The Programme
The Programme in a nutshell
Collaborative Projects
What is a bottom-up project?
Plan Your Bottom-Up Project within one of the Focus Areas
Timeline for selection process
Finances
Ethical issues
The Programme in a Nutshell
Successful applications propose bottom-up collaborative research projects with one of the EuroTech Universities as main host and a second EuroTech University as co-host, fitting the applicants’ own original research ideas. Whereas a host and a co-host is mandatory, additional collaboration with a third partner institution from the non-academic or industrial sector is encouraged. Collaboration can be implemented by virtual means, short visits or research stays of up to 6 months.
For detailed description of research options within the focus areas please visit the research web-sites of the EuroTech Universities.
NEW: Following the accession of École Polytechnique Paris – L’X the EuroTech Universities Alliance on 7th of June 2018, l’X will be integrated as co-hosting institution for the EuroTech Postdoc Call of 2019.
The second call, awarding 40 fellowships, will open on 30 November 2018. The deadline for submission of applications is 28 February 2019 5:00 MET. Applications must be submitted via the dedicated online-application platform (opens 30 November 2018). Only applications that meet the Eligibility Criteria will be considered.
The EuroTech Universities fully acknowledge the importance of equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, religion or ethnicity.
Collaborative projects
Projects funded by EuroTechPostdoc must be collaborative projects involving at least 2 EuroTech Universities. This has to be considered in the planning of an application as the collaboration has to be pre-arranged.
The purpose of the collaboration is to enhance scientific skills, interdisciplinarity, and transnational mobility of the
researchers. The fellows will develop mandatory collaborative projects across scientific and national borders through secondments and other formats for academic and intersectoral collaboration, like short visits, field research, virtual tools (web conferences) with another participating university.
What is a bottom-up project
A bottom-up project is based on an idea derived from the fellow/fellowship applicant within any scientific field.
All MSCA projects are idea-driven and have a bottom-up approach. This means that the idea for the project was thought up by the applicant to the fellowship, not by the potential host/supervisor of the fellow. This also means, that the bottom-up project is an independent research project within a department/group. It cannot be a set of tasks or a deliverable in a larger existing project.
Please also note the research project must consist of original text that has been written by the applicant himself/herself. Suspected cases of plagiarism will be analysed.
Plan your bottom-up project within one of the focus areas
The focus areas
The EuroTech Postdoc Programme covers five research focus areas, representing collaborative strengths of the EuroTech Universities Alliance.
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Health & Bio-Engineering |
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Data Science & Engineering |
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High Performance Computing |
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Smart & Urban Mobility |
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Entrepreneurship & Innovation |
The focus areas cover research within all fields of research present at the 4 technical universities, DTU, EPFL, TU/e and TUM, including chemistry, economic sciences, environmental and geosciences, information science and engineering, life sciences, mathematics, physics, social sciences and humanities. Each area is a fast developing socially relevant research and innovation field, with high importance to Europe’s industrial leadership, offering the fellows attractive and appropriate research and training possibilities to boost their future careers. The areas address great societal challenges, all requiring a multi and interdisciplinary approach.
Timeline for selection process
The EuroTechPostdoc programme will launch two calls; first call in November 2017 (first call deadline: 28th February 2018) and the second call in November 2018 (second call deadline: 28th February 2019). Forty (40) fellowships will be granted for each call.
Finances
Programme funding:
The EuroTech Universities Alliance have received financial support from the MSCA COFUND scheme to start a communal co-funded postdoc programme, the EurotechPostdoc Programme
Living allowances/salaries
In accordance with the MSCA COFUND scheme, the salary of the hired postdoctoral fellow must be completed by the host university. For detailed information or when in doubt, please always contact the local programme management.
DTU: the local programme management office pays the remainder of the living allowance up to a set salary level. If the host department pays the fellow more than set
salary level, the department will have to cover the additional costs. Contact local programme manager Stine Work Brodersen, oerste
dpostdoc@adm.dtu.dk for any questions.
If your department is to host a fellow, the PMO will contact you and will provide more DTU-specific information.
EPFL: The host laboratory is responsible for co-funding the salary of the hired fellow according to EPFL rules for postdoctoral researchers. Salaries depend on the 
researcher’s experience and include social security benefits: AVS [pension funds], AC [unemployment insurance], accident insurance, pregnancy and parental benefits. Please, contact Human Resources of the hosting research department for more information.
TU/e: The local programme management office pays the remainder of the living allowance up to a set salary level. The fellow will be employed according to the Dutch
Collective Labour Agreement for Universities. TU/e offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday and end-of-year bonuses.
The hosting or co-hosting department covers all research costs incl. use of infrastructure and materials. The hosting or co-hosting department covers all project related travel costs, e.g. to conferences, research stays or field trips. Private travel expenses are to be held by the fellow.
TUM: The local programme management office pays the remainder of the living allowance up to a set salary level. The fellow will be employed according to the German 
Agreement for Universities.
The hosting or co-hosting department or chair covers all research costs incl. use of infrastructure and materials. The hosting or co-hosting department or chair covers all project related travel costs, e.g. to conferences, research stays or field trips. Private travel expenses are to be held by the fellow.
Living allowances during research stays/secondments
The hosting department is to pay living allowances during research stays and/or secondments. The co-hosting institute will cover research costs during the secondment.
If the fellow has a secondment in industry, and the company in question offers to pay the salary for the secondment period, the host university can extend the fellowship with the same period as the secondment.
Research costs
The hosting or co-hosting department covers all research costs incl. use of infrastructure and materials.
Travel
The hosting or co-hosting department covers all project related travel costs, e.g. to conferences, research stays or field trips.
Private travel expenses, including moving from home country to host country, are to be held by the fellow.
Ethical issues
Proposals selected for funding, and where the applicant, host or external reviewers have declared ethical issues, need approval by the ethics commissions of the respective participant universities. The ethical policy of EuroTechPostdoc is compliant with the “Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union” and the relevant ethics rules of H2020. If feasible, applicants should request the necessary authorizations from the concerned authorities in parallel to the evaluation of the proposal. Copies of the authorizations/notifications should be submitted to the PMO before the start of the project.
Link to Annex 3: Ethics Self-Assessment
