Programme: MSCA-COFUND EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowships Programme - EUTOPIA European University
Number of positions available: 16
Starting date: 1rst September 2024
Duration and Type of contract: 24 months, Full-time employment
Application opening: 14 September 2023
Application deadline: 14 December 2023, 13:00 CET
Application website: www.eutopia.smapply.io
Application guidelines: Guide for Applicants, available on the EUTOPIA-SIF programme website
Programme website: https://eutopia-university.eu/english-version/opportunities/research/eutopia-sif-4th-call
Contact email: eutopia-sif@cyu.fr

The EUTOPIA European University is pleased to announce the opening of the fourth call for 16 post-doctoral fellowships within the EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowships Program (EUTOPIA-SIF) co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 945380.

Starting in September 2024, fellows will be awarded a post-doctoral position for 24 months in one of the six EUTOPIA universities, including the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the CY Cergy Paris Université, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Ljubljana, the University Pompeu Fabra and the University of Warwick, with attractive salaries covering their costs of living, and an additional budget for research and travel expenses.

EUTOPIA-SIF fellows will be formally employed by the EUTOPIA partner university they have chosen as their host organization, and co-hosted by a second EUTOPIA university for a secondment period. Host and co-host institutions must be chosen by the fellows, as well as the research groups in which they wish to realize the fellowship at the host university, at the time of application.

Two compulsory secondments will allow EUTOPIA-SIF fellows to take full advantage of the EUTOPIA research environment:

The upmentioned internal secondment at another EUTOPIA university allowing for an extensive research mobility within the EUTOPIA network;
An external secondment with leading international institutions or major industrial and institutional partners of EUTOPIA universities .

Applications are welcome from all disciplines, including Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Humanities and Arts, in connection with the following 5 Key Research Areas, with particular encouragement for interdisciplinary approaches:

Materials Engineering;
Data & Intelligence;
Health;
Sustainability;
Welfare & Inclusion.

We therefore ask you to consider this opportunity for yourself and/or to pass it on to colleagues to whom this call might be of interest.

NOTA BENE: ELIGIBLE UNIVERSITIES

Although the EUTOPIA Alliance was recently expanded to encompass a total of 10 European universities, the EUTOPIA-SIF programme runs on a separate grant, and only the following 6 universities are eligible to host or co-host SIF fellows:

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, CY Cergy Paris University, University of Gothenburg, University of Ljubljana, Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona, The University of Warwick.
The 4 new members of the Alliance are not eligible as host or co-host of the applicants.

Application requirements:

Holding a PhD OR at least 4 years of full-time equivalent research experience. Doctoral degree or equivalent experience should have been completed at the date of the Call deadline, 14 December 2023.
Not having a permanent position at the moment of recruitment.
Not to have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the selected primary host universities (EUTOPIA university recruiting the EUTOPIA-SIF fellow) for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to the call deadline. The mobility rule does not apply for secondments.

Application procedure:

Full application (and optional pre-application) for the EUTOPIA-SIF programme must be submitted online via the dedicated application platform www.eutopia.smapply.io, choosing EUTOPIA Science & Innovation Fellowship COFUND Programme.

Application timeline:

The submission will open on 14 September 2023.
The submission of the main application material will close on 14 December 2023, at 13:00 CET.
The submission of the full research proposal will close on 11 January 2024, at 13:00 CET.
An optional pre-application stage will be available to help candidate find a host research group from 14 September to 5 October 2023, 13:00 CET.

Application content:

Applicants must submit the following compulsory application content:

Detailed CV of the candidate (section within the application platform “Personal Information” and “Academic experience”), and a CV in pdf version using the dedicated template available on the application platform.
Choice of Key Research Area(s): They must select at least one Key Research Area relevant for their research proposal;
Choice of hosting institutions and research group(s): freely chosen among the six universities of the programme.
Research proposal (using the mandatory template, available on the application platform);
Personal statement (maximum 2 pages – use of Times New Roman font and minimum size 11-no template;
Support Letter from at least one hosting research group, signed by the head of the prospective Research group (or, depending on the host-university, by the relevant person detailed in the Guide for Applicants available on the EUTOPIA-SIF programme website);
Reference letters: two letters must be requested from referees chosen by the candidate via the application platform assessing the applicant’s previous research activities, research capacity and work experience.
Ethics declaration – checklist provided in the research proposal template to identify ethical matters relating to their research project;
Copy of PhD certificate, accompanied with a non-certified English translation if the initial document is not in English OR proof of 4 years of equivalent research experience (mandatory template to be used, available on the application platform).

