Research proposals are presented to the EIB Institute by EIB Group (EIB and EIF) staff but they may originate from a fruitful collaboration with a university professor or senior researcher who then plays the role of the university tutor. If an EIB Group co-tutor is identified s/he will prepare the final application together with the researcher. Applications will only be accepted for evaluation if they are supported both by a university tutor and an EIB Group co-tutor. This co-tutor submits the final application to the EIB Institute and will be the contact person for relations with the university.

The application should contain the following:
– research proposal
– working plan including expected deliverables
– budget
– CV of the researcher
– a commitment by the prospective university tutor, who should also include his/her CV and a letter of commitment, and
– a motivation letter from the EIB Group co-tutor and his/her expectations from the project. The proposal should be made for a duration of six months to one year. The project should represent a full-time job for the junior researcher.

The STAREBEI programme is open to any university located in the EU providing doctorate degrees. The junior researcher will be working under the joint supervision of a university tutor and an EIB Group co-tutor. The university tutor should be a professor or a senior researcher of the sponsored university with recognised expertise in the field of the STAREBEI research topic. S/he will guide the research process, alongside the EIB Group co-tutor, and supervise the work of the researcher at the university premises. S/he will also take care of the administrative follow-up from the university side, ensuring that required procedures are properly carried out. The junior researcher will work full-time for the STAREBEI research project during the period of the grant, mostly in the facilities provided by the university, but should be prepared to spend some time at the EIB Group’s premises in Luxembourg working with the EIB Group co-tutor.

The selection process is a two-step process beginning with an evaluation of the applications by the Experts Committee, consisting of EIB Group experts from different departments of the Bank. The different aspects evaluated are: the quality of the proposal, the quality of the team, the impact of the proposed activity on the EIB Group. If the Experts Committee considers that some modifications to the original proposal are necessary, the EIB Institute will discuss the matter with the EIB Group co-tutor in order to improve the proposal, which is then presented anew to the Experts. The Experts Committee prepares a recommendation about the proposal for the Internal Steering Group (ISG), composed of senior managers representing the various parts of the EIB Group. The EIB Institute will communicate the decision of the ISG to the EIB Group co-tutor who will inform the other members of the research team.

The STAREBEI grant is formalised through a contract between the EIB and the beneficiary university, responsible for its STAREBEI researcher. The university will receive all EIB payments and is responsible for timely delivery of the junior researcher’s monthly salary allowance.The amount granted to the university will cover a monthly allowance for the researcher, plus administrative and travel expenditure. The monthly allowance should be limited to the equivalent of the gross salary of a full-time junior researcher at the same university. A researcher receiving financial assistance from the university or from other research sponsors shall only be entitled to a financial contribution from the EIB to bring his/her income up to the amount of the allowance.

Travel expenditures of the researcher and his/her university tutor as well as expenses directly linked to the research must be specified in the proposal and approved by the EIB Group co-tutor and the EIB Institute in order to be covered by the STAREBEI grant.

After the signature of the contract a down payment of 10% of the total amount of the grant is made to cover administrative expenses. It will act as a rolling fund to support the expenditures incurred whilst waiting for the next disbursements.

Following the initial payment, disbursements will be executed when the EIB Institute receives a proper bill specifying the expenditures incurred and their justifications during a billing period of approximately three months.

The main research product of a STAREBEI project should ideally be a thesis and/or research paper, preferably publishable in a recognised scientific publication. At the end of the research project, the EIB Group co-tutor compiles a final report on the outcomes and activities of the project. The final report should also include a research report by the researcher explaining the work carried out and short evaluation reports by the two STAREBEI tutors.The university should have on its website a page on the STAREBEI-supported research activity. The results of the project should be in the public domain and adequately disseminated to produce maximum benefit to the scientific and professional communities.The researcher is expected to present the STAREBEI project at the EIB premises in Luxembourg. The EIB Group co-tutor is responsible for reporting to the EIB Institute on the activities and progress of the project during the research period.

2024
Leading the Sustainable Transition: Multilateral Financial Institutions and Supply Chains Governance”, Università di Trento (Italy)

2022
– The effects of COVID-19 on firms dynamics, EUI
– The EIB a the origins of a European environmental policy, EUI“
– Sustainable path for just transition for coal regions in Romania, University of Bucharest

2021
– The EIB at the origins of EU environmental policy, European University Institute
– Assessing the potential for Floating Solar Technology (FPV) in the European market, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Bologna.
– The EIB and geographic divergence in the EU, Sapienza Università di Roma.
– Toward Artificial Intelligence recommitment strategies for Environmental Sustainable Governance (ESG) integration in private equity, University of Luxembourg.