MSCA-COFUND-DP ArchiFun International Doctoral Programme

Specific skills and requirements are listed in the individual research projects, available at https://cofund-archifun.univ-lyon1.fr/ThesisProjects.html

Please read them carefully before applying online.

ArchiFun Doctoral Programme (DP) will train two consecutive classes of Doctoral Fellows (DF), each lasting 36 months, with some opportunities to run up to 42 months, with no breakout penalties. The competitive salary includes pension scheme, health insurance, mobility allowance. It will vary depending on the local tax regulations, but the gross salary will never be less than 2800 EUR/month. The DF will be trained through research in the laboratories implementing the doctoral programme on specific high-end projects, all of which are a mix of basic and applied research, methodological or technology-driven, wet and dry science. The research projects listed in the above section can be grouped in the following 6 topics:

1. Host-pathogen interactions;
2. Mechanisms of bacterial resistance and cancer onsets;
3. Neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases;
4. Translational research in prevalent diseases;
5. Physiology and ecology;
6. Neurosciences and cognition.

Each year UCBL, UGR, UNIPD, TUM and NIC will propose three classes of training to the recruited DF:

• scientific training on subjects linked to the research projects;
• soft skill training;
• horizontal (transferable skill) training.

ArchiFun will offer secondments and hands-on practical schools on specific methodologies and techniques in one of the following 9 associated partners, including academia, research infrastructures and small-medium enterprises:

• Vilnius University (VU) -> Vilnius, Lithuania
• Biophysical Unit of Institut Pasteur (IP) -> Paris, France
• Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems at the University of Zaragoza (BIFI) -> Zaragoza, Spain
• European Syncrothron Radiation Facility (ESRF) -> Grenoble, France
• Randall Centre at King’s College London (KCL) -> London, UK
• NanoTemper Technologies (NTT) -> Munich, Germany
• FidaBio Technologies (FidaBio) -> Copenhagen, Danemark
• NovAliX -> Strasbourg, France
• Pulsalys -> Villeurbanne, France

• Academic criteria: Applicants of any nationality must be in a position to complete a master's degree or an equivalent diploma before the beginning of the PhD position or have completed a master's degree or an equivalent diploma. Applicants already in possess of a PhD title are not eligible. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis, but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be eligible.
• International criteria: Applicants will need to comply with the MSCA mobility rule. Applicants must not have had their main residence or carried out their main activity (work, studies...) in the recruiting country for more than 12 months during the 3 years immediately prior to the deadline of the call (June 1st 2024). Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugees status under the Geneva Convention (1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol) are not taken into account.

Once the eligibility check is passed, the applications are sent to the International Selection Committee (ISC), who will evaluate the applicants in two stages:
first the application is scored for a maximum of 40 points, with a cut-off of 20/40. An initial ranking is made following this table. Inclusiveness is one of the objectives of the project, therefore 3 extra points (bonus) will be given to people with disabilities, underrepresented gender, or under the status of refugee.

Once this first evaluation has been completed, the shortlisted candidates will be notified by email and surface mail, and interviewed by the ISC via teleconferencing during the first week of July. The calendar of the selection will be indicated in the mail and on the ArchiFun website.
The second stage is the oral interview, where the prospective candidates will present in 15 minutes their achievements and their research project, which they will have discussed with the future supervisors beforehand. This presentation will score up to 20 points. Up to 5 points can be taken off should the time limit not be respected. The ISC will then start a 20 min discussion on the project and on the scientific preparation and background of the candidates. Their attitude towards the research plan, commitment and motivation in the following 3 years will also be evaluated. In total, this interview can score up to 60 points.

The maximum total score between the first and second evaluation is 100 points (40 points in the first stage and 60 in the second). Soon after the consensus meeting of the ISC, a final ranking will be made public and all the candidates will be notified by email and surface mail, with an evaluation summary report. Throughout the selection project, the Equality, Inclusion and Sustainability Opportunities Plan will be followed and specific attention will also be brought to candidates, who would like to start a career in research after having been active in a different domain/sector following a master degree. All the rules of the European Charter for Researchers and of Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (OJ L 75, 22.3.2005) will be followed.

The 12 selected Doctoral Fellows will be recruited in each one of the implementing partners Universities (UCBL, UGR, TUM, NIC) and enrolled in one of the pertained Doctoral schools, starting in October 1st 2024.
Successful candidates who accept the offer will be required to sign their employment contracts and start their fellowship on the above-stated dates. Therefore they will have to comply to the local regulations for visa and work permit before that day, preferably. The local HR departments will help the DFs with tasks such as contract signing, opening bank accounts, accommodation arrangements, addressing visa-related concerns, managing travel funds for their project and secondments.
The doctoral fellowship consists of 36-months full time contract; the competitive salary includes National Health Insurance and Pension/Retirement Scheme, as well as a minimum of 24 days of paid vacation. Each fellow is entitled of living and mobility allowance. The gross salary will vary depending on the local work and tax regulation, but it will never be less than 2800 EUR/month.
In case the DF has or acquires family obligations during the fellowships (such as maintaining persons linked to them by marriage or equivalent status or dependent children) a family allowance might be allocated, following the local rules and regulations.
All the projects and associated research will be funded by the respective research groups or scientific platforms, who are responsible for supervising the DFs.
The secondment/s foreseen in each project will be funded by the programme, not the fellow.
Net salaries will be calculated upon recruitment phase by HR Units in each country, depending on the personal situation of each fellow and the national regulations on the date of the contract.