INVITE Doctoral Programme at The University of Verona 2018, Italy

INVITE Doctoral Programme at The University of Verona 2018, Italy

The University of Verona is looking for PhD candidates within the EU-funded project INVITE. The call for candidatures is open from 15 January 2018 to 16 April 2018 at 2pm (Central Europe Time).

What is INVITE

INVITE is a doctoral programme of the University of Verona with a strong inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary and international dimension.

The project is co-financed by the European Union within the Horizon 2020 Programme and by the Regione del Veneto. It involves as partner organisations 17 universities and research centres in Europe and beyond, 13 enterprises and organisations from the economic sector, 3 public organisations and 1 network.

The INVITE doctoral programme aims to encourage each student’s intellectual curiosity and support the acquisition of critical thinking skills by training them in the use of innovative theoretical tools and practical methods.

Who can apply

INVITE is open to early-stage researchers from any country and of any nationality who wish to embark on a doctoral programme of the University of Verona. The University of Verona will do all the best to ensure an equal treatment for all candidates.

Eligibility criteria

Few restrictions apply to candidates.

At the date of the call deadline, they must:

• not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Italy for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline;
• hold a Master’s Degree (Master of Science or Master of Arts) or similar degree equivalent to the Italian Laurea Magistrale or Specialistica that, in their country of origin, grants access to PhD programmes;
• not already hold a doctoral degree and must have less than 4 years (full-time equivalent) of research experience.

Candidates with disabilities or specific learning difficulties

The University of Verona will apply specific measures for candidates with disabilities (e.g. blind or deaf candidates, or those suffering from any other relevant disability) and to those with specific learning difficulties (e.g. candidates diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia or dysorthographia).

Such candidates are required to notify their status during the application and should provide the University of Verona with clinical certificates issued by competent healthcare authorities or medical practitioners.

Candidates with refugee or asylum seeker status

INVITE participates in the EU initiative Science4Refugees. The period before refugee status is conferred will not be counted as a ‘period of residence/activity in the country of the beneficiary’ under the mobility rule.

The applicants are expected to submit a proposal within the following research areas:

Arts and Humanities

1. The experience of the Other: the stranger, the foreigner, the different, the outsider, the unknown
   Phd programme in Foreign Literatures, Languages and Linguistics
2. Philosophy and Inclusive Societies: gender and queer studies; cultural studies
   PhD programme in Human Sciences
3. Dante from the Middle Age to the Modern Era
   PhD programme in Philology, Literature, and Performance Studies

Legal and Economic Sciences

1. Economics and Management
   PhD programme in Economics and Management
2. Legal Issues of Data in the Information Society
   PhD programme in European and International Legal Sciences

Health and Life Sciences

1. Genomics, Epidemiology–biostatistics, and Microbiology
   PhD programme in Applied Life and Health Sciences
2. Biochemistry, and Clinical Proteomics and Genomics
   PhD programme in Biomolecular Medicine
3. Cardiovascular Science
   PhD programme in Cardiovascular Sciences
4. Epidemiology, Genetics and Pathophysiology
   PhD programme in Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences
5. Inflammation, Immunity and Cancer
   PhD programme in Inflammation, Immunity and Cancer
6. Neurosciences, Psychological and Psychiatric Sciences, and Movement Sciences
   PhD programme in Neuroscience, Psychological and Psychiatric Sciences, and Movement Sciences

Natural and Engineering Sciences

1. Plant biotechnology
   PhD programme in Biotechnology
2. Medical informatics, Biomedical image processing and Bioinformatics
   PhD programme in Computer Science
3. Nanoscience in translation
   Phd Programme in Nanosciences and Advanced Technologies

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be submitted electronically via the PICA submission system at by the deadline specified. Applications submitted using any other method will not be considered.

Applicants may apply for more than one PhD position. A separate online application form must be completed for each position of interest and submitted along with the necessary documentation for each application.

The following documents must be provided:

• Application form
• ID document
• Detailed CV
• Copy of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificate and transcript of records
• Motivation and cover letter
• Short proposal for a research project within the specified research areas, including an explanation of how the project is interdisciplinary, inter-sectorial and international
• Declaration on place of activity / residence in the last three years
• Diploma Supplement (optional)
• Up to two reference letters by academic professors at the university where the applicants obtained their Master’s degree or by any other legal entity from the academic or non academic sector where the applicants studied or worked (optional).

