Information for scholarship holders

The OeAD is Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation. The headquarters is located in Vienna, where the APPEAR Office is based as part of the Department for International Cooperation in Higher Education.

The OeAD has Regional Offices in Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna. They are responsible for the disbursement of scholarships and provide guidance and support in administrational and legal issues (e.g. insurance, residence title). In case of questions concerning your scholarship the respective Regional Office is always the first contact point.

The OeAD Housing Office (OeAD-Wohnraumverwaltungs GmbH) provides flats and rooms in student halls of residence for OeAD scholarship holders. The OeAD is a 100% proprietor of the OeAD Housing Office.

The diversity of the tasks of OeAD requires a strict work division between the different offices. Therefore we request you to communicate only with the competent office.

Please find all the relevant information about the preparation for your stay in Austria, the entry conditions or administrative issues while in Austria on the OeAD website.

Four times per year the oead.news for scholars & alumni are published. We inform about OeAD activities, scholarships and grants, current calls and events.

Please subscribe on our website.

We also invite you to like our facebook page for scholars and alumni, which facilitates interactive communication and informs about activities and cooperation opportunities.

Please find the general APPEAR scholarship conditions in the document below.

APPEAR scholarship conditions

• Master’s studies: 1000 euros per month (average 24 months)
• PhD studies: 1100 euros per month (average 48 months)

Generally your scholarship letter will be issued for 12 months. In order to extend your scholarship you will have to submit the application for extension of your scholarship to the OeAD Regional Office. In addition your scientific supervisor is requested to send his / her assessment about the progress of your studies. The required documents will be sent in time to you and your supervisor by the Regional Office.

The following travel costs are financed:

1. Coming to Austria
   If there is no Austrian embassy in the applicant's home country, the flight costs for the submission of the visa application at the competent Austrian representative authority will be covered as well.
2. Going on field studies in the home country
   Flights will be booked by the APPEAR Office, while you will be responsible to organise and pay for your travel insurance and / or insurance in home country.
3. Returning home after completion of the studies

Please send requests concerning flight booking to appear@oead.at including:

• your complete name (as written in your scholarship award)
• your date of birth
• the purpose of travelling
• the flight destination, including local flights (from-to)
• the flight dates (one way or return fligh

In case of any delays concerning the scheduled flight inform the Regional Office and the APPEAR Office immediately.

1. Flight tickets are booked by APPEAR:
   You have to submit the flight ticket(s) and the original boarding passes to the OeAD Regional Office after your arrival in Austria. If you do not submit these documents, you have to pay back the incurred flight costs.
2. Flight booked by yourself
   You have to submit the flight ticket(s), boarding passes, the invoice(s) and a payment confirmation (bank statement if paid with credit card) to the OeAD Regional Office in order to get the costs refunded.

 

Costs for PCR tests

APPEAR reimburses up to two Coronavirus tests (PCR tests) when entering Austria. The maximum amount per test is 100,-- euros. Scholars must submit all necessary documents to the Regional Office (Otherwise, a refund is not possible). The amount will then be refunded to your Austrian bank account.

The following conditions apply:

• Tests must be mandatory for entering Austria. Scholars must provide up to date proof that tests are necessary by law. They are also responsible for familiarizing themselves with entry conditions and travel restrictions. For regulations in Austria see the website of the respective Austrian embassy.
• Tests must be conducted at an approved laboratory.
• Costs for the test will only be borne for necessary travel activities within the study or research project but not for travelling for private or personal purpose.

Documents needed for reimbursement:

• Proof that test is mandatory for travelling (e.g. from authority in the respective country);
• Proof that PCR test has been carried out;
• Invoice and confirmation of payment – original receipts (including a copy of the respective bank statement if applicable);

 

CO2 Compensation

A major part of the world’s greenhouse gases results from air travel. However, for your studies air travel is necessary; therefore carbon offsetting offers the possibility to reduce the emissions caused, in some other way. In order to ensure an environmentally sustainable programme APPEAR makes use of the carbon offsetting system provided by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) and implemented by the Centre for Global Change and Sustainability. With this contribution climate protection projects - selected by an advisory board and accompanied by research and development - are financed.

The CO2 compensation payment for scholarship holders is handled directly by the APPEAR Office.

The field studies have to be carried out according to the study project and in accordance with the scientific supervisor. The monthly scholarship and the flight tickets (see section > travel arrangements) will be financed by the APPEAR programme. Please submit the application at least 3 months before the planned field studies. Check the conditions of your housing contract. Further information regarding preparation of your field study (e.g. insurance cancellation) you will receive at your OeAD Regional Office.

In case of a longer absence cancel your residence contract with the OeAD Housing Office. Check the termination condidtions in your residence contract; usually the cancellation has to be done 2 months in advance.

