Call for Applications for Assignment of n. 6 Postdoctoral Research Fellowships SeedTalent @UNITUS Grants

The General Director

(in compliance with art.22, Law 240/2010 and following changes)

CONSIDERING Law no. 168, 09 May 1989;

CONSIDERING Law no. 241, 07 August 1991;

CONSIDERING Legislative Decrees no. 196, 2003 and no. 51, 18 May 2018;

CONSIDERING Law no. 240, 30 December 2010, article 22, paragraph 4, letter a);

CONSIDERING Legislative Decree no. 333, 14 March 2013;

CONSIDERING the Decree of the President of the Republic no. 445, 28 December 2000;

CONSIDERING the Statute of The University of Tuscia;

CONSIDERING the internal regulation for the awarding of research grants;

CONSIDERING the “SeedTalent@UNITUS Grants” Initiative for talent valorization and attraction of talented young researchers, confirming the University's commitment to promoting impact research, strengthening its attractiveness for talented researchers and renewing its support for those interested in applying for the "Starting Grants" research grants awarded by the European Research Council (CER) or Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) "Postdoctoral Fellowships", both under the "Excellent Science" pillar of Horizon Europe with the University of Tuscia as a host institution;

HEREBY DECREES THE FOLLOWING:

Art. 1 – DESCRIPTION

The University of Tuscia has launched a selection procedure based on qualification of applicants and on interview feedback for the recruitment of n. 6 postdoctoral research fellows that cover all fields of research in the three European Research Council (ERC) domains: Physical Sciences and Engineering (PE), Life Sciences (LS), and Social Sciences and Humanities (SH).

Art. 2 – REQUIREMENTS OF THE APPLICANTS AND INCOMPATIBILITIES

All those who have earned a PhD, or equivalent degree earned abroad, for a maximun of 5 years at the time of the deadline for applications.

Applicants holding a PhD degree earned abroad must enclose with the application form in English translation of the degree along with a self-declaration of conformity of the translation with the original.

Applicants must present IELTS exam certification (scores of 7.0 or higher with individual section scores e.g. reading, writing, listening and speaking) of at least 7.0 as well as TOEFL (with a minimum score of 90 points) for English by the date of the interview.

The ownership of the fellowship is not compatible with enrollment in bachelor's, master's or single-cyle master's degree courses, PhD courses with scholarship, and specialization schools in Italy or abroad. The ownership of the fellowship is also incompatible with enrollment in another school or course that provides for compulsory attendance, unless otherwise motivated by the scientific coordinator and the hosting department.

Art. 3 – DOCUMENTATION AND FORMALISATION OF THE APPLICATION

Applicants must fill in the application form attached to this call. The application form must be peremptorily completed and sent by September 07, 2022, by certified e-mail to the address: protocollo@pec.unitus.it, or sent by registered mail with return receipt addressed to: University of Tuscia – Director General – Via Santa Maria in Gradi n. 4, 01100 Viterbo. 

Otherwise, the application will be considered inadmissible. For shipping via registered mail, the date stamp of the accepting post office will be considered valid.

In the subject of the PEC mail or of the envelope of the letter it is compulsory to indicate: "SeedTalent call application 2022".

All documents must be digitally signed or alternatively printed, signed, and scanned together with a photocopy of a valid identity document of the applicant. The timely submission of the application is the responsibility of the sender who will have the "Delivery" receipt of the certified email as proof of successful delivery.

The application must be submitted through the attached application form (Annex 1) together with the following documents:

• research proposal referring to a field of research among those covered by this call for applications according to the attached scheme (Annex 2);
• cover letter that describes the applicant’s expectations as well as their research results achieved, and includes contact information for three referees who can provide judgment upon the applicant’s experience, qualities, and skills (Annex 3);
• self-certification pursuant to article 46 of the D.P.R. 445/00 relating to academic qualifications possessed: PhD/specialization degree, date, and place of achievement;
• self-certification pursuant to article 46 of the D.P.R. 445/00 of any postgraduate specialization diplomas and relative marks with date and place of achievement;
• list of scientific publications published with all the information necessary for their correct identification; Publications must be provided in pdf format or made available by indicating a corresponding URL for their access;
• self-certification pursuant to article 46 of the D.P.R. 445/00 relating to scholarships and/or research contracts, certificates of attendance at postgraduate courses, research activities in Italy and/or abroad, fellowships, scientific-professional contracts and assignments, participation in scientific conferences, and patents;
• PhD thesis in pdf format or made available by indicating a URL for its access; in addition, the applicant must include a summary of the thesis. The document, maximum 5 pages, must include a cover with the name and surname of the PhD grantee, title of the thesis, academic year, date and outcome, and supervisor(s). The summary must be elaborated in the English language;
• other duly documented qualifications;
• curriculum vitae et studiorum certifying one's scientific and professional activity drawn up according to the attached scheme (Annex 4);
• three reference letters drawn up as per the attached model (Annex 5); It is recommended to pay particular attention to the selection of referees who are among the professors, employers, collaborators with whom the candidate has developed his/her academic path and enriched his/her curriculum;
• copy of a valid identity document;
• in the case of a foreign degree, attach translation and self-declaration.

The Administration reserves the right to request applicants to produce full documentation of the publications indicated in the list and any other attachments included in the application.

