The International Doctoral Programme ‘Discovering treatment from biomedical research’ (DISCOVER) 8 fully-funded PhD positions at Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen Application deadline November 1, 2021

Updated: over 2 years ago
Deadline: 01 Nov 2021

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The International Doctoral Programme ‘Discovering treatment from biomedical research’ (DISCOVER)

8 fully-funded PhD positions at Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen

Application deadline November 1, 2021

Are you:

  • Scientifically curious and determined to go for a PhD degree?
  • Eager to understand why diseases arise and how new treatments can be developed?
  • Driven to strengthen your scientific creativity and independent thinking?

8 PhD positions are open at BRIC, University of Copenhagen (UCPH) for talented young researchers who want to pursue a PhD degree in biomedical research. The scheme is co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101034291.

Why apply?

DISCOVER offers young researchers a unique opportunity to join an international and interdisciplinary PhD program within biomedicine. DISCOVER offers research training in an international and modern research environment at the university (main research supervision) and formalized collaboration with one of the neirboring hospitals (clinical co-supervision). The training programme seek to empower all students to fully exploit the potential of their talent. The aim is to nurture scientific creativity and translational abilities, and to provide the groundwork for a career track in academia, the hospital sector or industry. The programme further seek to empower a new generation of responsible reseachers with focus on reducing the environmental footprints of research.

About the programme

DISCOVER will in total recruit 24 fellows over three calls during 2021-2023. The programme offers 36-months fully funded fellowships, attractive employment and salary conditions with enrolment as PhD-student at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH. Each PhD student will work with an original biomedical research project in one of BRIC’s laboratories. Clinical co-supervision and collaboration will be part of each project to develop the translational potential of the project. An individual career development plan containing research and transferable courses, international research visits, mentoring and career activities, is a central element ensuring career progress throughout the training. Please visit www.discover.ku.dk for more information on the program.

About BRIC

BRIC is a top research centre and our researchers have made seminal contributions in the field of epigenetics, cancer biology, stem cell biology, neurobiology and bioinformatics. The centre is located in modern buildings with state-of-the art facilities and counts 300 employees and more than 60% international researchers. The daily language is English. The centre has an open and collaborative scientific environment with a focus on equality and inclusiveness. A student association offers network and social activities. BRIC is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The faculty’s Graduate School has 1600 PhD students, enrolled into 22 specialized PhD programs. The DISCOVER fellows will be enrolled into the programme Molecular Mechanisms of Disease (MoMeD), coordinated by BRIC. Please vist www.bric.ku.dk for more information on centre.

Candidate eligibility

The programme is open for motivated researchers with a Master degree and maximum three years of experience since issuing of the degree at the time of application. Applicants with an MD can have up to five years of experience. Prolonged career breaks are taken into account upon docuentation (parental leave, illness, military- or civil service). As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment in Denmark, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database . Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. Also, mobility is required and applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activities (work, study etc.) for more than 12 months in Denmark in the 3 years immediately prior to the call deadline. Also, applicants may not have been employed at UCPH more than three months prior to the application deadline.

Key selection criteria

The selection process includes these steps of evaluation: eligibility check, evaluation of application material, interview with selection committee and match making with applicant and potential hosts. The selection will be merit-based, using weighed criteria in three defined areas: Education and track record, Scientific potential and Motivation.

Application procedure

Deadline for application is November  1st 2021. The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below. The application must include the following: 

  • Motivation letter (Cover Letter)
  • CV  
  • Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database . Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.  
  • Eligibility declearation
  • Documentation of English test
  • List of 2-3 referees
  • Documentation for career breaks (if any)
  • Other relevant information for consideration

Please carefully read the detailed description of eligibility criteria and requirements of the application in the Applicant’s Guide found at www.discover.ku.dk . Receipts of the applications will be acknowledged, and the applicant will be kept continuously informed of the progress of the application. 

Timeline of call

  • Opening of call: September 1st, 2021.
  • Application deadline: November 1st, 2021
  • Evaluation and selection of candidates: Nov-Dec 2021.
  • Online interviews beginning of January 2022 (week 1-2) 
  • Site visit to BRIC week 6)
  • Answers to applicants: End February 2022 (week 8).
  • Time for employment: April 1st, 2022 (three months as research assistant) and July 1st, 2022 (36 months as PhD student).

Contact

For more information about the process, guidelines or the application system, please contact DISCOVER Programme manager:

Jette Gjerke Hemmingsen

[email protected]

Formalities

Application deadline: All applications, in English, must be received Novmeber st 2021. A full set of application material including use of mandatory DISCOVER templates must be submitted. Applications not containing all required documents will not be processed.

Terms of employment  and salary

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions offer attractive salary and working conditions. Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State and according to the rules and regulations laid down by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie S. Curie COFUND programme. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around 27,788.70 DKK (ca. 3,736 EUR) plus pension as a PhD fellow.

The appointment as PhD fellow is for 3 years. It is conditioned upon the candidates’ successful enrolment in the Faculty of Health and Medical Scinece’s PhD school. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the candidate and supervisor during an initial short-term employment of 3 months as a research assistant.  

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the University’s rules on achieving the degree.  

The programme is co-founded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodovska_Curie grant agreement No. 101034291 -DISCOVER


Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.



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