Experiece of sabbatical leave application

The process is easy. Just download the form from the website and wait. The form is very simple to fill, only 1 or two page.

Then think of a suitable research title and some decent research proposal (maybe this is not even required). Fill in tentatively any overseas hosts you have in mind. It is not necessarily for you to obtain their prior consent or approval when you put down your candidate hosts' names and institutes in the form. The host(s) can be changed anytime two months before your actual leave begins. Of course the best is to already have a definite confirmed research proposal and host at the time you fill up the form. But as already said, this is not necessary at the early stage. It's advised that you should contact any potential hosts as early as possible (but sometimes too early is also not convenient for the hosts). I suggest 6 months ahead before your actual date of sabbatical leave.

If you have no definite research proposal, then make one up yourself. USM only needs your research title and is not going to ask you for any detailed proposal. So I reckon that research proposal and research title in the form is only for cosmetic purposes.

The advice is to fill in a host in a most expensive country. Also state the date to stay there for the maximum period, 9 months usually. This is to ensure that USM management people allocate the maximum amount of money for your sabbatical leave when they prepare their budget. Doing so may save you some unnecessary trouble later (e.g if you were to ask for a lesser allocation now but to change it to a more expansive ones, bureaucrates upstair may find trouble with you later). There is a list of the amount of allowence paid based on the countries you spend your leave. Either you obtain this list from the human resource webpage or ask the human resource personnel in your school to provide you with this list. As far I know western and northern European and Japanese cities got a higher allowence. For Holland my allowence is around euro 1150 per month, which is sufficient for a single person, where my accommodation is 630 euro per month. I think they allowence is higher a bit in London or Paris or New York.

I only confirm my host in the very last moment, e.g. about 3.5 months before my leave. The easier way to get a host is normally to ask the research institute you were associated with or have visited. Before I come to Delft for my sabbatical leave, I have no contact or known any of the people here. I simply wrote to a researcher here and he just agree to host me. That's my good kamma.