In compliance with the transparency obligations pursuant to Legislative Decree 14/03/2013 n. 33 this competition announcement will be published on the following link:

http://193.205.144.19/amm/bandi/concorsi/assegni%5Fdi%5Fricerca/Ateneo/2021.

The minutes of the selection committee will also be published on the same link.

Art. 4 – EVALUATION OF APPLICANTS

Application forms will be assessed by a selection committee appointed by the Director General, and composed of a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9 members, representative of all ERC research domains.

For the evaluation of applicants, the committee can allocate a maximum of 100 points for each candidate, of which 35 are allocated for the qualifications of the scientific-professional curriculum, 25 for the research proposal, and the remaining 40 for the interview. Within such limits, the committee proceeds first to divide the total points among specific criteria.

For the definition of the evaluation criteria the committee could consider the following qualifications:

• demonstrated commitment to make a difference and ability to work both independently and in a highly collaborative team environment;
• demonstrated ability to interact effectively with technical and scientific staff;
• demonstrated ingenuity in dealing with complex problems;
• demonstrated strength and efficiency in technical writing;
• excellent oral and written science communication, and interpersonal skills, and a strong work ethic;
• demonstrated productivity and independent thinking;
• demonstrated commitment to a career in research.

Evaluation criteria for research proposals could be the following:

• timeliness and relevance of the research project;
• originality and feasibility of the proposal, inter/multidisciplinary aspects, innovative aspects and adequacy of the state of the art.

The evaluation of qualifications and research proposal precedes the interviews and the results will be made known to the applicants by publication on our website via this link:

http://193.205.144.19/amm/bandi/concorsi/assegni%5Fdi%5Fricerca/Ateneo/2022

The date and place of the interviews will be communicated to the applicants at least 15 days in advance, by publication on the website mentioned above with reference to the subject concerned.

Applicants who earn more than 30 points in the qualifications and research proposal evaluation are admitted to the interview.

The interview aims to assess the contents of the proposed research and the applicant’s scientific productivity as well as skills, attitudes, and competences. The committee can score from 0 to 40 and the interview is considered passed if the applicant earns at least 21 out of 40 available points. For applicants living outside Italy, we aim to hold a virtual admission interview following established standards and procedures in order to verify the identity of individuals. The person (applicant) must provide original documents (not copies) to prove their identity.

In case two or more applicants have equal ranking scores, the tie for their ranking position will be resolved in favour of the applicant with the best research proposal evaluation score. If the best research proposal evaluation scores are also equal, then the fellowship will be awarded to the youngest candidate.

Art. 5 – CONCESSION

The Administration will notify the six winners of the fellowship by registered mail using the address indicated in the application form or by certified email.

The applicant will be required to send the requested declarations of acceptance to the Administration within ten days of the receipt of the notification and will subsequently be required to enter into a contract pursuant to art. 7 of the call for applications.

The fellowship cannot be supplemented with funding from other awards or other types of financial aid, except for those established for integration of stays abroad, neither with other collaboration contracts nor with income from freelance activities carried out continuously. Extra-university activities as speaker in seminars, conferences, or publishing activities and limited activity of self-employed work are compatible with the fellowship in agreement with the Scientific Coordinator and with the authorization of the Department Council

Key areas of responsibilities of the postdoctoral research awardees are the following:

• work independently on research tasks with limited oversight by Scientific Coordinator;
• participate in the development of goals for the research project and in the planning of laboratory work;
• contribute to progress reports;
• supervise, train, and collaborate with graduate students and other members of the research laboratory;
• effectively communicate scientific data, present at Scientific Conferences and Meetings, and publish in peer-reviewed, high-impact journals;
• present results in departmental seminars;
• carry out the research activity of the proposed project under the supervision of a Scientific Coordinator chosen by the Rector.

Art. 6 – REMUNERATION

The yearly gross amount of the fellowship will be 25.000,00 Euro. The amount includes expenses for industrial accident insurance and public liability insurance as well as social security contributions required by law to be paid by the University. The amount is paid in monthly postponed installments.

Art. 7 – ACCEPTANCE AND CONTRACT SIGNATURE

Declarations and certifications of acceptance must be sent by registered mail with the receiver's signed receipt attached (the stamp and date of the post office will be considered for verification purposes) within ten days from the communication date or sent to the address protocollo@pec.unitus.it or brought directly to the appropriate office.

The winners will be asked to sign the contract and agree to collaborate on a defined collaborative research project, which will start from the first day of the month following the signature, unless a justified request of exception by the applicant has been formulated in agreement with the Scientific Coordinator and the hosting department, and the request should not exceed 90 days.

For non-EU citizens, the fellowship will start after obtaining the appropriate visa and the actual beginning of the research activity.

Art. 8 – OBLIGATIONS OF THE BENEFICIARIES AND CANCELLATION OF THE CONTRACT

If the contract is not signed within the established deadline or if the applicant has not been formally awarded the PhD degree within the stipulation date of the individual contract, the winner shall lose every right to make use of the fellowship.

Art. 9 – REFERENCE RULES

The information provided here is a summary of the main rules and requirements for ‘SeedTalent’ @ UNITUS Grants postdoctoral fellowships and who can apply for them. 

Art. 10 – PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

The University of Tuscia will commit itself to respect the terms of confidentiality of the information provided by the applicant as “all provided information will be handled confidentially for the purposes of this selection procedure only”.

Art. 11 – QUESTIONS

Please contact us at ricerca@unitus.it.

The General Director

Avv. Alessandra Moscatelli