ECOsystem approach to SUstainable Management

of the Marine Environment and its living Resources

MARIE CURIE TRAINING SITE

RESEARCH TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EARLY-STAGE RESEARCHERS 2006-2009

HOW DO I APPLY?

CHECKLIST FOR APPLICANTS	FORMAT FOR APPLICATIONS	OVERVIEW OF APPLICATION PROCESS
SELECTION PROCESS

CHECKLIST FOR APPLICANTS

The next deadline will be in early 2009.

Please check that you are eligible to apply for a Marie Curie early-stage training placement.
Identify a project area that is within the general scope of the training site theme OR choose one of the suggested project areas (to be announced July 2007).
Contact possible supervisor(s), referring to the list of staff available at the host institutions. If in doubt about who to contact, write to the Training Site Co-ordinator.
In consultation with the supervisor(s), write a project proposal. The proposal you submit should have been approved by the supervisor(s) before it is submitted and should take into account the number of training months available at each site. Please refer to the table of months available on the "Projects" page.
Submit your application to the Training Site Co-ordinator, preferably by e-mail. The format for applications is described below.
Applications will be reviewed by the Selection Committee within 2-4 weeks of the closing date and you then will be informed of the outcome.

*** When you send any file to us (e.g. your CV or your project proposal), please make sure that the filename includes your name, e.g. CV-Smith.doc or MCProposal-Smith.doc. You may have only one CV but remember that lots of other people are sending in their CVs at the same time!

There may be further closing dates every 6 or 12 months during the next 2 years, depending on the rate of uptake of training places.

FORMAT FOR APPLICATIONS

The application should consist of the following documents in Word or pdf format.

Your Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 sides A4, using text no smaller than Times font size 12 and allowing margins of no less than 2 cm).
A project proposal (maximum 4 sides A4, using text no smaller than Times font size 12 and allowing margins of no less than 2 cm). This should include:
1. The project title, your name, the name of the supervisors and the duration of the proposed project.
2. BACKGROUND - the rationale for the proposed project
3. OBJECTIVES
4. METHODOLOGY, including a timetable for the programme of research
5. EXPECTED RESULTS
6. WIDER VALUE OF THE PROPOSED WORK
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY (if appropriate)
The names and addresses (including e-mail addresses) of two academic referees. You should ask your referees to send us their references by the relevant closing date. [Referees may send signed references by ordinary mail or e-mail. Applicants may include references with their application but we will need to contact your referees to confirm that the references are genuine, so you must provide the contact details for your referees.]

If any part of the application is missing your application may not be evaluated.

OVERVIEW OF APPLICATION PROCESS

Pre-application stage

All applicants for trainee positions will be required to submit an outline research proposal, with a theme related to the overall project theme and an identified supervisor. Prospective applicants may make direct contact with potential supervisors or write to the co-ordinator. The project Scientific Committee will then help to identify possible supervisors. Prospective applicants will then agree an outline research programme with the designated supervisors before proceeding to the application stage. As far as possible, specialised skills training needs will be identified in the proposal. Applications will be evaluated after every closing date.

Selection of applicants

The Scientific Committee will judge all applications, following criteria as described in detail below. They will take into account the quality of the candidate as well as the quality of the proposed research. Programmes involving stays at more than one partner centre will be favoured and the programme of research must be such that there is a reasonable expectation of generating publishable results. The Scientific Committee may suggest or require modifications to the research proposal if some elements are judged to be impractical or inappropriate.

SELECTION OF APPLICANTS

The Selection Committee will judge all applications, following criteria as described below. They will take into account the quality of the candidate as well as the quality of the proposed research. Programmes involving stays at more than one partner centre will be favoured and the programme of research must be such that there is a reasonable expectation of generating publishable results. The Scientific Committee may suggest or require modifications to the research proposal if some elements are judged to be impractical or inappropriate.

The Committee will judge all applications, taking into account:

Fulfilment of eligibility criteria
Presentation of a project already agreed in principle with a supervisor in one of the partner institutions and meeting the broad aims of the ECOSUMMER project. The general theme is an ecosystem-based approach to sustainable exploitation and management of living marine resources. The 1992 Convention on Biological Biodiversity provides the key international framework, defining the ecosystem approach as a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use, where the "ecosystem" refers to the structure, process, functions and interactions among organisms, humans and their environment.
The academic qualifications and scientific potential of the candidate, as based on the Curriculum Vitae and the academic references.
The scientific quality of the proposed research. Original, innovative science will be favoured and the programme of research must be such that there is a reasonable expectation of generating publishable results.
Research involving stays at more than one partner centre will normally be favoured.
For candidates wishing to register for 36 months, the proposed research must normally be considered suitable for a PhD. [Note: as of January 2007, the project has less than 3 years to run and therefore new training periods of of 36 months are no longer possible]

The decision of the Selection Committee will be final.

Project partners all operate a strict, anti-discriminatory, equal opportunities recruitment policy.

Applications will normally be reviewed every six months. If the number of good applicants or training months requested differs from the total allotted for the relevant round of applications, the Selection Committee may decide to make more/fewer awards than planned and, if appropriate, amend the schedule of application rounds.