Eurotech Postdoc Programme: Universities pool their strengths for young scientists
TUM coordinates new EU-funded program for postdocs
Starting in November, promising young scientists from all over the world who have just completed a doctorate will be eligible for a two-year fellowship in the Eurotech Postdoc Programme which includes studying at two or more of the alliance’s partner universities: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) in Copenhagen, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), and theTechnical University of Munich.
“Through the postdoc program, we offer outstanding young pioneers of science the opportunity to profit from the excellent research conditions and individual advantages of EuroTech universities in four countries,” says Prof. Thomas Hofmann, , TUM's Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation.
With the new program, TUM further extends its program to recruit and support young international talent, which has been one of the focus areas of the university’s successful bid in the German Excellence Initiative in 2012.
The program was presented at the EuroTech Alliance's annual “High Level Event” in Brussels and is jointly funded by the Alliance and the European Union. The EU funding is provided under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND program.
Five research areas
Candidates can apply for any of five interdisciplinary fields: Health & Bio Engineering, Smart & Urban Mobility, Data Science & Engineering, High Performance Computing or Entrepreneurship & Innovation. They choose one EuroTech university as the host university, and a second as a co-host for research stays as a part of the postdoc tandem project, in order to make optimal use of the research infrastructures of at least two European top universities.
“At the core of the program lies an interdisciplinary culture of cross-border cooperation that we want to provide young academics with as an asset for their future scientific careers,” explains Vice President Hofmann. The universities, too, will benefit from this, as they will form stronger networks and complement each other as a result of such programs – just as effective approaches to societal challenges demand.
Cooperations with companies
Participants will also be strongly encouraged to look beyond the world of academic research. For example, through the many entrepreneurship opportunities and innovation-ecosystems of Eindhoven, Lausanne, Copenhagen, and Munich. The program will serve as a launch pad for start-ups and support postdocs in marketing new ideas and inventions by founding their own companies or making them accessible to the public through cooperations with private-sector partners.