Short-term scientific missions

An STSM is an individual research visit across an international border, enabling the participant to gain and share knowledge. The STSM is a networking tool offered by COST, aimed at supporting individual mobility, strengthening existing networks and fostering collaboration between COST Action Participants.

What is a Short-term scientific mission?

Learn more about STSMs here

2024 STSM call dates

This year, we have several application deadlines. Applications will be processed in batches until all available grant funding is allocated.

Deadline May 20, 2024 : decisions by June 1, 2024

Deadline June 12, 2024 : decisions by June 18, 2024

Deadline August 24, 2024 : decisions by September 1, 2024.

Your STSM can start anytime after the respective decision deadline. There is no limit to the length of an STSM, but all STSMs granted must be completed before September 30, 2024.

NB! Preference will be given to applicants who have received no previous STSM or ITC grants from LITHME.

Guidelines of the call

Apply in e-COST

Read about previous missions

STSMs are for people who want to gain and share knowledge across the academic boundaries between language and technology.

LITHME supports various interdisciplinary ventures. Find inspiration from the missions carried out in 2021–2023!

Read about previous missions

What is the objective of STSM missions in LITHME?

See our our detailed
Memorandum of Understanding

Each STSM should specifically contribute to the aims and objectives of LITHME, and clearly relate to our core interests. To learn about these, you can look into our Working Groups, read our forecast report, and watch our animations. STSMs also enable participants to learn new techniques, and to gain access to specific data, instruments and/or methods not available in their own institutions. Participants do not need to cover all the topics of LITHME, but they should fit the profile of at least one Working Group, and ideally demonstrate learning across the interests of different Working Groups (especially between language and technology).

Applying for the Grant

Fill the online application form in e-COST and upload the following supporting documents:

STSM grant Application form

Confirmation letter from your host institution (confirmation should specify the dates of the STSM)

Apply in e-COST

During the Grant Period

Fulfil your Work Plan and the mission goals

You will be interviewed for LITHME website and social media

Document your mission, take photos or videos

At the end of your mission, prepare a vlog or blog post about your experience

After the Grant Period

Within 15 days, write your STSM report and submit it for approval. Your Grant is paid out as a lump sum after the approval of your STSM report (exceptionally, 50% pre-grant is possible).

Download the Grant Report template

Your STSM report will be published on LITHME website.

What kind of missions does LITHME support?

LITHME is a very broad network, involving many subdisciplinary areas. The best STSMs will work towards the major goals of LITHME, to prepare linguistics for the human-machine era, and to inform technology specialists with insights from linguistics.

One example could be an interactional sociolinguist visiting a lab to learn more about interactive Augmented Reality equipment. This could help them to develop new theoretical approaches to interaction, in preparation for widespread consumer adoption of such equipment. Another example could be a lab hosting a language education specialist, who might develop insights into the potential for Virtual Reality and automated translation to create entirely new contexts for language learning.

Meanwhile technology specialists could leave the lab and visit linguistics departments to understand more about, say, conversation analysis – to refine their thinking about the way wearable language tech could alter the fabric of conversation. They might also plan to learn about potential inequalities in deploying (for instance) automated sign language utilities or translation chatbots for public services.

The above is absolutely not an exhaustive list of possibilities. These examples simply illustrate the principle of the twin goals of LITHME, to prepare linguistics for the human-machine era and to inform technology specialists with linguistic insights.