PhD scholarship call 2020 - FAQ

Throughout the last days, several questions have reached us via various channels that may be of interest for both candidates and supervisors. Below a list of those frequently asked questions:

What are the first steps for candidates?

(1) Have an idea for a research question with relation to the seven advanced materials topics. (2) Identify a possible supervisor. (3) Draft a short proposal of max. 300 words and send it, together with a CV, to a possible supervisor. (4) In case the supervisor agrees, you together develop the proposal further and shape it for submission (max. 500 words)

How, when and by whom are the proposals evaluated?

The evaluation has several layers. First, the supervisor needs to accept a candidate and together discuss and guide the procedure towards the official application. Second, a committee checks how many short proposals have been received by April and, in case this number exceeds the available slots, may ask supervisors who guide more than one proposal to select one of them to go further with and develop a full proposal. At the final stage, the evaluation committee will check all remaining proposals and invite candidates for interviews in May. Of them 9 will be selected for funding.

What characterizes an interdisciplinary proposal?

An interdisciplinary proposal makes use of at least two different branches of science under the umbrella of Advanced Materials. This might be e.g. physcis and chemistry, pharmacy and engineering or experimental and theoretical approaches.

How many applications may I support as supervisor?

In principle, teams of supervisors may nominate at most 2 candidates. Due to the large number of possible teams under FSE Advanced Materials we suggest that individual supervisors do not exceed to support 2 applications as main applicant and 2-3 as co-applicant.

A team of supervisors may consist of two supervisors (but should not involve more than three) from at least two different disciplines as stated above. In case you want to structurally involve more PIs please refer to them as 2 main applicants and x collaborators.

What are the additional costs for the research group ?

Costs other than scholarship and training budget have to be carried by the research groups of the 2 supervisors guiding the student. Depending on the activities carried out this might range between 10-15 k€/year.

What are the admissions requirements? (Available for supervisors through myuniversity)

Via the intranet you can access the admissions requirements and latest PhD regulations.