Presentation of the call

NeuroSchool and its PhD program are launching a call for applications for 6-month end-of-PhD funding, open to students enrolled in their 3rd year during the 2020-2021 academic year. A total of 36 months of funding will be distributed among 6 laureates.

The objective of this funding is to allow a student at the end of his/her PhD to finalize his/her research project and the associated publications in order to ensure a necessary background for the pursuit of his/her scientific career.

Among the criteria for evaluating candidates, the PhD program wishes to take into account their attendance and involvement in the PhD program. Indeed, the success and quality of the program depend on the active participation of students in the organization and follow-up of these events. It is therefore important that we recognize their investment and support them in this process of personal and collective training.

Eligibility criteria

• Applicant profile: PhD student at AMU – Students enrolled in their 3rd year at the time of application
• Host laboratory: associated with AMU
• Mandatory registration to an AMU Doctoral School for a 4th PhD year for the 2021/2022 academic year if the defense takes place after 31/12/2021
• Enrollment in the NeuroSchool PhD Program before 2021

Documents to be provided

Documents to be provided in the form of a single PDF file named “yourname_EndPhD.pdf”:

1. CV of the applicant (1-page maximum) detailing his/her academic and professional background (academic education, mobility, research internship, conferences…)
2. A document entitled “Report, justification and timetable” that will summarize in ENGLISH the results of previous PhD years, justify the request for additional months, show the feasibility and detail the calendar for the end of the PhD. This document should clearly show how the additional months of PhD funding will allow the candidate to make significant progress in his/her PhD.
   Recommendations for the “Report, justification and timetable ” document to be provided (csi: maximum characters, spaces included) :
   – PhD project title and name(s) of PhD supervisor(s) and type of PhD scholarship
   – Did you apply for a 4th year PhD scholarship at another organization? If so, which one and when are the results expected? If not, explain why not. Did you ask for and/or obtain a funding extension in the context of the current pandemic?
   – PhD project description and progress report (2000 csi)
   – Publications: detail the number of the PhD publications and their status (how advanced they are : data missing, submitted, under review?), and the attended meetings, with posters and oral presentations (1000 csi)
   – Justification of the 6 additional months: How will 6 additional months significantly change the PhD outcome?  (2000 csi)
   – Feasibility, including work program for the 6 months. Specify timetable and expected results. (2000 csi)
   – Longer-term professional project  (500 csi)
3. The report(s) from the PhD Advisory Board (“rapport(s) du comité de suivi de thèse”)

Parts 1 & 3 can be in French or English, Part 2 must be written in English.

Detailed opinions:

Please have the following persons send their detailed opinion (=recommendation letter) of the candidate (1000 csi) directly by email to neuroschool-phd-program-direction@univ-amu.fr :

• PhD supervisor(s)*
• External member of the PhD Advisory Board*
• Laboratory head

* In addition to recommendations, please indicate one of the following opinions: Unfavourable / Favourable / Very favourable.

Submission procedures

• Your application (a unique PDF document named “YourFamilyName_endphd.pdf” must be submitted via the form below.
• PhD supervisors, external members of the PhD monitoring committee and laboratory directors are requested to send their opinions by email before the application deadline.
• Deadline for application: Thursday, May 20th, 2021, at midnight.
• The jury will deliberate in June 2021.

Rating criteria (total /20)

• CV, PhD research project and research progress (3/20)
• Justification of the additional 6 months (3/20)
• Feasibility and detailed planning of the additional 6 months (5/20)
• Report of the PhD monitoring committee + letter from the committee’s external reviewer (rapporteur) + consideration by the PhD student of any recommendations made by the committee (3/20)
• Involvement in the PhD program since the beginning of the PhD (6/20)

It should be noted that the evaluations by the PhD supervisor(s) and the laboratory directors are important and help to shed light on the elements of the file provided by the candidates.

Funding

• Employer: AMU (A*MIDEX funding)
• Duration of the funding: 6 months, non-renewable. The fellowship will not continue beyond the PhD defense date.
• Type of contract: full-time fixed-term contract (“contrat à durée déterminée”, CDD
• Monthly gross salary: 1,771.36€ (net salary around 1,424 €, subject to contribution rate changes.)
• Start of the contract: from the end date of the 3rd year of the PhD
• After the PhD program selection, the laureates must provide an attestation from the Doctoral School stating that it validates his/her registration in the 4th PhD year before the funding can be granted.

Results

Laureates:

Name: AZILINON Mikhael
Lab(s): CRMBM / INS
Supervisors: Maxime GUYE & Viktor JIRSA
Number of months: 6 months

Name: DROUILLAS Benoît
Lab(s): INT
Supervisors: Frédéric BROCARD
Number of months: 6 months

Name: MONTENAY Jean-Yves
Lab(s): LNC
Supervisors: Etienne SAVE & Vincent HOK
Number of months: 6 months

Name: POITREAU Julien
Lab(s): LNC
Supervisors: Francesca SARGOLINI & Boris BURLE
Number of months: 6 months

Name: BINGHAM Dominic
Lab(s): INP
Supervisors: Christophe LETERRIER & Marie-Jeanne PAPANDREOU
Number of months: 6 months

Name: BECKER Yannick
Lab(s): LPC / INT
Supervisors: Adrien MERGUERDITCHIAN & Olivier COULON
Number of months: 3 months (+ 3 months from his supervisor)

Name: FALQUE Marie
Lab(s): IBDM
Supervisors: Pascale DURBEC
Number of months: 6 months

Name: MERCIER Océane
Lab(s): IBDM
Supervisors: Myriam CAYRE
Number of months: 3 months