POINT

POINT programme (Support for Internationalization of Charles University) is one of the supporting tools of financing activities aimed to increase the level of internationalisation at Charles University (CU). Goal of this programme is to support short term internationalization activities. The programme is based on Rector’s Directive No. 36/2024.

It gives students an opportunity to gain financial support for following activities:

• Support for participation in or stays of CU students at summer schools (excluding language courses);
• Short-term unpaid student internships up to a maximum of 3 weeks,
• Participation in international competitions and championships,
• Participation in student conferences (a professional conference that students can attend. A prerequisite for granting financial support is active participation, i.e. paper presentation.)
• Attending meetings related to the internationalisation of Charles University activities

The preference is given to an active student participation on workshops and seminars in a lenght of  up to 3 weeks.

For faculties and other units of CU it brings opportunities to get support for the organisation of international summer schools of a non-profitable nature.

Applications can be submitted twice a year – in the spring from 1st of April till 30th of April and in the autumn from 1th of November till 30th of November.

In the autumn call it is possible to apply for financial support for activities which will take place throughout the following calendar year. 

Applicants can apply for a grant for activities that start no earlier than 1.5. (after the end of receiving applications for the spring round) and 1.12. (after the end of the autumn round).

It is handled directly during the creation of the application. An applicant who wants to create an application in the online system will not be allowed to enter an earlier start date of the action than 1.5. and 1.12. of the given year. Requesting a financial contribution for activities that take place between February and April (April - receiving applications), it is recommended that applicants submit their application already in the autumn round of the previous year.

Applicants are required to submit their applications online via systém interních soutěží UK within the deadline.

Application form templates are available online in the web application.

Part of the application is a motivation letter (1 standard page) and a program of the event.

It’s recommended to well articulate the impact of student’s participation on conference, course, intership, summer school etc. in the application. It’s important to see the impact on student’s scientific and study area as well as consequent benefits for faculty department, scientific workplace, faculty and the whole CU. During the approval process the Expert panel takes into account projects related to the internationalization of the University's activities abroad.

Applicants who have not applied for a financial contribution in the past, or was not assigned to them will be prioritised for support.

• support is provided for a purpose, i.e. it is tied to a specific applicant
• activity and implementation dates support does not apply to summer language schools
• can only be applied for activities that have yet to take place
• change in the date of the field trip is possible under the condition that the applicant informs the faculty in writing before the event
• cannot apply for trips within the CEEPUS program
• cannot be combined with the Mobility Fund
• active participation for students means active output or involvement in the program (presentation of contribution)
• the student can be awarded financial support for travel, accommodation and meals, but not for the participation fee (!)
• support is preferentially provided to those applicants who have not yet received support from the POINT program in the past
• the maximum amount of allocated support for students is CZK 50,000
• the maximum amount of allocated support for faculties and other parts of the Charles University as organizers of summer schools and extracurricular events is CZK 200,000
• if the applicant received financial support for the project from the UK Grant Agency and plans short-term mobility as part of the project, it is not possible to apply for a contribution from the POINT program for such mobility

Required final documents

Category Ai: Support of students mobility – short term stays

Physical Mobility

• Final report
• Confirmation of stay (e.g. a certificate, a confirmation from a foreign institution etc.)

Category Bi: Support for the organization of international non-profitable summer schools

• Final report
• Billing

Final report and all documents are to be submitted online via – systém interních soutěží UK – within 30 days of the termination of the project or return from the study stay. Required forms, documents and final documents are available online, stored there by categories. The instructions HOW TO INSERT THE FINAL REPORT can be found in the web application as well.

The allocated financial support is paid to students in the form of a scholarship. It’s an extraordinary award to support study abroad and it goes through SIS.  Therefore it is needed to fill the bank account number in SIS. 

More information can be found at the Charles University webpage.

For more information contact the head of IO Michaela Rudinská, email: svoz@fsv.cuni.cz