Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VIP-2 (Vienna International Postdoctoral Program)
Período documentado: 2020-01-01 hasta 2022-12-31
The VBC International Postdoctoral Program (VIP2) sets new standards in postdoctoral training in the Life Sciences by providing talented young scientists with outstanding support to conduct ambitious research projects in an international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral environment. The program fosters scientific independence, encourages ground-breaking, career-making projects, and enables fellows to establish valuable contacts to academic and non-academic sectors.
The Vienna BioCenter (VBC) has a 38-year history of scientific excellence and training. Four academic institutes (IMP, IMBA, GMI, Max Perutz Labs) form the basis of this program. They are devoted to research in all areas of life science. Research topics range from structural biology to organismal biology, from gene expression to neurobiology, from microbiology to molecular medicine which encompass the full range of model systems from microbes, stem cells, plants, invertebrates to vertebrates. Together with 39 biotech companies, the VBC is Austria’s largest life sciences research center and a stellar example of an interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral campus.
VIP2 offers 3-year postdoctoral fellowships to candidates with backgrounds in biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, engineering, mathematics and computer science. The recruitment is a bottom-up procedure where fellows select two mentors and conceive a research project that forms the basis for the application. VIP2 fosters scientific independence by selecting projects that have the potential to develop into distinct research lines and by providing fellows with access to outstanding scientific core facilities. VIP2 fellows are mentored through a structured program that trains fellows for skills required to attain high-level positions in academic and/or private sectors. Finally, fellows can obtain direct insight into non-academic sectors through a secondment and are supported by an external advisory board with members from various non-academic sectors.
The Vienna BioCenter (VBC) has a 38-year history of scientific excellence and training. Four academic institutes (IMP, IMBA, GMI, Max Perutz Labs) form the basis of this program. They are devoted to research in all areas of life science. Research topics range from structural biology to organismal biology, from gene expression to neurobiology, from microbiology to molecular medicine which encompass the full range of model systems from microbes, stem cells, plants, invertebrates to vertebrates. Together with 39 biotech companies, the VBC is Austria’s largest life sciences research center and a stellar example of an interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral campus.
VIP2 offers 3-year postdoctoral fellowships to candidates with backgrounds in biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, engineering, mathematics and computer science. The recruitment is a bottom-up procedure where fellows select two mentors and conceive a research project that forms the basis for the application. VIP2 fosters scientific independence by selecting projects that have the potential to develop into distinct research lines and by providing fellows with access to outstanding scientific core facilities. VIP2 fellows are mentored through a structured program that trains fellows for skills required to attain high-level positions in academic and/or private sectors. Finally, fellows can obtain direct insight into non-academic sectors through a secondment and are supported by an external advisory board with members from various non-academic sectors.
Through 4 competitive international calls in this reporting period (2020 – 2022), VIP2 has recruited more than 50 highly talented young scientists to the VBC from 19 different countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. It provides the fellows with prime research conditions, two-mentor supervising scheme, secondment opportunities as well as a comprehensive training and career development program both in research-related areas as well as non-research oriented transferrable skill sets. The VIP2 fellows have been evolving as the driving force for many cutting-edge research projects at the VBC, several of which have led to key publications in the peer-reviewed journals with major impact on the research fields.
The VIP2 program is the first VBC campus-wide, structured postdoctoral program. With its exposure to a highly interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral campus, an extensive training program, unique features such as two-mentor scheme and secondment opportunities, VIP2 sets the new standard for postdoctoral education on the VBC campus and beyond. As such, VIP2 not only enhances individual fellows’ competence and competitiveness, broadens their scientific vision and expands their career choices, but also greatly enhances the interdisciplinary connections among the research groups, institutes and companies on our campus.
VIP2 will have an immediate impact on the broader scientific community at the VBC, as all aspects of the training program (except for secondments) are available for all other postdoctoral fellows and interested PhD students. It therefore holds clear promise to more effectively train the next generation of young scientists, strongly enhance VBC’s and Vienna’s reputation as a top life science center in Europe and develop future leaders in the life sciences both in Europe and the world.
VIP2 strongly promotes ambitious, ground-breaking research projects. The outcome of the research holds great potential to benefit and transform society in areas including health, environment and nutrition.
VIP2 will have an immediate impact on the broader scientific community at the VBC, as all aspects of the training program (except for secondments) are available for all other postdoctoral fellows and interested PhD students. It therefore holds clear promise to more effectively train the next generation of young scientists, strongly enhance VBC’s and Vienna’s reputation as a top life science center in Europe and develop future leaders in the life sciences both in Europe and the world.
VIP2 strongly promotes ambitious, ground-breaking research projects. The outcome of the research holds great potential to benefit and transform society in areas including health, environment and nutrition.