EMJD: Integration and functioning of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate programme, incl. partnership composition

EMAP 2 - Training seminar for future Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate consortia

Integration and functioning of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate

programme, incl. partnership composition Maaike Leusden - Schokker

VU University Medical Center Amsterdam - Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam

Contents

Setting up an EMJD: • Development Joint PhD • Basic information ENC Network • Added value Joint Doctorate programme • Organization chart - Organizational structure

Going through cycles: • Project definition - Project proposal • Selection of projects by Board of Education • Recruitment / admission (Eligibility rules – admission / selection criteria - online

application form) • Project – student selection planning • Promotion of PhD vacancies

• Student selection procedure • Ranking sheet applicants

Guiding the students: • Preparation contracts final selection students • Personal Training Plan • Annual meeting

• Research cooperation and / or educational cooperation as core of the Joint Doctorate programme?

• Survey students

Contents







• Survey students

*

• 2009 ENI Net (www.eni-net.org)

• 4 home institutes (Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Göttingen,

Coimbra) + Zürich

• Initiative at organizing PhD training and funding at EU level:

− excellent scientific track records − joint and high impact publications

− creating a large network (of > 2000 scientists)

− joint PhD professional training networks

• Focus on ‘Brain Disease Mechanisms’

Development Joint PhD

http://www.eni-net.org/



• 2009-2010 Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate programme

awarded

• Coordinator VU University Medical Center – Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam

• Partners:

− Bordeaux Neuroscience – Université Bordeaux Segalen

− European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen − Neuroscience Center Zürich

− Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Coimbra

• Type of cooperation: consortium

• Type of degree: Joint or Double degree

• Length of programme: 5 cyles of 4 years each (75% funded

by Erasmus Mundus)

Basic information ENC Network

Institutes / Academics / Students

• career prospects: EMJD candidates get to know 5 research

institutes of the consortium > post doc postitions

• career development will be monitored after graduation >

eye on output programme:

− competitiveness

− International mobility

Added value Joint Doctorate programme

Organization chart

Director

Senior Advisory

Board

Ombuds man

Board 9

fellows

PhD Project

Y

PhD Project Y + 1

PhD Project Y + 2

PhD Project Y + n

PhD Project

X

PhD Project X + 1

PhD Project X + 2

PhD Project X + n

PhD Project

Z

PhD Project Z + 1

PhD Project Z + 2

PhD Project Z + n

ENC Management Team

Administrative Official

Supervisors PhD students

Board of Education



Responsibilities coordinator:

• coordination

• administration

• all agreements (partners / students)

• communication (via e-mail / videoconference / meetings):

− Board of Education

− Management team

− Erasmus Mundus Agency

− Principle Investigators (PhD supervisors)

− PhD students

• responsible for budget

− distribution

− yearly financial overview (from partners)

Organizational structure

Contents







• Survey students

Project definition

Project proposal

Content to be filled in: (max 4 pages total)

• project title

• home institute • principle investigator

• exchange / guest institute (1/2)

• co-principle investigator

• executive summary

• information on research approach including collaboration

plan

• mobility plan

• consent on financial matching (4th year)

• short CV of PI, including 3-5 key publications

• contact data of PI’s

• signatures PI’s

Selection of projects by Board of Education

• All projects ranked by the BoE:

(4 = excellent; 3 = good; 2 = OK; 1 = unclear)

− executive Summary

− originality

− rationale for collaboration

− quality of CV PI

• Final selection by BoE

via videoconference

• Project published on websites /

vacancy sites

Recruitment / admission

Recruitment / admission – Eligibility rules

• Background in the field of experimental or preclinical

Neurosciences.

• Applicants with background in related fields including:

− biomedical sciences, − biological psychology,

− genetics,

− medicine,

− biophysics,

− bioinformatics and/or artificial intelligence will also be considered.

• Important eligibility criteria as mentioned in the Programme

Guide (Version 16/12/2010) of the Erasmus Mundus

Programme: − Category A (non-European)

− Category B (European)

http://www.enc-network.eu/joint-phd-degree/eligibility-rules/

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/programme/programme_guide_en.php

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/programme/programme_guide_en.php










Recruitment / admission – Selection criteria

Students are selected on the basis of four criteria:

• motivation letter

• outstanding study-results (top 10% scores) during their

bachelor and master phase

• certified proof of language test results (i.e. TOEFL or IELTS)

• minimum of 2 written letters of recommendation from

previous or current supervisors;

• a formal interview (and short presentation in person or by Skype) will be included in the selection procedure.

http://www.enc-network.eu/joint-phd-degree/selection-

criteria/

http://www.enc-network.eu/joint-phd-degree/selection-criteria/










online application form 1/2


online application form 2/2

*

Project – student selection planning

• Website ENC Network & Youtube

• Websites partner institutes ENC Network

• Websites projects partner institutes (BrainTrain, Cerebnet etc.)

