The NSF GROW - what to expect and when to expect it?

[upam]

Got an email from NSF about Norway! Hoping other emails go out soon.

[boco19]

I also got the yes from Norway about 30 minutes ago!

[gellert]

Congrats, Norway people!!  eta: And Australia!

Edited May 26, 2016 by gellert

[turd_ferguson]

Just heard from Australia! Finally!

[Queen of Kale]

I still haven't gotten official notice from Japan either, only the unofficial word a few weeks back.

[gellert]

Sweden, I hope you're ready for me -- just got the email from Rick!

[jensenma]

I also heard positively from Australia. I emailed the Universities Australia contact and haven't heard anything back yet. Does anyone who has been to Australia or who is planning to go know what sort of information we can expect from them? For example, I'm not sure what type of visa is required since there is in-country support. Does anyone know if a letter of invitation will be supplied for a Short Stay Activity visa?

Edited May 27, 2016 by jensenma

[turd_ferguson]

3 hours ago, jensenma said:

I also heard positively from Australia. I emailed the Universities Australia contact and haven't heard anything back yet. Does anyone who has been to Australia or who is planning to go know what sort of information we can expect from them? For example, I'm not sure what type of visa is required since there is in-country support. Does anyone know if a letter of invitation will be supplied for a Short Stay Activity visa?

Yeah I also emailed her but haven't heard back yet. I explicitly asked about what kind of visa to apply for, so we'll she what she says. I thought this one also possibly looked promising: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/574- 

Are you planning on arranging housing, etc. before you go? I was thinking of just getting an Airbnb or something for the first couple of weeks and finding a place once I'm there. 

[jensenma]

1 hour ago, turd_ferguson said:

Yeah I also emailed her but haven't heard back yet. I explicitly asked about what kind of visa to apply for, so we'll she what she says. I thought this one also possibly looked promising: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/574- 

Are you planning on arranging housing, etc. before you go? I was thinking of just getting an Airbnb or something for the first couple of weeks and finding a place once I'm there. 

That visa looks like it's for someone who wants to go study and get a degree in Australia. I think either the Short Stay Activity (subclass 400), Work and Holiday (subclass 462), or Electronic travel authority/business visitor (subclass 601) would work depending on whether you will get support from your host institution (although I don't know for sure). They all take different amounts of time to process and the prices are a bit different. I emailed Rick about this but he just responded that we should coordinate the in-country support and visa directly with our host, which I find a little bit confusing.

For Australia, a few people have told me to look on the website http://www.gumtree.com.au/ which is basically Craigslist for Australia. I was hoping to find a place that way but haven't heard back from any places I've contacted, so I might do Airbnb as well. I was hoping to go in early July, I hope the timing can work out!

[bio0930]

Like Queen I haven't got anything. Congrats to the people going to Norway and Australia. I did just receive an email from the NSF-GROW saying, "Your application is still under consideration" It looks like it is still being processed by the Japanese government.

[TwistedCubic]

Got the news on May 25 from Rick regarding the unofficial news from Norway. Now to start the planning. Congrats to all those who heard, and wishing the best for all those still waiting. 

[brightup]

On May 26, 2016 at 3:54 PM, gellert said:

Sweden, I hope you're ready for me -- just got the email from Rick!

@gellert I will also be in Sweden! 

 

Congratulations to all who have heard so far, and all the best to those who are still waiting!

[warbrain]

So apparently my host found out that I got it for the Netherlands, but I'm not supposed to know.  And I haven't received any official word from NSF.

[bio0930]

Hey Queen I was told that the JSPS will be sending out letters today or tomorrow to our hosts. I contacted the NSF office in Tokyo and they offered to fedex the letter to me due to my early start date. Not sure where you are in the process.

[Queen of Kale]

Thanks for the update bio, I am still waiting for official notification. My host was notified and submitted my acceptance maybe a month ago almost, but still no word on my end. I only found out because I had to push back my start date. Waiting for official word is somehow more brutal than waiting with no word. Good luck to all!

[gellert]

Oh my god, it's absolutely mad that some of you are still waiting to hear.  Fingers crossed you find out soon.

[ctak88]

No more news? This is getting pretty ridiculous...

[neutrino]

How is everyone's university handling the travel allowance?  I was under the impression that it would be deposited into my account, but my university is trying to treat it like a conference travel payment (i.e. save receipts the whole time I'm gone and then get reimbursed) which is going to be extremely difficult/inconvenient.

[rltcyu]

On 6/2/2016 at 6:42 PM, Queen of Kale said:

Thanks for the update bio, I am still waiting for official notification. My host was notified and submitted my acceptance maybe a month ago almost, but still no word on my end. I only found out because I had to push back my start date. Waiting for official word is somehow more brutal than waiting with no word. Good luck to all!

I received the official award email from the NSF Japan office around a week ago. Was told that Richard will contact me soon but did not hear from him yet

[Indie_soul]

Thank you everyone for all of the helpful comments! Even with the webinars, there is still not enough information out there about the process. How did you guys go about finding a host abroad? For example, was it an already established collaboration, or was the "cold-emailing" involved? If the latter, how did you come up with a specific project that would be reasonable to expect to accomplish with your host during your stay, especially if it's a fairly short (2-3 months) one?

[gellert]

On 6/20/2016 at 0:40 PM, Indie_soul said:

Thank you everyone for all of the helpful comments! Even with the webinars, there is still not enough information out there about the process. How did you guys go about finding a host abroad? For example, was it an already established collaboration, or was the "cold-emailing" involved? If the latter, how did you come up with a specific project that would be reasonable to expect to accomplish with your host during your stay, especially if it's a fairly short (2-3 months) one?

I cold emailed.  I had an idea of the type of thing I wanted to study, but not a specific experimental design.  After he said he'd be interested, I came up with five designs which I emailed him, and we then discussed over Skype which research line made the most sense and would be most practical to implement in 12 months.

[gellert]

The email from Rick said we needed to secure transportation with US flag airlines, and linked to the Fly America Act.  However, the FAA also states that you can use int'l airlines with US gov't funding if their countries are in a bilateral/multilateral Open Skies Agreement.  So if your country has signed one of these agreements, I take this to mean you can fly with one of their national airlines?

[Vader Was Framed]

GROW-ees: First, congrats to all who have successfully completed or are in the midst of a GROW opportunity! Fun to see the excitement in this thread. 

Is anyone willing to share their successful application and/or point me to examples/resources they used? That would be super helpful. I've attended a few webinars and it seems fairly straight forward (and high success rate) on the application/proposal side of things. Coordination with host scientist and host institution is another story but I've done some leg work there. 

Are there others applying this cycle (Fall 2016)? 

Also - I am looking at Sweden, Örebro and/or Uppsala University where one of my advisors is located. So, if by chance, the folks who have headed to Sweden have particular recommendations or fun stories I'd love to hear about your experience. 

Cheers.

[Chelsie99]

Hi everyone, I would also be very, very grateful if any previous applicants are willing to share their GROW application! Please message me.

Also would be happy to hear about experiences, in particular if any of you have participated in GROW in France. I'm currently organizing with a potential host near Paris. 

[k8ibug]

Hi All!

I am applying to GROW in Uppsala, Sweden with one of my P.I.s collaborators... would anyone be willing to share an accepted application with me? It would be incredibly helpful to see what a final product should look like.

Thanks for any help you can pass along!