of the technical examination are sent to the members of the Competition Commission, the composition of which is approved by the order of the Rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. The decision on the admission of the application to the competition is made by the Competition Commission.

Applications admitted to the competition are submitted for examination in accordance with the established criteria. Independent experts are involved in the examination.

Applications for participation in the Competition submitted by the participants of the Competition (including certain documents included in the applications) are not reviewed and will not be returned to the participants of the Competition. The costs associated with submitting an application for the Contest shall be borne by the Contest participants independently.

• Scientific achievements and work experience of the Head of the Laboratory
• Scientific achievements and work experience of members of the research team
• Perspective appearance of the Laboratory and scientific research

For each application, an opinion will be given from the relevant faculty / institute of HSE University

The results of the Competition will be announced no later than December 25, 2021 at a meeting of the Competition Commission and posted on the HSE corporate website.