• Social media:

• EURAXESS Jobs

• Nobel Jobs / Math Jobs

• Study portal /PhD portal

• Fens (Federation of European Neurosciences – www.fens.org)

Promotion of PhD vacancies

http://www.fens.org/

Student selection procedure

• Students fill in application form / upload documents

• Checked by coordinator

• Principle Investigators selected projects via website enter the

uploaded information / documents (secured area)

• PI’s fill in ranking sheet per applicant

• PI’s select most eligible student + 1 reserve student cat. A + B

• Priority list of project-student selection to BoE (by e-mail)

• Final project-student by BoE via videoconference

• Coordinator > fills in

− the Mobility Database Erasmus Mundus − application form

• Applicants need to sign ‘acceptance letter’

Evaluation of candidate:

Evaluation of candidate Outstanding Very Good Good Average Below Average

5 4 3 2 1

Education (25%) 0 0 0 0 0 2

Motivation (12,5%) 0 0 0 0 0 1

References (12,5%) 0 0 0 0 0 1

Total points

(min 16 points)

0

Interview result (50%)

- academic experience

- know-how in the field of the project

- academic potential

0 0 0 0 0 4

Total points

(min 16 points)

0

Additional information on evaluation procedure:

Evaluation of candidate

Education (25 %)

These 3 evaluation points need to have a minimum of 16 points in total in order to be qualified to have an interview with the supervisors Motivation (12,5%)

References (12,5%)

Interview result (50%)

- academic experience

- know-how in the field of the project

- academic potential

Minimum of 16 points

Total 100% A student will considered eligible scoring a minimum of 24 points in the evaluation

Ranking sheet applicants

Contents







• Survey students

• Doctoral Candidate Agreement

• Personal Training Plan

• PI’s need to assist students with: (also available secured

area website ‘partners’)

− employment contract student with home institute

including social security, health insurance, work

accident insurance and the provision of parental leave

(NCA provides for travel insurance via Marsh)

− visa / residence permit non-European students in obtaining their visa and residence permits

− housing/ accomodation

Preparation contracts final selection students

1. title, venue and names supervisors home and host institute of project

2. index, timetable, programme (dates - commencement and review, itemising training content and elements)

(ECTS workload see next page)

3. introduction/definitions (aim and summary of the training plan)

4. agreed activities (courses / key-note lectures and seminars including obligatory annual meeting -5days-)

5. programme content/elements (itemised and presented in logical sequence and in suitably sized elements for

students' learning ability, and reflecting the order of training activities and delivery + ECTS estimation per element

or hours spent on activity)

6. Progress of personal programme (description of progress of personal programme per year and description of

research change in personal training plan if applicable

summarize used methods, techniques, results, skills and/or other outcomes

description of courses/meetings/lectures attended (title, date, venue and ECTS)

changes in research plan

7. Other (to be defined by the supervisor and/or student)

Date: Date:

Name and signature Name and signature

Doctoral Candidate: Principle Investigator:

Personal Training Plan

• Annual (2 day) meeting for PhD students of ENC-Network and meet with

peer groups from other (Marie Curie ITN) consortia (see next slide):

− elevator pitch presentations by all students on day 1 − training in transferable skills (4 sessions)

o how to write high impact scientific papers? o how to deal with intellectual property? o what is the employability of PhD’s? o how to improve presentation and communication skills?

− selection for high profile oral reports on day 2

− poster market and award (with > 50 posters) − joining keynote lectures and meet with senior scientists during day − social get-togethers (intervision) and meet seniors during evening

• Linked to Federation of European Societies for Neuroscience meeting

(Barcelona 14-18 July 2012, 15.000 attendents) > ENC-Network PhD students

are guided in attending lectures and symposia (one week per year)

• ENC-Network PhD students are obliged to attend technical and laboratory

based courses (at least 1 week per year) organized by ENC-Institutes

Annual meeting and ENC-Network training

• Annual ENC meeting together with other (affiliated) consortia:

− BrainTrain (Marie Curie, 17 PhD students)

− Cerebnet (Marie Curie, 12 PhD students)

− SyMBaD (Marie Curie, 23 PhD students) − Twinning / Cum Laude projects (3 PhD students, Bordeaux – Amsterdam)

Annual meeting participation

PhD - students:

• scientific training through performing original research in 2/3 institutes

• ENC Network obligatory tailor-made courses (technical workshops and

training in transferable skills)

• ENC- Annual Meeting linked to FENS meeting (Federation of European

Neurosciences – www.fens.org)

• additional enrolment in (pre-)existing Neurosciences PhD courses throughout

academic year in each partner institute (> 25 different courses published on

website)

• workload of > 350 hours advanced study including:

− weekly seminars in home/host institutes (40 hours per year)

− annual meetings (40 hours per year)

− at least one Advanced Methods Course (40 hours)

− two optional courses (80 hours) – published on website (secured area for

students)

PS - ENC-Network institutes also acquired a Erasmus Mundus Master Program

(Neurasmus) last year; ENC-Network thus offers both MSc and PhD training in an

international context!

Research cooperation and / or educational

cooperation as core of the Joint Doctorate programme?

http://www.fens.org/

• Online survey students after year 1, topics:

− Joint Doctorate Programme

− enrollment / application and administrative

support

− Erasmus Mundus Agency

Survey students

Concluding remarks

Setting up an EMJD: • Opinion leading scientists take the lead

Complement this initiative with good management!

Going through cycles: • Create transparant and professional guidelines and internet

portal / video conferences

Commitment from partner institutes and senior scientists!

Guiding the PhD students: • Communicate and organize meetings and courses

Stimulate and training of international orientation, awareness and mobility!

Thank you for your attention and good luck

Business

EMJD: Integration and functioning of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate programme, incl. partnership composition