Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CLEAR-Doc (City Lab Education And Research Doctoral Programme)
Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2024-03-31
With increasing urbanisation, the promotion of resilient, safe and smart cities has become crucial, and the demand for them provides many career opportunities for researchers.
The MSCA-COFUND CLEAR-Doc project aims to attract 30 PhD students from around the world to enhance their research capacity and skills in urban research (connected to un SDG 11).
The project provides trainees with a research environment consisting of 22 laboratories specialised in urban studies, coordinated by the Université Gustave Eiffel.
With two cohorts of 30 ESRs (14 ESRs recruited in 2022 and 16 ESRs recruited in 2023) and with the support of its academic and non-academic partners, CLEAR-Doc aims to make a significant contribution to the training of tomorrow's actors in urban research and innovation.
CLEAR-Doc now offers :
▸ The opportunity to explore tomorrow's urban scientific challenges, involving innovative and disruptive knowledge production that anticipates complex urban metamorphoses and proposes breakthrough solutions.
▸ The multidisciplinary capabilities, complementary skills and environments (academic and applied research, innovation, education) of the funding partners in their respective fields, providing a fully adapted framework to address the challenging topic of the continuous transformation of cities.
The programme has introduced interdisciplinarity and intersectorality from the outset, designing and developing resource-efficient urban spaces, understanding and managing 'urban risks' for safe and resilient cities, and developing the digital city.
It includes mandatory 6-month secondments (with at least 3 months of international mobility) to facilitate their professional integration.
The MSCA-COFUND CLEAR-Doc project aims to attract 30 PhD students from around the world to enhance their research capacity and skills in urban research (connected to un SDG 11).
The project provides trainees with a research environment consisting of 22 laboratories specialised in urban studies, coordinated by the Université Gustave Eiffel.
With two cohorts of 30 ESRs (14 ESRs recruited in 2022 and 16 ESRs recruited in 2023) and with the support of its academic and non-academic partners, CLEAR-Doc aims to make a significant contribution to the training of tomorrow's actors in urban research and innovation.
CLEAR-Doc now offers :
▸ The opportunity to explore tomorrow's urban scientific challenges, involving innovative and disruptive knowledge production that anticipates complex urban metamorphoses and proposes breakthrough solutions.
▸ The multidisciplinary capabilities, complementary skills and environments (academic and applied research, innovation, education) of the funding partners in their respective fields, providing a fully adapted framework to address the challenging topic of the continuous transformation of cities.
The programme has introduced interdisciplinarity and intersectorality from the outset, designing and developing resource-efficient urban spaces, understanding and managing 'urban risks' for safe and resilient cities, and developing the digital city.
It includes mandatory 6-month secondments (with at least 3 months of international mobility) to facilitate their professional integration.
During the first period of the project (04/2022-03/2024), the activities consisted of
1/ Launching 2 annual internal calls for PhD topics among our research teams
2/ Set up a fair, merit-based and transparent selection process for PhD students.
The calls were launched in December 2021 and November 2022 respectively. A total of 120 PhD topics related to SDG 11 were published.
The selection process was divided into three stages:
- Eligibility check
- Selection of candidate files
- Audition of selected candidates
3/ To carry out the selection process, the management team launched an international call for experts. 38 experts were recruited for Call #01 and 22 for Call #02.
4/ At the end of each selection process, the Management Team was able to present a list of 15 candidates on a "main list" and 15 candidates on a "reserve list".
After publication of the results. 15 ESRS were recruited in 2022 (14 ESRS finally signed a contract). 16 ESRS were recruited in 2023.
5/ Within WP3 (Dissemination and Communication), the activities in the first period consisted of the launch of the CLEAR-doc website (https://clear-doc.univ-gustave-eiffel.fr/(opens in new window)) the launch of the video for the call for candidates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpuAqGkRCnM(opens in new window) the publication of the calls for positions on Euraxess, the organisation of all the communication of the calls (website, social media, communication with partners, networks, embassies, etc.) as well as the organisation of the kick-off meeting of each student cohort.
