Call for Doctoral Nexus projects – 2024 campaign

[Call for projects] - Published on December 13, 2023 in Doctoral training and HDR

ExposUM is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners¹ aimed at establishing an open, off-campus institute for research, training, and science-society interaction on the environmental determinants of human health. Winner of the ExcellenceS (PIA4) call for projects and supported by the Occitanie Region, ExposUM is funded to the tune of €46.4 million over the period 2022-2030.

Winners of the 2024 call for projects

Objectives of the call

The training component of the ExposUM Institute aims to:

1. Breaking down barriers in education (interdisciplinarity)
2. Contribute to improving skills
3. Further integrate the link with Southern countries

To this end, several initiatives will be organized, including the funding of doctoral contracts as part of a program that structures them into interdisciplinary networks, hereinafter referred to as Doctoral Nexus.

The Doctoral Nexus are networks of 3 to 4 doctoral students from different disciplines (e.g., social sciences, mathematical modeling, biology) and affiliated with at least two different research units. They will be funded on the basis of:

• a joint research project, established by the principal investigator in collaboration with the thesis supervisors involved, encompassing all disciplines, and aimed at studying one or more aspects of the exposome as defined above,
• an individual, disciplinary thesis topic for each doctoral student involved

Each thesis will be funded from the outset for a period of four years. This additional year is justified by the implementation of specific training activities and the time allocated to interdisciplinarity. The prospect of exchanges between laboratories will be particularly valued.

Doctoral programs atthe ExposUM Institute will be strengthened by the implementation of an additional joint educational program focused on methodology and skills acquisition, particularly in interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, run within the framework of the ExposUM Institute, without replacing the training organized within the framework of doctoral schools. In this context, doctoral students in a network will be tasked, during their third year, with organizing a one-day conference (both scientifically and logistically). They will receive a grant from the Institute to do so.

Calendar

• AAP Doctoral NexusWave 2 Publication: December 15, 2023
• Deadline for receipt of projects: February 4, 2024, 2 p.m. CET
• Announcement of results: second half of February 2024
• Candidate auditions: mid-April 2024
• Start of theses: September-December 2024
  
  

Financing terms and conditions

For the2024 campaign(second wave of this call for proposals), the Institute is offering a maximum of 15 grants (for example, five Nexus projects, each comprising three theses), funded by the ANR and the Occitanie Region.

This funding covers doctoral students' salaries for four years (approximately €167,000) as well asenvironmental costs. These include the costs of additional training provided by the Institute, such as organizing seminars, and operating costs. The distribution of the operating budget within the Nexus is decided by the project leader, who coordinates its distribution within the Nexus, for example €60k for a Nexus of three doctoral students or €80k for a Nexus of four doctoral students (€20k per doctoral student in total).

Eligibility criteria

Please note that failure to comply with these criteria will result in the automatic ineligibility of the application.

• The project must beled bya permanent or contract staff member affiliated with a UR, UMR, or UMI.² that is part of the ExposUM Institute consortium and employed by one of the consortium partners³. The UAR, UExp, UPS, US⁴, in particular, are not eligible to apply for this call for proposals.
• All doctoral students must be enrolled at the University of Montpellier as their primary institution. Therefore, thesis supervisors must be affiliated with one of the UM doctoral schools listed in this call for applications.⁵ AND candidates must be enrolled in a discipline for which a degree can be awarded by UM.
• The project must involve collaboration between at least two different research units (UR, UMR, or UMI from the ExposUM Institute consortium).
• Thesis supervisors must be different for each thesis (in the exceptional case of international joint supervision, identical co-supervision of two theses may be accepted if justified).
• The proposed theses must be of a duration of 4 years.
• Doctoral contracts must begin in September/December 2024; staggered start dates will not be accepted.
•  Each doctoral student's thesis work must be carried out on a full-time basis.
• The project must aim to generate knowledge about the exposome —i.e., any determinant of human health of environmental origin in the broadest sense.

It is possible to apply for this call for proposals at the same time as applying for the Research call for proposals. However, the project must be viable even without obtaining Research funding.

Submission guidelines

The project must be written in French or English based on the simplified file, following the instructions provided therein.