All documents must be submitted in English. For certificates and other official documents in any other language, a certified English translation of each one must be provided. 

In order to be considered, applications must be:  

• Submitted before the deadline using the PICA submission system 
• Complete (i.e. all the requested documents correctly sent)
• Written in English
• Readable, accessible and printable. 

Applicants are responsible for ensuring they have carried out and followed the full procedure correctly. The University of Verona is not responsible for any late applications due to technical issues or software malfunctions close to the deadline, the overloading of communications and/or application systems, nor for any loss of communication due to incorrect or missing addresses or late notification of a change of address, nor for any possible misunderstandings or problems caused by third parties, fortuitous cases or force majeure. Applications with missing compulsory information and/or attachments shall not be considered. Additional material submitted after the deadline will not be accepted, with the exception of any further documents expressly requested by the PhD Office

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND SELECTION OF APPLICANTS

A specific Evaluation Commission will be established for each PhD programme to assess the applicants. Each Evaluation Commission shall be comprised of:

• Three internal faculty members relevant to the PhD Programme
• One external academic expert
• One professional from non-academic sector

The Evaluation Commission will nominate its own Chairperson and Secretary. The Rector’s Decrees stating the members of the Evaluation Commissions will be published on the INVITE website and the PhD webpage once the selection procedures have been completed.  

STEP 1. Admissibility and eligibility check

Candidates will be checked against the admissibility and eligibility criteria (deadline, submission systems, mobility rule, and correspondence to the definition of “early-stage researcher”). In cases of evident clerical error, the PhD Office may ask the candidate to provide missing information or supporting documents. If the missing information or document would substantially change the candidature, it will not be taken into account.

STEP 2. Evaluation

2a) Preliminary selection: According to the application form, candidates will be assessed on the basis of an evaluation grid. The members of the Evaluation Commissions will draft an Evaluation Report for each application and will meet to assign a final score to each candidate. During this phase, the candidates’ proposals for PhD research projects will also be evaluated and assigned a score. Candidates passing this quality threshold will be invited for interviews.

Criteria for the Preliminary selection	Score	Weight
1. Excellence of the candidate   Coherence and quality of his/her education Experience in research (if any) Quality of scientific outputs (e.g. publications) Any other relevant work experience	Score 1: Range 0-5 Threshold 3/5	50%
2. Excellence of the proposed research project   Coherence of the proposed research project in the advertised research sector Clarity and pertinence of the objectives Soundness of the concept and credibility of the proposed methodology	Score 2: Range 0-5 Threshold 3/5	50%
Total Score (1 + 2)	Threshold 6/10

2b) Interview: The interview (about 30-45 minutes) will determine in detail the quality of the candidate, his/her planned PhD research project and his/her motivation. All interviews will be conducted by videoconference.

Criteria for the Interview	Score	Weight
1. Excellence of the candidate   Coherence and quality of his/her education Experience in research (if any) Quality of scientific outputs (e.g. publications) Any other relevant work experience Knowledge of the subject(s) relevant to the chosen PhD course	Score 1: Range 0-5 Threshold 3/5	40%
2. Excellence of the proposed research project   Clarity and pertinence of the objectives Soundness of the concept and credibility of the proposed methodology	Score 2: Range 0-5 Threshold 3/5	40%
3. Potential of the candidate   Coherence between the candidate’s motivation and career prospects Capacity of the candidate to reach a position of professional maturity at the end of the PhD course Evidence of creative independent thinking and originality	Score 3: Range 0-5 No threshold	20%
Total Score (1 + 2 + 3)	Threshold 6/15

STEP 3. Award decision

Following the evaluation process, if two or more candidates applying for the same PhD position have the same score, the candidate belonging to the less-represented gender (in first instance) or the youngest (in second instance) will be chosen. All candidates will be informed about the outcome of the selection process with an Evaluation Summary Report.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below

 

This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

http://sites.centri.univr.it/invite/the-call/?utm_source=ARMACAD.info&utm_medium=ARMACAD.info