2025 MOST National Key R&D Plan "Inter-governmental International Science & Technology Innovation Cooperation" and Other Key Specialized Programs (First Round)

2025 MOST National Key R&D Plan "Inter-governmental International Science & Technology Innovation Cooperation" and Other Key Specialized Programs (First Round)
2025年度 科技部国家重点研发计划 “政府间国际科技创新合作”等 第一批重点专项项目

Nov 7, 2024

The Official Announcement in Chinese

Sponsor: Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)

About:
The 2025 MOST “Inter-governmental International Science & Technology Innovation Cooperation” Key Specialized Program and “Strategic Science & Technology Innovation Cooperation” Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Key Special Program (First Round) are now open for application. Please refer to the official announcement in Chinese for more details.

Research Directions/ Topics:
For the 2025 MOST “Inter-governmental International Science & Technology Innovation Cooperation” Key Specialized Program (First Round), there are 14 research directions that will allow researchers to collaborate with 12 countries, regions, and international organizations, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Spain, Finland, European Union, etc. MOST aims to support 150 research projects with a total funding amount of about 392 million RMB.

For the 2025 MOST “Strategic Science & Technology Innovation Cooperation” Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Key Specialized Program (First Round), it aims to support 15 research projects collaborating with Macao institutions in the areas of Information and Communication Technology and Engineering and Materials Technology with an approximate funding amount of 30 million RMB in total.

Please refer to the attachments for more details about each research direction/topic.

Application Process:

1. All applicants need to apply via MOST’s online system.
2. The application portal will open at 8:00 AM on November 15, 2024.
    

Application Eligibility:

1. The applicant (lead PIs and sub-project(课题) PIs) must have a senior professional title or a doctoral degree, and be born on or after January 1, 1964.
2. Both lead PIs and sub-project PIs should commit to working at least SIX months per year on the proposed project.
3. Each applicant can only apply for ONE project.
4. The lead PI (PIs of sub-projects are excluded) of an ongoing National Major Research Plan, and Science & Technology Innovation 2030 - Major program, CANNOT lead or participate in the application. PIs of sub-projects can participate in the application. Please refer to the original announcement for more details or contact the Research Grants Office for more information.
5. Foreign scientists (non-Chinese citizens) and scientists from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions can be PIs of the project; if they are full-time employed by the host institution, they need to submit valid labor contracts. If they are part-time employed, applicants should provide valid labor contracts with two employers. The labor contract should be submitted as part of the pre-application materials.
6. Once the project is funded, the host institution and the PI cannot be changed.
7. The lead PI must sign a cooperation agreement with the foreign partner for the project application.
8. Foreign project leaders shall not participate in multiple applications for the same research direction and technical route. The total number of projects they can apply for or participate in as foreign project leaders shall not exceed TWO. Those who have already participated in an ongoing project (or sub-project) under the national key R&D plan or the Science and Technology Innovation 2030-Major Project as foreign scientists employed on the mainland are not eligible to apply.
9. Please refer to the official announcement for further requirements.

Important Dates: