Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PSI-FELLOW-III-3i (International, Interdisciplinary & Intersectoral Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Paul Scherrer Institut)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-09-01 bis 2022-08-31
The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland’s largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences, excels in world-class research on condensed matter, materials sciences, energy, environment and health.
The 60 months PSI-Fellow postdoctoral program at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, see figure) is open to candidates from all over the world and is intended for experienced researchers after their PhD study to further their scientific training in the four broad areas of expertise at the PSI.
In brief, the program strives for transparency in the selection process, merit-based evaluation of applicants by a reviewing panel of internal and international experts and client-friendliness towards applicant researchers. The application process including guidelines is outlined in detail on the PSI-Fellow-III-3i webpage (http://www.psi.ch/psi-fellow(öffnet in neuem Fenster)).
The overall objective of the programme is to boost the fellows’ careers by:
- Providing an interdisciplinary research environment
- Access to a unique combination of complex large-scale research facilities, leading to world-class research and high impact publications
- Broad training opportunities in transferable skills and career development support through individual mentoring schemes
- Access to a strong inter-sectoral and academic network
- Access to a very inspiring international environment with staff from more than 60 nations
This programme trains the next generation of researchers specialised in tapping the full potential of large-scale research facilities and able to stimulate innovation in Europe's industries through forward-looking research and cutting-edge technology that is uniquely available at PSI. The free choice of research topics within the existing wide range of research themes of PSI fosters new ideas and facilitates innovation.
The 60 months PSI-Fellow postdoctoral program at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, see figure) is open to candidates from all over the world and is intended for experienced researchers after their PhD study to further their scientific training in the four broad areas of expertise at the PSI.
In brief, the program strives for transparency in the selection process, merit-based evaluation of applicants by a reviewing panel of internal and international experts and client-friendliness towards applicant researchers. The application process including guidelines is outlined in detail on the PSI-Fellow-III-3i webpage (http://www.psi.ch/psi-fellow(öffnet in neuem Fenster)).
The overall objective of the programme is to boost the fellows’ careers by:
- Providing an interdisciplinary research environment
- Access to a unique combination of complex large-scale research facilities, leading to world-class research and high impact publications
- Broad training opportunities in transferable skills and career development support through individual mentoring schemes
- Access to a strong inter-sectoral and academic network
- Access to a very inspiring international environment with staff from more than 60 nations
This programme trains the next generation of researchers specialised in tapping the full potential of large-scale research facilities and able to stimulate innovation in Europe's industries through forward-looking research and cutting-edge technology that is uniquely available at PSI. The free choice of research topics within the existing wide range of research themes of PSI fosters new ideas and facilitates innovation.
In the first periodic report phase, the programme tasks could be fully achieved. The first call covered by the reporting period (1st of September 2020 to 30th of November 2020) has been published on time and the selection could be accomplished within the planned time frame. External reviewers and the PSI internal research commission have performed the selection of the candidates. The quality of the submitted written applications was high, thus 67 out of 70 eligible candidates have bee retained for interviews. 31 of these candidates have been recommended for funding. A distribution of the successful candidates shows the following numbers (in brackets) per PSI division: Biology and Chemistry (2), General Energy Research (4), Nuclear Energy and Safety (3), Neutrons and Muons (8), Photon Science (14).
The PSI-Fellow programme is managed by a dedicated programme management unit at the PSI who is not only responsible for quality management of the program, but also delivers on administrative capacities needed for the execution of the programme. The programme management unit is also supported by an Advisory Board Committee with expert members that provide advice on various activities of the programme. The integration of the postdoctoral researchers in a research group and laboratory as well as in the PSI-FELLOW program is an important objective to be coordinated by the management team. At the kick-off meetings, the fellows were informed about the concept of the program and about the available resources and training opportunities.
The fellows benefited from a broad range of training and educational opportunities. The educational programme offered a set of mandatory and free selectable courses. Beside attending our transferable skill trainings (17 courses), the fellows have shown great interest in increasing their scientific and technical skills by attending scientific schools, workshops or equivalent trainings. In order to maximise the benefit for the Fellows and offer the widest possible range of research topics, PSI has teamed up with 46 partner organisations (34 research institutions and 12 companies). The unique setup of PSI-FELLOW-III-3i will allow using synergies with other leading research institutions for the training of the next generation of researchers specialised in tapping the full potential of large-scale research facilities, to transfer knowledge and stimulate innovation in Europe’s industries.
The PSI-Fellow programme is managed by a dedicated programme management unit at the PSI who is not only responsible for quality management of the program, but also delivers on administrative capacities needed for the execution of the programme. The programme management unit is also supported by an Advisory Board Committee with expert members that provide advice on various activities of the programme. The integration of the postdoctoral researchers in a research group and laboratory as well as in the PSI-FELLOW program is an important objective to be coordinated by the management team. At the kick-off meetings, the fellows were informed about the concept of the program and about the available resources and training opportunities.
The fellows benefited from a broad range of training and educational opportunities. The educational programme offered a set of mandatory and free selectable courses. Beside attending our transferable skill trainings (17 courses), the fellows have shown great interest in increasing their scientific and technical skills by attending scientific schools, workshops or equivalent trainings. In order to maximise the benefit for the Fellows and offer the widest possible range of research topics, PSI has teamed up with 46 partner organisations (34 research institutions and 12 companies). The unique setup of PSI-FELLOW-III-3i will allow using synergies with other leading research institutions for the training of the next generation of researchers specialised in tapping the full potential of large-scale research facilities, to transfer knowledge and stimulate innovation in Europe’s industries.
The second call for applications is scheduled for the 1st of September 2022 with deadline for the submission of applications on the 30th of November. We expect to employ at least 30 fellows for the second PSI-FELLOW-III-3i cycle ending on the 30th of September 2025. Our goal is to provide over the coming years a multidisciplinary research environment with the support of high-level scientists to address some of the world's key challenges related to industry, society, economy and environment. We expect that the fellows' research will be disseminated through approx. 1-2 peer reviewed publications per fellow and presented at approx. 150 international conferences.
The offered transferable skill trainings should support the fellows in the combination of their scientific qualifications with managerial skills, which will strengthen their career opportunities in academia or the private sector. PSI-FELLOW contributes to the sustainable scientific excellence of the ERA by enabling of a new generation of highly qualified researchers and efficiently disseminating scientific knowledge.
The offered transferable skill trainings should support the fellows in the combination of their scientific qualifications with managerial skills, which will strengthen their career opportunities in academia or the private sector. PSI-FELLOW contributes to the sustainable scientific excellence of the ERA by enabling of a new generation of highly qualified researchers and efficiently disseminating scientific knowledge.