Requirements

1. Application form for field studies (including the signatures of the applicant and the Austrian scientific supervisor)
2. Letter by the home institution, stating that the

a) the home institution is informed about the field studies (project, duration, costs),

b) whether and how the field studies are supported (financial support, transportation, working place at the institution, material, research assistance, etc.)

The application has to be submitted via e-mail to the OeAD Regional Office. Only a complete application will be forwarded to and handled by the APPEAR Office. You will be informed by the APPEAR Office if your field studies are granted.

Payment and reporting

The allowance will be paid as a lump sum by the OeAD Regional Office before the departure for the field studies (usually 14 days in advance).

If the field studies last longer than 6 months you will receive before the departure a maximum amount of 6 scholarship rates. In order to receive the next payment you have to submit an interim report to the OeAD Regional Office (via e-mail) including the followinf documents:

1. Confirmation of your supervisor, that you are performing well and that you are in line with your work schedule and timetable
2. Letter by the home institution, stating that you are carrying out your field studies according to the work schedule and timetable

State in your interim report the bank account that shall be used for the money transfer.

a) Austrian bank account (the one which is used for the scholarship instalments).
b) Bank account in your home country. In this case the following information is required: complete name and address of the bank; bank code (BIC/SWIFT), bank account details, complete name and address of the bank account holder.

After the completion of the field studies a final report including a letter by the home institution, confirming that your field studies were carried out according to the work schedule and timetable has to be sent via e-mail to the respective OeAD Regional Office within 2 weeks after your return to Austria.

In case of any problems or delays please notify your OeAD Regional Office, the OeAD Housing Office (if you have booked accommodation with the OeAD) as well as your scientific supervisor immediately. Please carefully read the checklist for field studies.

Extension of field studies

Only in exceptional cases your field studies may be extended. A complete application has to be submitted to the respective Regional Office in time (at least one time before the end of the field studies). Only a complete application will be forwarded to the APPEAR Office. The decision if an extension is granted will be communicated by the APPEAR Office.

Requirements

• Application form
• Letter of your scientific supervisor (confirming, that the planned extension is required)
• Letter of your home institution (confirming, that the planned extension is required)

Additionally to the monthly scholarship instalment APPEAR finances (1) German courses,  (2) the participation in scientific conferences / courses, and (3) thesis allowance.

The additional grant will be paid only after submitting the required documents to the Regional Office.

1. German courses

400 euros, paid as a lump sum, after submission of the certificate of the language course (no original invoices are required)

2. Participation in scientific conferences / courses

500 euros for max. 2 conferences / courses in Europe

OR

1000 euros for max. 1 conference / course outside Europe paid as a lump sum for the registration fee, travel costs and accommodation. It is required to submit an application to the OeAD Regional Office before the scientific conference / course.

• Invitation letter of the organizer certifying that the paper / poster has been accepted
• Letter of recommendation by the Austrian scientific supervisor

No invoices have to be presented. The amount will be refunded as lump sum upon submission of:

• Confirmation of participation by the conference organisers (confirming that a poster / paper – including the title – was presented)
• News contribution for our website

3. Thesis allowance

300 euros paid as a lump sum upon submission of:

• Graduation documents (notice of graduation, certificate of the final examination and diploma supplement)
• Follow up contact data
• Final APPEAR report uploaded on the online portal as PDF and sent to appear@oead.at as Word document.
• Approval for oead.map and APPEAR map
• News contribution for our website

We provide information on the various and outstanding activities and performances of our scholarship holders on our website. We kindly request you to update us on interesting issues and send us the information for our website, which includes

• narrative CV (about 140 words)
• information of activity, presentation, publication, etc. (including links)
• a photo of yourself (high resolution, as a single jpg or other photo format and including the photo credits, i.e. name of person who took the photo).

OeAD and APPEAR organise guided tours, excursions and extra-curricular educational activities for our scholarship holders to facilitate the integration process. This not only helps you to know more about the Austrian culture and history but also allows you to meet colleagues and to foster networking amongst scholars. Separate e-mail invitations - including detailed information and registration conditions - will be sent for each event. Kindly note that APPEAR scholarship holders do not have to pay the registration fee. If a registration fee is required you will be informed accordingly.

Events are documented on the OeAD website, the APPEAR website or facebook.

The OeAD alumni activities address all our former scholarship holders. We inform about further possibilities for studying, researching and scientific cooperation in Austria and we provide a platform for sharing experiences and ideas.

According to the scholarship conditions you are obliged to mention the APPEAR scholarship, the financing institution (Austrian Development Cooperation) and the OeAD in your thesis (and resulting publications of the master’s / PhD studies) and in the CV in the following form:

The master’s / PhD studies are / were financed by the Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education and Research for Development - APPEAR, a programme of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and implemented by Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD).

 OEZA Project number: 0894-01/2020