Presentation

The Initiative of Excellence of the University of Bordeaux (IdEx Bordeaux) is opening positions for post-doctoral fellows.

High-profile international candidates from any scientific field, holding a doctorate degree delivered by a non-French institution, and wishing to achieve a further step in their career in the outstanding research environment of the University of Bordeaux, are welcome to apply. Candidates promoting an original and innovative research project in one of the scientific priorities of IdEx Bordeaux will be considered with particular attention. These comprise the following domains: materials science, neuroscience, environment and ecosystem, numerical certification and reliability, archaeology, lasers and photonics, global health, translational imaging, cardiology.

Eligibility criteria

The applicants must fulfil the following criteria in order to submit an application for the programme:

• Applicants should hold a doctorate awarded by a non-French institution and be in an incoming mobility situation (not having resided in France for more than 12 months in the last 3 years). Fellows should not have previously held a research position in Bordeaux area.
• The doctoral degree should have been awarded between 4 years before the end of the present call (+1 year per maternity/paternity leave with a maximum of 2 years), and not later than 2 months after the end of the call.
• Applicants must promote their own research project to be carried in the laboratory of their choice for a maximum period of two years.
• Applicants must be supported by a local researcher and by his/her laboratory.

Funding

The  funding  includes  a  maximum  two-year  post-doctoral contract  (one-year  contract  that  may  be renewed), and a contribution to project-related fees (travel, consumables, etc.).

Salary: 2550-2950 gross monthy salary, based on experience.

The evaluation panel members are local and external scientists representing all fields covered by the University of Bordeaux and its partnering institutions. Each project will be peer-reviewed by international scientist on the very precise field of the application and the final ranking decided by the evaluation panel based on such reviews. 

Application

In order to submit your application, please follow these steps:

1. Identify the proper local scientific environment for your project.

As a starting point, applicants must identify the proper local scientific environment in which they can develop their research project, and then obtain the agreement of a local scientist within this environment to act as a “mentor” for their application. The mentor will be the local scientific referee of the postdoctoral fellow and must be part of the permanent research personnel of the selected host laboratory. The role of the mentor is to accompany the recruited fellow in his/her integration into the local scientific environment, notably where available resources, partnerships and instrumentation or professional network building are concerned. Any local scientist is entitled to act as a mentor, and all the  scientific  areas  developed  in  Bordeaux are  open  to  application.  Nevertheless,  candidates promoting an original and innovative research project in one of the scientific priorities of IdEx Bordeaux will be considered with particular attention.

2. Obtain the agreement of a local laboratory.

Once the relevance of the project is settled, applicants will have to obtain the agreement of the selected host laboratory for their application to this fellowship programme. The director of the host laboratory must guarantee that the postdoctoral fellow will be supported throughout the duration of his/her research, in particular as regards infrastructure, equipment and services as necessary for the conduct of the research, and in the administrative management of the project.

3. Prepare your application by downloading Documents A and B from our website.

4. Once all the requested documents are completed, go to the application page and fill the application form.

5. Attach the following documents:

• The evaluation process will involve international reviewers.
• All documents must be written in English
• the Administrative application form, or Document A (in .doc or .docx format);Document A (Administrative application form) and Document B (Project proposal template) are available for download in the documents section. Their use is mandatory. If you experience any problem working with these documents, please contact us.
• the Project proposal, or Document B (in .doc, or .docx format);
• a short CV with a list of a maximum of 3 referees, max. 2 pages (in PDF format);
• a major achievements track-record, max. 2 pages. (list of major publications, patents and other important scientific communications and awards, in PDF format);
• a signet letter of support from the local mentor (in PDF format);
• a signet letter of support from the director of the host laboratory (in PDF format);
• a cover letter (in PDF format);
• signed letters from the referees mentioned in your CV (in PDF format). Referee letters may be sent directly to the address indicated at the end of this document;
• a copy of your PhD certificate.

6. Submit your application online.

If you do not receive a confirmation email for your application within 2 working days, please contact us.

The evaluation is done by a dedicated panel, including external personalities and authoritative researchers from the site.

The  excellence  of  the  fellowship  candidate  is  the  primary  recruitment  criterion.  Nevertheless,  this criterion has to be assessed keeping in mind that the programme is addressing early career development. The other equally important issue addressed by the programme is to ensure smooth integration of the fellow into the proper scientific environment, the second essential criterion for judging merit is thus related  to  the  scientific  project  presented  by  the  candidate,  including  the consistency  between  the proposed activities during the fellowship and the research priorities of the University of Bordeaux, as well as the further career ambition of the candidate: perspectives for teaching in the case of candidates envisaging  an academic  career,  leadership  skill  development  for  candidates  envisaging  a  career  in research team management, etc.

Each  examiner  (within  the  dedicated  panel)  will  be  provided  with  the  same  framework  and  clear instructions for performing the marking:

60% for the excellence of the candidate, evaluated on three criteria:

• Research experience.
• Publications and patents.
• Grants awards and participation on international meetings, congresses, etc.
• Quality of the candidate as assessed by at least 2 referees.

40% for the  research  project and its integration into  the scientific roadmap of  the targeted scientific environment, evaluated on three criteria:

• Scientific/technological quality.
• Structure of the project (precise definition of expected outputs, selected methods, setting of milestones, risk management).
• Feasibility, prospects and strategy for result valorisation (publications, patents, technology transfer, etc.).
• Consistency of the budget with the proposed project.
• Teaching, management and knowledge transfer foreseen in the project.

Important dates

February 2nd 2015: deadline for applications.

February 25th 2015: eligibility evaluation.

May 2015: final results.

From September 2015 to December 31st 2015: beginning of the post-doctoral contracts.