The management team also provided the students with a communication and dissemination guide to support them in their doctoral work.
6/ Within WP4, the activities for the period consisted in setting up the Supervisory Board, supporting the ESRs in developing the first draft of their PCDP, organising the mandatory CLEAr-Doc trainings (Interdisciplinary - Year 1, Project Management - Year 2) and providing the students with a complete guide for additional trainings.
7/ Within WP5, the activities for the first period consisted of setting up the Ethics and Quality board and ensuring that all ethical issues were addressed for each sensitive PhD topic (3 topics for cohort #01 and 2 topics for cohort #02 included ethical issues).
1/ Launching 2 annual internal calls for PhD topics among our research teams
2/ Set up a fair, merit-based and transparent selection process for PhD students.
The calls were launched in December 2021 and November 2022 respectively. A total of 120 PhD topics related to SDG 11 were published.
The selection process was divided into three stages:
- Eligibility check
- Selection of candidate files
- Audition of selected candidates
3/ To carry out the selection process, the management team launched an international call for experts. 38 experts were recruited for Call #01 and 22 for Call #02.
4/ At the end of each selection process, the Management Team was able to present a list of 15 candidates on a "main list" and 15 candidates on a "reserve list".
After publication of the results. 15 ESRS were recruited in 2022 (14 ESRS finally signed a contract). 16 ESRS were recruited in 2023.
5/ Within WP3 (Dissemination and Communication), the activities in the first period consisted of the launch of the CLEAR-doc website (https://clear-doc.univ-gustave-eiffel.fr/(opens in new window)) the launch of the video for the call for candidates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpuAqGkRCnM(opens in new window) the publication of the calls for positions on Euraxess, the organisation of all the communication of the calls (website, social media, communication with partners, networks, embassies, etc.) as well as the organisation of the kick-off meeting of each student cohort.
The management team also provided the students with a communication and dissemination guide to support them in their doctoral work.
6/ Within WP4, the activities for the period consisted in setting up the Supervisory Board, supporting the ESRs in developing the first draft of their PCDP, organising the mandatory CLEAr-Doc trainings (Interdisciplinary - Year 1, Project Management - Year 2) and providing the students with a complete guide for additional trainings.
7/ Within WP5, the activities for the first period consisted of setting up the Ethics and Quality board and ensuring that all ethical issues were addressed for each sensitive PhD topic (3 topics for cohort #01 and 2 topics for cohort #02 included ethical issues).
At university level, the CLEAR-Doc programme was based on an existing procedure for the recruitment, selection, supervision and follow-up of PhD students, as well as on researcher mobility programmes. The former, which had been successfully implemented for many years under the ISO 9001 quality standard, was adapted and improved to meet all the other specific requirements of the COFUND programme.
These CLEAR-Doc procedures for the selection and recruitment of doctoral students will serve to develop the new basis for the recruitment of all doctoral students at the University. The PCDP will also be made available to all PhD students outside the CLEAR-Doc community. It will contribute to the HRS4R application process.
In order to improve the potential and future career prospects of selected researchers, the establishment and updating of the PCDP has been implemented and has been highly appreciated by both ESRs and their supervisors. It is used on a daily basis by students to adapt their training programme and mobility activities. For example, based on their SWOT analysis, some students decide to undertake a non-obligatory secondment in the non-academic sector.
These documents are made available to all doctoral students at the university.
These CLEAR-Doc procedures for the selection and recruitment of doctoral students will serve to develop the new basis for the recruitment of all doctoral students at the University. The PCDP will also be made available to all PhD students outside the CLEAR-Doc community. It will contribute to the HRS4R application process.
In order to improve the potential and future career prospects of selected researchers, the establishment and updating of the PCDP has been implemented and has been highly appreciated by both ESRs and their supervisors. It is used on a daily basis by students to adapt their training programme and mobility activities. For example, based on their SWOT analysis, some students decide to undertake a non-obligatory secondment in the non-academic sector.
These documents are made available to all doctoral students at the university.