Do you want to host a FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE event?
Based on a successful project funded by the EU H2020 Research and Innovation Programme, the FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE conference series is a joint initiative of FEBS, IUBMB and four leading biomedical research institutes across Europe (core institutes) that have now joined forces to give continuity to these successful events and to offer research institutes devoted to molecular life sciences worldwide the opportunity to host and participate in the organisation of one of these conferences.
The host institutions for the second round of conferences have already been selected:
- 2022 Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), Seville, Spain
- 2023 The University of Cologne (UoC), Germany
- 2024 The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine – Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), Singapore
- 2025 CRUK Scotland Institute, Glasgow, UK
FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE will soon look for a new institution to host the conference. The host institution must be located in a country with a FEBS Constituent Society.
The event will be organized by a committee of young researchers following the standards and structure of the previous ENABLE conferences (more information on previous conferences can be seen in the past conference section).
Eligibility requirements
Institutions interested in applying to host the event must:
- Be an academic institution (either university or research institution) with a strong research background in molecular life sciences.
- Be located in a country whose national Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Society is a Constituent Societies of FEBS. Please check the country eligibility before applying (FEBS).
- Have an established young researchers’ organisation (Student Council, Young Researchers Association or similar).
- Have an administrative structure devoted to providing support to young researchers (Academic Office or similar) with experience in event management.
- Be able to host the 3 days conference (in its country) in November.
- Have a letter from their national Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Society, which is a FEBS member, expressing support for the organisation of the ENABLE conference.
- Be able to provide a venue with suitable capacity and requirements for the planned activities (main auditorium with 250-300 places, rooms for workshops, open-plan area for a job fair and poster sessions).
In addition, the following point will be positively evaluated:
- Support of the local national molecular life sciences society/ies with respect to offering travel grants to its members (either for the conference organisers or participants).
How will the conference be funded?
FEBS and IUBMB will fund the event up to a total of:
- €65,000 + (€5,000 for organizing committee travel and accommodation costs) These costs are calculated on the basis of the average expenses of previous ENABLE conferences. FEBS and IUBMB will transfer most of the funds in advance of the start of the event, with a small sum retained until after its successful completion. Any remaining costs are to be covered by registration fees or other revenue.
Application procedure & timeline
Institutions interested in hosting this conference should complete the Application form and the Budget table, duly signed by the legal representative of the institution, and submit them at the time of the call opening. For more information pleasey read the guidelines provided in the Guide for applicants.
Key dates:
- Call opening: May
- Deadline for applications: July
- Notification of results: September
- Setup of the international Scientific Organizing Committee (SOC): March
- First face-to-face meeting of all SOC members at the host institution: May
- Invitation to speakers for the 2026 Conference: July
The indicated periods are intended as a general indication and can be subject to changes.
Evaluation of the proposals
The FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE Team (FIET; composed of 2 FEBS coordinators, 2 IUBMB coordinators and 5 institutional academic coordinators) will evaluate the proposals against the following criteria:
- Robustness of the Training/Students/Predoctoral Programme of the associated institution.
- Level of organisation and activity of the Student Council (or similar) at the associated institution.
- Level of internationalisation and quality of the research undertaken at the associated institution. In this regard, the number of publications of the institution, as well as the number of projects and international agreements in which the institution is involved, will be taken into account.
- Readiness and capacity to organise an event of such characteristics.