PDO is responsible for the onboarding of all Scientific Visitors who hold a PhD.
Scientific Visitors of all ranks are normally scientists whose primary affiliation is with a university, another scientific institution, or a company. They may give lectures or courses, receive training, collaborate on research projects, and/or perform independent research.
Scientific Visitors are classified as Visiting Scientists, Academic Visitors, Visiting Professors, Visiting Students, External Users and Guests.
The onboarding of all Scientific Visitors must start at least 2 months before their arrival at ISTA.
PLEASE NOTE (!): no travel/accommodation reimbursement is possible for Scientific Visitors without employment contract, with the only exception of Guests staying up to 10 days.
Types of Scientific Visitors
- Postdoctoral Visiting Scientists (with employment)
- Visiting Professors (with or without employment)
- Academic Visitors (without employment)
Scientific Visitors with employment
Postdoctoral Visiting Scientists
Postdoctoral Visiting Scientist contracts are given to PhD-holding Visiting Scientists at ISTA whose primary affiliation is with another institution and will spend a short period of time at ISTA, most likely while on leave or sabbatical. This contract type is intended for senior scientists from other institutions or companies but who have not been granted the title of Visiting Professor.
The initial employment contract can be at most 12 months. In exceptional cases the contract of a Postdoctoral Visiting Scientist can be extended up to a total of 18 months of employment.
Any external compensation (either salary from home institution or fellowship) must be communicated to Academic Affairs, Human Resources and the Grant Office. In the event of an external fellowship/grant, the Grant Office and Academic Affairs will review the case in coordination with Human Resources in order to determine the appropriate way to proceed with the contract.
PLEASE NOTE (!): Scientific Visitors who are already employed and/or receive funding from home institution or third party are not allowed to be employed at ISTA. They can either request unpaid leave and/or pause of the grant/fellowship payment. Those who are unable to do so, they must come as Academic Visitors – please see Academic Visitors for more info.
Visiting Professors
Experienced scientists (tenured or tenure-track professors or equivalent senior scientists above postdoc status at the level of principal investigator) affiliated with another institution or university who temporarily come to ISTA for a longer period will be designated as Visiting Professors. The primary purpose of their stay is to conduct research and establish collaborations with the scientific community of ISTA. They are typically on temporary leave or sabbatical (paid or unpaid) from their home institution which remains their primary affiliation.
The initial employment contract for Visiting Professors can be at most 12 months. During their stay, Visiting Professors may receive remuneration from ISTA which determines the type of contract. The actual remuneration is determined in each case individually and depends on the compensation from the home institution, external funding and on the availability of funding from ISTA. The guiding principle is that funding from ISTA may be available to complement the Visiting Professor’s total professional income up to the salary of a professor of comparable status at ISTA.
The title of Visiting Professor is bestowed by the President on recommendation by the chair of the Visiting Scientist Committee.
Each Visiting Professor is affiliated with one or more research groups for administrative purposes, the head of the respective research group(s) serving as his/her official host(s). In particular, his/her primary administrative contact is the assistant to his/her host(s).
Types of Visiting Professors
- Type 1: Visiting Professors funded partially or fully by ISTA central
- Type 2: Visiting Professors funded exclusively by the Host Professor’s group budget
- Type 3: Visiting Professors with no employment contract
Remuneration:
During their stay, Visiting Professors may receive remuneration from ISTA which determines the type of contract. The actual remuneration is determined in each case individually and depends on the compensation from the home institution, external funding and on the availability of funding from ISTA.
The guiding principle is that funding from ISTA may be available to complement the Visiting Professor’s total professional income up to the salary of a professor of comparable status at ISTA.
Notwithstanding, a minimal contract (to ensure the status of employment from the point of view of the Austrian social security) may be offered to all Visiting Professors. If the visitor will be partially paid via the Institute’s central funds, the President will determine the salary level based upon a recommendation of the responsible committee Chair and Academic Affairs. If the Visiting Professor will be paid by a research group budget, the salary recommendation will be made by the Host Professor and Academic Affairs.
Scientific Visitors without employment
Academic Visitors
Academic Visitors are scientific visitors who stay at the Institute for more than 10 days (up to max of 6 months) but have no employment contract with ISTA. They normally have an employment contract with another institution and/or own funding.
Academic Visitors receive no contract but must still sign the “Form for Academic Visitors” agreeing to ISTA’s Intellectual Property rules and Rules for Good Scientific Practice.
PLEASE NOTE (!): ISTA does not provide VISA application support for Scientific Visitors without employment. Prospective Academic Visitors must arrange their own VISA application process.