Once you have registered and logged into the system, the application can be edited until submission. All steps must be filled in and files uploaded. After submission, the application can no longer be edited, and it is only possible to view the application.

Only one proposal per researcher may be submitted to this call.

Only applications that are complete and submitted before the application deadline via the online platform will be considered.

Selection procedure:

Eligibility check
Assessment of the relevance of the research project
Review Panel: ranking and shortlisting
Interview Panel: ranking and shortlisting
Final ranking

For more information on the application requirements, procedures and call-related details, please refer to the Guide for Applicants, available on the EUTOPIA-SIF programme website.

At least one webinar will be organized for potential candidates. Please refer to the EUTOPIA-SIF programme website for more information.

Contact email: eutopia-sif@cyu.fr

Appointment conditions of researchers:

2-year employment contract as a Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND fellow at one of the EUTOPIA universities, with a monthly average gross salary of 4 349 € and a supplementary budget for research and travel expenses.
Full academic freedom to pursue your research project in the state-of-the art infrastructures of EUTOPIA research centers and in a stimulating interdisciplinary and international academic community.
International and intersectoral mobility through 2 compulsory secondment periods to take full advantage of the EUTOPIA research environment, by realizing an extensive research mobility at another EUTOPIA university during the fellowship, as well of EUTOPIA partners’ numerous global collaborations with leading international institutions and major industrial and institutional partners, during an external secondment; A network of more than 45 companies, local authorities and non-profit organizations actively support the program, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.
Extensive training program including transferable skills development, such as academic leadership, and active career mentoring by senior academic supervisors.
Attractive living conditions and high quality of life offered by the local environments of all EUTOPIA universities. Each university will actively support fellows and their families for mobility-related queries.

Eligibility criteria

The eligibility criteria must be fulfilled at the time of the call deadline. If it becomes clear before, during or after the evaluation phase that one or more of the eligibility criteria have not been fulfilled, the proposal will be declared ineligible and it will be withdrawn:

Holding a PhD OR at least 4 years of full-time equivalent research experience. Doctoral degree or equivalent experience should have been completed at the date of the Call deadline, 14 December 2023.
Not having a permanent research position at the moment of recruitment.
Not to have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the selected primary host universities (EUTOPIA university recruiting the EUTOPIA-SIF fellow) for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to the call deadline. The mobility rule need not apply to hosts of secondments.
Researchers from any nationality may apply.
Indicating one or more of the program’s Key Research Areas to characterize their project.
Formal proposal criteria:
- Completeness of application submitted before the deadline using the application platform, including all required support documents in compliance with the page limits and other specifications.
- Application submitted in English.
- Only one application per call and per fellow.

About the programme:

The EUTOPIA European University is an ambitious alliance of six like-minded European universities: CY Cergy Paris Université (France), the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), the Göteborgs Universitet (Sweden), the Univerza v Ljubljani (Slovenia) and the University of Warwick (United Kingdom). It was awarded an Erasmus+ ‘European Universities’ pilot project in 2019. Its core mission is to promote a connected and inclusive academic community, addressing global and local challenges, advancing excellence, inclusion, impact and innovation. Scientific excellence, research collaboration and mobility of academics among the partner universities are core objectives of EUTOPIA.

The EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowships Program (EUTOPIA-SIF) is an international post-doctoral fellowship program co-funded by the H2020 MSCA-COFUND scheme and the six partner institutions of EUTOPIA. Its vocation is to train the next generation of high-profile scientists by offering attractive recruitment conditions and an ideal environment for their ambitious academic development and the production of tangible research impact through innovation and entrepreneurship. EUTOPIA-SIF fellows will prove their capacity of addressing major social challenges through the five Key Research Areas, in an independent research project. They will take advantage of an extensive training program and mentoring by senior academic supervisors.

The EUTOPIA-SIF programme is coordinated by CY Cergy Paris Université.

Website for additional job details

https://eutopia-university.eu/english-version/opportunities/research/eutopia-sif-4th-call

Website

https://www.eutopia.smapply.io

Contact

State/Province: Ile de france

City: Cergy-Pontoise Cedex

Website: https://eutopia-university.eu/

Street:33 Boulevard du Port

Postal Code: 95011

E-Mail: eutopia-sif@cyu.fr