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International Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme in Plant Sciences, 2014

Applications are invited for Plant Fellows fellowships available for postdoctoral fellows from all over the world. Approx. 69 new fellowships will be awarded which spread between three different schemes (incoming, outgoing and reintegration) and a structured training programme, including workshops, dedicated training in complementary skills and industrial placements. Only experienced researcher can benefit from the Plant Fellows programme. The fellowships must in any case end within the duration of the Plant Fellows programme (February 2016). The Plant Fellows contribution is fixed at 40% of the fellowship costs for eligible researchers. The remaining 60% own contribution has to be provided by the principal investigator.

Study Subject (s): Fellowships are open in all fields of research in plant sciences.
Course Level: Fellowships are available for pursuing postdoctoral research programme.
Scholarship Provider: It is co-funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) Marie Curie Actions – People and Regional, National and International Programmes.
Scholarship can be taken at: Fellowships can be taken at Host Organizations (13 European and 7 international universities and research institutes and 3 industry partners were predefined as host organizations on the basis of their excellence in higher education and plant research).

Eligibility: Plant Fellows is open to applicants from all over the world and all fields of research in plant sciences are eligible.
-Only experienced researcher can benefit from the Plant Fellows programme. Thus the fellow must, at the time of recruitment be in possession of a doctoral degree or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience. Both options need to be verified by certificates, which will be reviewed by the PLANT FELLOWS selection committee.
-At the date for application submission, the applicant must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (e.g. work, studies) in the country of the host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the application submission.
-The transnational mobility shall come under one of the following 3 fellowship schemes, any of which may be intersectorial, between academia and industry or vice versa; but this is a decision driven by the applicant and is not a specific requirement.

Scholarship Open for International Students: Plant Fellows is open to applicants from all over the world.

Scholarship Description: Plant Fellows is a new international post doc fellowship programme in the field of plant sciences co-funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) Marie Curie Actions – People, Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes (COFUND). Plant Fellows is centrally managed at the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center. The Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center is a competence center of three Swiss universities, the University of Zurich, the University of Basel and the ETH Zurich. The University of Zurich will act as the coordinator of Plant Fellows. Professor Ueli Grossniklaus at the University of Zurich is chair of the programme (see contact for further details). Plant Fellows is open to applicants from all over the world. 13 European and 7 international universities and research institutes and 3 industry partners have been predefined as host organizations on the basis of their excellence in higher education and plant research.

Number of award(s): Plant Fellows offers approx. 69 new post doc fellowships spread between three different schemes (incoming, outgoing and reintegration) and a structured training programme, including workshops, dedicated training in complementary skills and industrial placements.

Duration of award(s): Proposed research project shall have duration between 12 and 24 months in order to be eligible for a Plant Fellows fellowship. The fellowships must in any case end within the duration of the Plant Fellows programme (February 2016). All fellow-months outside the project duration have to be paid by the host organisation’s own funds.

What does it cover? The Plant Fellows contribution is fixed at 40% of the fellowship costs for eligible researchers. The remaining 60% own contribution has to be provided by the principal investigator. Along with the living allowance, mobility and travel allowance as well as a research cost contribution will be paid.
-The living allowance including a mobility allowance is based on the prevailing market rates in the host country and shall be used for remuneration of the fellow. It shall include robust social security coverage and social benefits. The living allowance is a contribution to the salary costs of the fellow and is specific to the host organisation.
-The travel allowance covers the fellow’s travel expenses from the place of origin to the host organization. It is based on the direct distance (in a straight line) between the place of the host organization and the place of origin of the fellow. Only one travel allowance shall be paid per period of 12 months.
-The research cost contribution includes costs for consumables and training costs. The calculation of costs for consumables follows the recommendations provided to Marie Curie Individual Fellowships: lab based or non-lab based. The research cost contribution also includes a yearly rate to participate in training activities, conferences etc. that help the future fellow to develop his/her skills and career.

Selection Criteria: The evaluation process will take place within a maximum period of 3 months after closing the respective call. The week after the application submission deadline, the members of the Programme Office will undertake an eligibility check. After that, the eligible applications will be sent to two independent scientific experts of either panel: Molecular Biology or panel: Ecology. The scientific experts will mark and rank the application by awarding points on the basis of Relevance, Research & Innovation Quality, Feasibility and Exploitability.

How to Apply: The applicant prepares the application for a PLANT FELLOWS post doc fellowship using the templates and the online application form. The applicant selects the host organisation and is free to contact the envisaged principal investigator prior application submission. The principal investigator is a professor or a group leader from one of the listed host organisations. The application shall be written in English and includes:
-Applicant CV
-Personal motivation letter describing the reason why the applicant is
-interested in the programme
-Research proposal (including a funding request and a section on ethical aspects)
-Personal Development Plan
-Two letters of recommendation

Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadline is 31st March 2014.

Further Official Scholarship Information and Application