Funding and Grants

Allocation of training funds
 
Open Education / Vacancies

The Department centrally retains:

• Revenue from tuition fees
• Taximeter subsidies
• Justification: The Department bears the costs of salaries and general education courses at the Department.

Continuing education / Refresher courses:
A project is to be created for each Continuing education course (e.g. GM-license, Check on Biotech (Tjek på Biotek).

• Cost of the course, both operating and salary are to be charged to the project
• Any profits from the course are to be divided annually between the Department and the Section
• Any losses are to be covered by the Section as the Section itself decides which courses are to be held. In addition, it is the training officer / Section who sets the price, in cooperation with KU (for income generating activities - contact Department Administrator)
• Justification: There should be an incentive within the Section to initiate Continuing education / refresher programs. This is often associated with an expense for the Department, such as postage, secretarial support, accounting assistance, etc.

PhD Courses:
Follow the same rules as Continuing education / Refresher courses - any profits are shared between Section and Department.
 
Masters Courses:
The Department currently offers no Masters courses. For any future Masters course it is suggested that a distinction is made between whether it is an existing, regular course or a specially designed course.
If it is a regular course, the principles of the Open University / Vacancies are to be followed.
If it is a specially developed course, income is to be shared according to the following principles:

• Expenses are to be defrayed by Section
• Proceeds from course fees are shared between the Department and the Section, after expenses for salaries and operations have been deducted
• The Department retains taximeter subsidies

Funding for the development of Continuing education / Refresher courses
It is becoming more common that one can apply for funds to develop Continuing education / Refresher courses.

• Revenue in the form of development funds is to be retained by the Section.
• Justification: It is the Section alone that develops the courses, and it is therefore important that an incentive exists.

 

Graduate student supervisor funding, taximeter subsidies etc.
 
Supervisor funding:

• Proceeds from the supervision of graduate students from other departments as well as from industrial graduate students are transferred to a project created in the Head of Section's name
• Justification: Sections retain proceeds from the supervision of external graduate students - partly in order to provide an incentive to receive the graduate students and partly to avoid too many small "tills" of funds. If funds in the Section are pooled, you get more for your money.

Taximeter subsidies:

• LIFE-graduate students: Sections under Head of Sections retain graduate student taximeter subsidies, which are to be appropriated once a year (end of year) to internal project 06084.
• Graduate School: refer to FOBI-grants
• Industrial graduate students: Funding is transferred to a project created in the Head of Section's name

 

FOBI-grants / 1/3-shared grants
Previously, FOBI students employed at PLBIO have been paid by FOBI's cost centre, while taximeter subsidies were annually appropriated by the Section. In future, any Section which wishes to employ a FOBI student shall, through the accounts clerk, send an invoice to FOBI for the entire funding allocated for salaries, courses, taximeter subsidies etc. The appropriation is to be transferred to the relevant Section's cost centre under VT 10 and Project No. 06085, from which graduate student wages are drawn. Under the contract, the Department must cover any extra expenses if a grant does not cover these. At the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology it is the relevant Section that bears the financial risk.
 
With respect to graduate schools that are not housed at PLBIO, the procedure is the same.

 

 
Trainees
The Department retains overheads for trainees.
 

Start-up funds
The Department will pay for start-up funds for professors, associate professors and assistant professors, who are recruited on Finance Bill funds, and who are externally recruited, by the following amounts:

• Professor: 100.000 DKK
• Associate Professor / Assistant Professor: 50.000 DKK

The grant is available in the current and the following year. The funds are administered by the relevant person via the Department's account (with analysis number).
 
For new professors, associate professors and assistant professors who come from KU-LIFE, it is up to each Section to decide whether they want a start-up scheme. In this case, the Section itself finances funding.
 
One can only expect to receive start-up funds once.
 

Appropriations for specific purposes
Grants to individuals or specific purposes from e.g. specific strategic pools or special focus areas must as a rule be used in the grant year or, at the latest, the year after, unless a longer period is specified in the grant. Grants must be used for their defined purposes.
For smaller grants for specific purposes - such as a specific course or a specific trip - reduced expenses are not transferred when the activity is completed.
 
If LIFE demands the return of any unused funds, the Department must cover expenses.
Budgeting and bookkeeping will not take place on grants given on the basis of oral commitments, without a grant letter from the Budget Office.
 
The Department Administrator must immediately be notified if you receive, or expect to receive, a grant from LIFE or KU.

 
Transfer
Sectional and graduate student taximeter subsidies can be transferred from one year to another. If the Section's savings become too large, this may be modified to avoid accumulated finances. Sections must also be aware that transferred funds will be frozen in times of economic crisis in the same way as the freezing of Department funds.
 
This does not apply to FOBI, DBRA and PBD who have their own accounts and equity.

 
EU award funds
KU has decided to give DKK 500.000 in award funds to EU projects under the 7th Framework, where the grant to KU is at least 150.000 Euro. The grant is shared 80/20 between the grant holder and the Department.

The funds are to be used in accordance with current rules on special grants with respect to use and time horizon.