The ESAFORM Proposal grant

ESAFORM offers a maximum of 5 grants, per calendar year, to support the writing of proposals for projects funded by the EU.

The grant will be €2,500 given to the applicant (not necessarily the coordinator of the proposal submitted to the EU). This grant can be used for reimbursement of the organization of meetings, travel, accommodation, secretary costs or any other requirement to support the writing of the proposal.

Eligibility criteria

In order to apply for the ESAFORM Grant, the following criteria have to be met:

1. The EU proposal must clearly focus on material forming.
2. The EU proposal must not have been submitted before for the ESAFORM grant.
3. The applicant must have been a member of ESAFORM for 2 of the last 4 years.
4. The EU proposal must include at least 1 additional party. This additional party must fulfill criterion 3. The applicant and the other party should come from 2 different universities or companies. The proposal may include more partners.
5. For beneficiaries under this scheme, a period of one year must have passed before the same group of 2 or more parties as mentioned above may apply again under this scheme.

The grant award is not tied to the success of the EU application.

Selection criteria and decision

Following review for matching the eligibility criteria, the grants will be awarded on a “first come – first serve” basis. The selection process and award decisions will be made at the meeting of the Board of Directors of ESAFORM. The Board usually meets during ESAFORM conference (spring) and in the second semester (autumn), every year. Grants will be published on the ESAFORM homepage.

How to apply?

Send a brief description of your EU-proposal to the President of ESAFORM using the template from the ESAFORM homepage (3 pages, including one page for the partners description and two pages for the project content, including links with ESAFORM objectives: promoting applied research in University and Industry, spreading scientific information, developing education, teach material forming sciences in Europe, establishing links between Industry and University in the field of material forming, promoting the image of material forming, etc.). Additionally, forward the mail from the EU funding agency confirming your submission to the President of ESAFORM.

The applications have to be sent as soon as the EU project partners take their definitive decision to work on a EU proposal (remember the grants will be awarded on a first come first serve basis). However the 2500€ will be paid only after the confirmation of the EU proposal submission has been sent to the ESAFORM president. The grants are only payable to an account of the institution/company of the applicant.

The applications for this year have to be sent by e-mail before March 15 or September 15 to:

Prof. Katia Mocellin

President of ESAFORM

e-mail: katia.mocellin(a)minesparis.psl.eu

phone:+33493957432

ESAFORM Mobility grant

ESAFORM offers a maximum of 5 grants, per calendar year, to support short term mobility of young researchers (PhD students or Post-Doc’s with less than 5 years after their PhD) with the aim of promoting the cooperation and the development of joint research activities between active ESAFORM members working in different countries. Activities to be carried out during the mobility period should be focused on research fields of the teams who supervise the young researcher. The hosting period should not be devoted to the preparation of proposals for funding, since the present Mobility Grant is different from the grant for project preparations (Proposal Writing Grant).

The Mobility Grant will cover a maximum of 2,500 Euros to be transferred to the associated institutions and based on proofs of the mobility costs involved. Elligible expenses are travel costs to join and go back from the hosting institution and accomodation costs during the mobility. The grant can also be used to cover the fees for the next ESAFORM conference for the young researcher (including associative fee) and his/her mission expenses (travel, accommodation) for attending next ESAFORM conference.

Eligibility criteria

To apply to the ESAFORM Mobility Grant, the following criteria must be met:

1. The research activities to be carried out must clearly focus on material forming, and must be aligned to ESAFORM scientific interests and objectives;
2. The duration of the mobility must be between 3 weeks and 3 months, with the reasonability/feasibility of the working plan during the indicated period being evident in the submitted research proposal;
3. The applicant must be a PhD or a Post-Doc student, working in the research team of an ESAFORM active member. He/She must have in his/her Institution (“sending Institution”) a full-time work contract. The term “active member” indicates ESAFORM members who attended to at least 2 of the last 4 ESAFORM conferences. “Institution” can be either of industrial or academic character;
4. The ESAFORM member in the “hosting Institution” must be an active member as well (see previous point);
5. The sending and hosting Institutions must be in different countries, with the two teams not being linked by an agreement of joint PhD for the involved young researcher;
6. A young researcher can receive this grant only once in his/her career, while his/her supervisors (from sending and hosting Institutions) can only apply once per two years.

