Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EURIdoc (Eucor Upper Rhine Immunology doctoral programme)
Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31
The primary goal of EURIdoc – the Eucor Upper Rhine Immunology doctoral programme – is to enhance early stage researchers’ career perspectives and employability by offering an excellent PhD programme, ensuring a high standard of research training offered the EURIdoc fellows, and a high standard of career guidance and training, including supervision arrangements and training in transferable skills. It is an interdisciplinary doctoral programme in the Upper Rhine region and includes 28 doctoral positions for young scientists from all over the world. The programme is run and coordinated by Eucor – The European Campus. The doctoral research is carried out at the EURIdoc partner institutions: University of Basel, Switzerland; Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany; University of Strasbourg, France; Freiburg University Hospital, Germany. The scientific orientation of EURIdoc is based on the immunological foci that exist in Basel, Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Strasbourg. The core topics of EURIdoc are haematopoiesis and development of the immune system, innate and adaptive immunity as well as immune-related diseases.
Since the EURIdoc project commenced on 1 September 2021, its implementation continues as planned. The management structures are in place with a Coordination Team, including representatives of the five partner institutions and the EURIdoc PhD fellows, carry responsibility for programme management decisions. Through the Partnership Agreement, the commitment of the partner institutions is secured. It reinforces their commitment to the Grant Agreement and regulates financial arrangements. It also regulates data protection and intellectual property issues relevant to the EURIdoc programme. EURIdoc has completed work packages 2 (evaluation and selection) and 3 (dissemination of the call) successfully, meeting all milestones on time. After recruiting 28 candidates for all EURIdoc PhD positions initially, withdrawals and transfers means that, currently, EURIdoc has 26 doctoral fellows. All recruits have been ensured a four-year period to complete their PhD. They have been employed under full-time contracts ensuring employment conditions and social security benefits equivalent to their counterparts in the employing institutions. The partner institutions, doctoral schools of the four universities, and the URI-Group (Upper Rhine Immunology Group) support the training and career development programme. They offer training in core and advanced scientific skills, transferable skills, project management and leadership as well as public awareness training. From this broad palette of training courses, EURIdoc fellows can select those relevant to their personal career development goals, while also meeting the university course requirements. Further, almost all research projects have submitted updated ethical descriptions and confirmed they hold the necessary ethical approvals.
The emphasis of the EURIdoc programme is on both basic research and work on applications. In the long term, these may lead to new drugs, vaccines or therapies, for example for cancer, viral or autoimmune diseases. The project also focuses on the most urgent immunological problem of our time, SARS-CoV-2, and plans to develop new therapies for Covid-19. Beyond the university sector, the doctoral candidates will also work with four clinics and ten industrial partners. They will have the opportunity to spend research periods in leading pharmaceutical companies as well as in small and medium-sized companies.