The lead applicant should send the application by email, copying in the unit director and the supervisor of each thesis, with [AAP Doctoral Nexus 2024] in the subject line.

Before February 4, 2024, 2 p.m. CET.

Selection procedure              

Complete applications will be evaluated based on the quality of the scientific project and the individual topics proposed, as well as their relevance to the Institute's priorities and themes (see Selection Criteria). This evaluation will be conducted by a committee composed of the directors of research centers or doctoral schools and representatives of the ExposUM Institute's CoDir or COSS. The applicant is invited to provide a brief justification of the relevance of the proposed Nexus in light of these selection criteria.

The results will be announced in mid-February, in order to allow time for the identification of candidates.

The selected Nexus holders undertake to take all necessary steps to identify candidates to fill the thesis topics that will thus be funded.

The selection of doctoral students will be validated by the doctoral schools and will involve the publication of the proposed topics in advance. The Institute will publicize the thesis topics by sending them to the doctoral schools for publication on their respective websites and on ADUM, as well as by posting them on the Nexus call for proposals page on the UM website. In order to facilitate the identification of candidates, we encourage the thesis supervisors concerned to circulate their thesis project sheets within their usual networks (master's programs, etc.).

Candidates wishing to apply for a topic will be invited to send their application to the relevant Nexus project leader, copying in the ExposUM Institute. Contact details for applications will be specified for each topic.

The supervisors will preselect candidates in consultation with the Nexus thesis supervisors (minimum 2, maximum 4 per subject), who will then be interviewed by a committee made up of representatives from the doctoral schools, which will rank them in mid-April.

Selection criteria

• Clear identification of the field of the exposome explored.
• Original and relevant interdisciplinarity for the subject: as such, the involvement of different doctoral schools within a network will be valued.
• Methodological qualities.
• Potential impacts (both fundamental and applied).
• Feasibility (scientific and financial environment already secured, ensuring the successful completion of the thesis).
• Coordination of individual projects.
• Relevance in light of the strategic priorities of the ExposUM Institute (initiation of new partnerships, One Health approach, Global Health and the South, promotion of the involvement of the Humanities and Social Sciences).

Support system for the integration of humanities and social sciences

If candidates wishing to form a Nexus would like support in integrating the humanities and social sciences into their Nexus, Axis 2 of the ExposUM Institute and its director, Aurélie Binot, offer support/incubation services.

You can request this support by sending an email (subject line: [Nexus SHS]).

Contact

For any information regarding this call for projects, please send an email to (subject line: [Contact Nexus]).

Commitments of the sponsor

The carriers undertake to:

• Organize regular meetings (at least three times a year) with thesis supervisors and doctoral students from Nexus, and provide an annual report on the activities carried out at the Institute.
• Respect, in the design and implementation of the project submitted under this call for proposals, the values and principles of scientific integrity intended to guarantee the honest and scientifically rigorous nature of all research work, as referred to in Article L.211-2 of the Research Code and set out in the National Charter of Ethics for Research Professions and the Charter on Scientific Integrity of the University of Montpellier.
• Comply with the Nagoya Protocol, where applicable.
• Include the logos of the University of Montpellier, France 2030, the ExposUM Institute, the Occitanie Region, and/or the ERDF in all documents relating to the implementation of the project. Specific instructions regarding communication obligations will be provided to project leaders.
• Send to the Institute (rf.re1769592376illep1769592376tnomu1769592376@paa-1769592376musop1769592376xe1769592376), an annual report, and a final report no later than two months after the end of the project (financial statement and summary report), which may be used in the University's communications materials in accordance with a template provided. A project guide detailing management procedures and reporting requirements will be sent to successful applicants.
• Apply the UM publication signature charter in force to all scientific productions; comply with the provisions relating to open science and the Law for a Digital Republic ( open access publication). The heads of UM-supervised laboratories will deposit the full text of publications in the open archive (https://hal.umontpellier.fr).
• Take the necessary steps to obtain the required research authorizations/approvals in regulated sectors (genetically modified organisms, use of animals for scientific purposes, health data, use of genetic resources and sharing of the resulting benefits, bioethics, etc.).