Selection criteria and decision

If the eligibility criteria are met, priority will be given to applications characterized by higher levels of feasibility of the working plan, privileging longer duration mobility actions. The award decisions will be made at the meetings of the Board of Directors of ESAFORM, knowing that a maximum of 5 grants (Mobility + Proposal writing) are available each year. Proposal Writing grants have priority over Mobility Grants, as their eligibility criteria are more difficult to be met. The Board typically meets during the ESAFORM conferences (spring), as well as in the second semester (autumn), every year. The ESAFORM web site will give the updated information of the number of Grants left after spring and autumn decisions.

A notification will be given to the applicant, as well as to other ESAFORM members involved in the mobility action, after the Board meetings. Grants will be published at the ESAFORM homepage and the ESAFORM community will be orally informed about the decisions at the next conference.

What is expected

The beneficiaries must give a presentation focused on the obtained results/joint research at the next ESAFORM conference (proper visibility will be given to such presentations in the conference program). The presenting author (preferably the young researcher) should mention (in a pitch between 2 and 6 minutes) the grant and an overview of the mobility action, and then present his/her work. Finally, beneficiaries (young researchers and supervisors) should mention ESAFORM support in the acknowledgements of all publications that arise from the results, and other knowledge indicators created from the mobility action.

How to apply?

Send a grant application to the President of ESAFORM using the following template.

1. Name of the applicant
2. The mobility period (starting – ending dates)
3. Name of the ESAFORM active members belonging to the sending and hosting Institutions involved in the activities
4. Brief description (max. 2 pages) of the research context, the objectives to be pursued, and the working program to be carried out during the mobility period
5. A declaration from the sending and receiving ESAFORM members, supporting the proposal and accepting the conditions, must be included in the application.

The grant is only payable to an account of the sending or hosting institution (to be indicated in the proposal).

Every year the applications have to be sent by e-mail before March 15. for the first and before September 15. for the second round to:

Prof. Katia Mocellin

President of ESAFORM

e-mail: katia.mocellin(a)minesparis.psl.eu

phone:+33493957432

ESAFORM supported thematic workshops

To provide the opportunity for engineers and scientists to share and discuss the recent developments and future perspectives of their research, ESAFORM promotes and supports the organization of thematic events, namely thematic workshops, highly focused on one precise topic (clearly related to material forming and without parallel sessions).

The topic of the workshop should be of current academic/industrial interest, not necessarily related to any existing mini-symposium of the ESAFORM Conference, but rather able to attract an international participation: 25-50 attendants working in this specific field are expected. A tangible participation of scientists from foreign centers with respect to the chairman is foreseen. Participants are not required to already be members of ESAFORM, but reasonably, they are expected to be interested in joining the ESAFORM network.

ESAFORM will support up to 2 proposals per calendar year and will:

• publish the info concerning the workshop on ESAFORM website;
• mail the workshop invitation to ESAFORM members;
• pay an amount of 1000 € for each day of the workshop (for max 2 days)

The first two actions will be activated right after the (favorable) decision by the BoD, the third one right after the delivery/check of a short report on the workshop by the Chairman.

Eligibility criteria

To apply for this action, a thematic workshop must meet the following criteria:

1. focus on material forming;
2. strong affinity with ESAFORM scopes, here reminded:
   • promoting applied research in University and Industry;
   • spreading scientific information;
   • supporting education in material forming sciences in Europe
   • establishing links between Industry and University in the field of material forming
   • promoting the image of material forming
3. no more than one proposal per year from the same applicant;
4. one or more ESAFORM members in the organizing committee (not necessary the Chairman).

