MSCA COFUND Doctoral Fellowship - Biomedical Technologies and Innovation (BIOTIN) Open Call Announcement

Biomedical Technologies and Innovation (BIOTIN) Doctoral Programme 

BIOTIN doctoral programme features an international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach to provide 10 doctoral candidates (DCs) a unique blend of research training skills in the convergence of life sciences, engineering, and computational & data science, and entrepreneurship skills, with the aim of advancing innovation in biomedical research and education. 

The programme will be a unique educational experience immersing DCs in courses and trainings on entrepreneurship at the early stages of their curriculum, and on data science and computing, in addition to classical biomedical sciences and engineering courses. 

Research Fields

The BIOTIN programme has defined 20 PhD thesis projects that applicants can choose from in three intertwined themes of biomedical research: (1) drug discovery and development, (2) diagnosis and (3) tissue engineering and artificial organs. 

Host recruiting institutions

BIOTIN is coordinated by Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) in collaboration with two partner organisations: Boğaziçi University (BOUN) and Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG). IZTECH, IBG and BOUN are located in two major cities of Türkiye, İzmir and İstanbul and all will be recruiting DCs.

İzmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) https://en.iyte.edu.tr/

Boğaziçi University (BOUN) https://www.boun.edu.tr/

İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center  https://www.ibg.edu.tr/

In addition to the host recruiting institutions, a total of 29 associated partner organizations, including 18 academic and 11 non-academic organizations, most of them in Europe and the United States, will contribute to the programme. List of all associated partner organizations can be found at https://biotinhub.com 

How to apply?

All applications must be submitted using the online portal at https://biotinhub.com 

When to apply?

Call Opening: 13 February 2023

Application Deadline: 31 March 2023, 17:00 CET

The successful applicants will begin their doctoral programme at the start of the academic year 2023-2024, i.e. October 2023. 

Eligibility

Citizens of all nationalities can apply as long as they satisfy the following eligibility conditions:

1. Mobility rule: At the time of the deadline for submission of applications, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Türkiye for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.
2. Master’s degree: Eligible candidates must be, at the time of recruitment, in possession of a master degree or equivalent degree (certificate available at the time of application) in one of the following areas: Engineering, Natural Sciences (i.e. chemistry, physics, biology, maths), Medicine, Data Science or closely related fields.
3. Early-stage researcher status: At the call deadline, applicants must not be in possession of a doctoral degree. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
4. English language: The candidate must have an excellent proficiency of the English language according to the TOEFL (iBT) test or alternative tests PTE, YDS, e-YDS, YOKDIL, CPE or CAE (received within 5 years if the validity period is not specified on the document). The score should satisfy the following criteria: TOEFL/IBT ≥ 84 (received within 2 years), PTE≥ 71, YDS/e-YDS/YOKDIL≥70, CPE≥C or CAE≥B. AApplicants who have completed their degree in a program conducted fully in English must provide a certificate/letter from university that awarded undergraduate or postgraduate degree stating that the degree of the candidate (obtained within 3 years) is conducted fully in English. 
   Applicants who cannot provide any of the English proficiency documents stated above by the application deadline are still eligible to apply, however those applicants, if they are accepted to BIOTIN program, must submit their English proficiency document before the registration deadline to the PhD program.The successful applicants who cannot provide the English proficiency document before the registration deadline will be dismissed from BIOTIN program. Applicants, whose mother language is English will not be required to provide English proficiency document.
5. GRE score: Applicants are required to have at least 158 pts from GRE quantitative (received within 5 years). Applicants who cannot provide a valid GRE score document by the application deadline are still eligible to apply, however those applicants, if they are accepted to BIOTIN program, must submit their GRE score document (≥158) before the registration deadline to the PhD program. The successful applicants who cannot provide the GRE score document before the registration deadline will be dismissed from BIOTIN program

Selection Procedure

1^st step: Eligibility check of applications.
2^nd step: Applicants will be ranked on the basis of their academic excellence, extra-curriculum skills, research capability and motivation by the External Expert-Review Panel.
3^rd step: The 30 best-ranked applicants will be invited for online interviews.
4^th step: A 30’ online interview will be conducted.
5^th step: Top 10 applicants will be assigned to one of their top five project choices, with priority given to applicants with higher marks. 

Employment Conditions

Full time contract (48 months)

Living and mobility allowance: gross salary of €2.800/month for 48 months; covering DCs’ all expenses linked to their living and mobility (i.e. income tax, social security coverage including benefits for health care, occupational accident, unemployment and disablement benefits, paid parental and sick leave as well as relocation and travel expenses). Please note that all these expenses based on Turkish income and social security laws can reach up to 50% of total gross salary depending on cumulative income in related year. Compared to many European countries, cost of living in Türkiye is very affordable, as estimated monthly costs are around 1500€ for a family of four including the rental fee of a 3-bedroom flat. Please check application guide for details of Turkish tax system, net salary calculation and living conditions in Türkiye.

Family allowance: €50/month for 48 months for BIOTIN DCs with family obligations at the time of recruitment.

Research, training and networking allowance: DCs will receive additional financial support to cover research related costs such as laboratory analyses and consumables. The funding will be managed by the project management team in coordination with project supervisors.

Special needs allowance: BIOTIN will provide additional support for researchers with disabilities to ensure necessary assistance by third persons or for adapting their work environment. 

Secondments

BIOTIN DCs have to engage in at least one research secondment for 6 months at an international academic institution, and at least one short-visit or training at an industry partner among the associated partner organizations of BIOTIN. The list of associated partner organizations involved in BIOTIN programme can be found at http://www.biotinhub.com. 

Discover more on the BIOTIN webpage: https://biotinhub.com