Complete list of research structures that can contribute to the ExposUM Institute⁶ :

ABSYS, AGAP, AIDA, AMAP, ANALYSES, ART-Dev, ASTRE, BC2M, BCM, BioWooEB, BRM, CBGP, CBS, CDE, CEE-M, CEFE, CEMIPAI, CEPEL, CERCOP, ChimEco, CRBM, CREAM, DEFE, DGIMI, DIADE, DiaScope, DMEM, ECO&SOLS, ECOTRON, EDPFM, EDSM, ESPACE-DEV, EuroMov DHM, Forêts et Sociétés, G-EAU, GECO, Génopolys, GM, HortSys, HSM, IATE, IBMM, ICGM, ICSM, IDEDH, IDESP, IEM, IES, IGF, IGH, IGMM, IHD, IHPE, IMAG, IMAGINE, INM, INNOVATION, INTERTRYP, IPSiM, IRCM, IRIM, IRMB, ISDM, ISEM, ITAP, L2C, LBE, LBN, LDP, LEPSE, LICeM, LIRDEF, LIRMM, LISAH, LMGC, LPHI, LSTM, LUPM, Maraîchage, MARBEC, MISTEA, MIVEGEC, MMDN, MoISA, MRE, MRM, MSH Sud, OREME, PCCEI, Pech Rouge, PHIM, PhyMedExp, QualiSud, Recycling and Risk, SantESiH, SELMET, SENS, SPO, Sys2Diag, TETIS, TransVIHMI, Vassal, VBIC

Governance of the ExposUM Institute

Executive Committee (CoDir): Éric Delaporte (director), Aurélie Binot (interfaces), Charlotte Boullé (training), Mircea Sofonea (research).

Operational team: Morgane Cottin, Camille Couralet, Noémie Moret, Elodie Suttling (project manager).

Scientific andStrategic Advisory Board(COSS): Jacques Mercier (chair),Amaria Baghdadli, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Pascal Demoly, Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon, Hélène Fenet, Didier Fontenille, Sylvain Gandon, Julie Pannequin, Denis Pesche, Coumba Toure Kane, Muriel Vayssier-Tarissat, Laurent Visier.

Research Guidance and Evaluation Council Research COER): Manouk Abkarian, Anne-Muriel Arigon, Charlotte Boullé, Anca-Mirela Chiriac, Constance Delaby, Gauthier Dobigny, Elena Gomez, Christelle Gramaglia, Antoine Gross, Alexandre Hobeika, Nadine Laguette, Georges Lutfalla, Antonio Maraver, Anatja Samouelian, Mircea Sofonea (chair), Jérôme Thireau, Annelise Tran.

1. UM, Occitanie Region, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CIRAD, INSERM, Montpellier University Hospital, ICM, Institut Agro Montpellier, ENSCM, Ifremer, INRIA. ↩︎
2. Research Unit, Joint Research Unit, International Joint Unit. ↩︎
3. The applicant must already be an official member of the organization in question—or must become one by October 2024 at the latest—and, in the case of contract staff, their contract with that organization must run until the planned end of the project. The project may have one or more partner organizations. However, only organizations included in the list of eligible organizations in this call for proposals will be eligible to receive funding for the project. ↩︎
4. Research Support Unit, Experimental Unit, Internal Service Unit, Service Unit. ↩︎
5. ED 58 Languages, Literatures, Cultures, Civilizations [LLC]
   ED 60 Territories, Time, Societies, and Development [TTSD]
   ED 166 Information Structures Systems [I2S]
   ED 168 Chemical and Biological Sciences for Health [CBS2]
   ED 231 Economics Management [EDEG]
   ED 459 Balard Chemical Sciences [SCB]
   ED 461 Law and Political Science [DSP]
   ED 463 Human Movement Sciences [SMH]
   ED 584 GAIA (Biodiversity, Agriculture, Food, Environment, Earth, Water) ↩︎
6. As a reminder, only UR, UMR, and UMI may apply for this call for proposals. The UAR, UExp, US, and UPS mentioned in this general list are not eligible for this call. ↩︎

Keywords: call for proposals, Doctorate, ExposUM, Training, Nexus, Research