Selection criteria and decision

The applications will be continuously evaluated by a working group, while a decision, for each proposal, will be confirmed by the BoD during the meeting in Paris (September/October) or during the ESAFORM Conference (April/May).

Proposals will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• pertinence with ESAFORM objectives and interests
• expected audience (considering both ESAFORM members and non-members)
• potential industrial/academic impact of the topic.

and a notification will be given to the applicant shortly after the Board meeting by the ESAFORM president.

What is expected:

In case of approval of the workshop proposal, the applicant will implicitly accept to carry out the required duties, i.e. to provide, at the end of the workshop, a short report about the event (short description of the activities, number of participants, affiliations by countries – no personal or sensitive data will be required).

How to apply?

Send a proposal to the President of ESAFORM indicating:

1. topic of the workshop;
2. name of the applicant/organizer;
3. brief description (max. 2 pages) of the workshop, highlighting the topic and its relationship with ESAFORM interests, the expected audience, the industrial and academic impact;
4. venue and date;
5. name of the ESAFORM active members involved in the organization of the event.

The ESAFORM contribution is only payable to an account of the organizing institution (to be indicated in the proposal).

The applications must be sent by e-mail to:

Prof. Katia Mocellin

President of ESAFORM

e-mail: katia.mocellin(a)minesparis.psl.eu

phone:+33493957432

The ESAFORM Benchmark grant

The ESAFORM Benchmark grant aims at promoting collaborative work between several research teams in a benchmarking project. Experimental or computational goal, any type of material or of forming process is eligible for the benchmark topic as soon as it is covered by Esaform thematics. 

The funding corresponds to a budget of a maximum 15 000€. This grant aims to help the coordinator of a benchmark related to material forming to face the benchmark organisation costs. It can be shared with the members of the Benchmark Organizing Committee (BOC).

This budget includes overheads of the involved institutions as well as the open access (PAC) of one article in Int. J. of Material Forming, if any, (see Springer conditions https://link.springer.com/journal/12289/funding-eligibility?bpid=3003648003).

All details are available in the document describing the rules. 

Since the first ESAFORM Benchmark in 2021 on deep drawing, different fields were investigated with both experimental and modelling parts, such as forged microstructure characterization and prediction, single point incremental forming, Laser Powder Bed Fusion manufacturing, and tube bending. 

Achieved benchmarks: Please see hereafter their associated IJMF articles and databases:

• 2021: EXACT
  Leader: Prof. Gabriel Vincze
• 2023: Intermicro
  Leader: Prof.Lander Galdos
• 2024: ISF
  Leader: Prof. Joost Duflou

Here are the details on the ongoing benchmarks:

• 2025: AMD-Model
  Leader: Prof. Dermot Brabazon
• 2026: EsaBend26
  Leader: Prof. Frohn-Sorënsen
  This Benchmark was awarded in September 2025 and will be presented during the 2026 Esaform Conference in Thessaloniki

The adventure continues, and we are waiting for your proposal for the next ESAFORM Benchmark grant (deadline 5th September). The call is very broad: measurement of a characteristic, understanding of a phenomenon during a process, a technique, a numerical methodology related to the modelling of forming, the development of a process,… Please use the joint template to apply, as it helps you to describe your project and points benchmark frame.

Selection criteria:

1. Interest of the proposal according to the vision and mission of ESAFORM and its community
2. Proposal quality
3. No overlapping with previous benchmarks within the previous 3 years, except for a logical follow-up action.

Timeline:

How to start a benchmark for a coordinator?

• to find an idea that has a scientific and industrial interest and is related to material forming
• to gather a BOC, at least 2 other ESAFORM members, each one coming from a different country;
• to read carefully the rules.
• to send before 5 September to the ESAFORM president Prof. Katia Mocellin (katia.mocellin(a)minesparis.psl.eu) the filled application form;
• to answer questions (if any) about your proposal between September 5 and the autumn ESAFORM board meeting (end of September, beginning of October) that selects the Benchmark proposal.

More details?

Please contact anne.habraken@uliege.be or benjamin.klusemann@leuphana.de.