2nd Call for ITC Conference Grants by KGELL COST Action

KGELL is pleased to announce its 2nd Call for Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) Conference Grants. This grant supports presentations of the applicant’s own scientific work (e.g., talks, posters), falling within the scope of KGELL, at a high-level conference (e.g., ISWC, ESWC, ACL, KDD) fully organised by a third party (i.e., not organised or co-organised by KGELL/COST). The aim is to strengthen participation from ITC-based researchers and increase the visibility and dissemination of KGELL-related results.

Eligibility: This call is open to KGELL Action participants affiliated to a legal entity located in an Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC https://www.cost.eu/about/strategy/excellence-and-inclusiveness/) or a Near Neighbour Country (NNC https://www.cost.eu/about/strategy/international-collaboration/). Eligibility is determined automatically in e-COST based on the applicant’s primary affiliation (only applicants fulfilling the ITC eligibility criteria will be able to submit this grant type).

How to submit

Applications must be submitted via e-COST using the ITC Conference Grant form. The application must include the grant title, start and end dates, requested budget (maximum requestable amount: 1,500 EUR), and full conference information (title, country, and conference webpage), as well as the attendance type.

Applicants must upload: the ITC Conference Grant Application (COST template), a copy of the abstract of the accepted presentation (oral or poster), the acceptance (or invitation) letter from the conference organisers, and a motivation letter explaining (i) how the presentation contributes to KGELL’s objectives and visibility and (ii) how this grant will make a difference to the applicant’s career development. Where possible, applicants must include the following acknowledgement to KGELL in the conference paper and/or presentation: “This publication is based upon work from COST Action CA24121 – Knowledge Graphs in the Era of Large Language Models (KGELL), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology, https://www.cost.eu)”. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated competitively based on the expected contribution of the presentation to KGELL dissemination and visibility, the relevance and quality of the contribution, and COST inclusiveness considerations (including geographical spread, ITC participation, career stage support, and gender balance, where applicable).

KGELL policy on submissions

For this call, each applicant may submit only one application per call round, choosing a single KGELL grant track. Multiple submissions across different tracks within the same round are not permitted. For more information on the ITC Conference Grants, see the Annotated Rules for Cost Actions: Annex2. For more information on the application procedure, please consult the Grant Awarding

User Guide.

Important dates

• Opening of the call: 15 May 2026
• Application cut-off dates: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications received by the 15th day of each month will be considered in that monthly review round, subject to eligibility, completeness, relevance to KGELL, and availability of funds.
• Notification: Notifications will be sent after each monthly review round, following the monthly cut-off date.
• Deadline: This is an open call; applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until the allocated budget is exhausted or until September 14, 2026.
• Presentation completion date: The event must take place before October 10, 2026.
• Request of refund: latest by October 20, 2026

Submission of report: A report must be submitted in e-COST after the conference, including (as required) a certificate of attendance, the conference programme/book of abstracts or proceedings indicating the oral presentation, and a copy of the material delivered in their oral presentation.

Check our webpage to ensure the call is still open https://kgell-cost.eu/category/grants/

For further information, please contact the KGELL Grant Awarding Coordinator via sahar.vahdati@tib.eu