Please read the following information carefully. Please also read the NEWAVE’s document Guide for Applicants, and the European Commission’s Information note for Marie Curie Fellows in Innovative Training Networks (ITNs).

In case of further doubts, we strongly recommend you to contact your National Contact point for the Innovative Training Networks. The network of National Contact Points (NCPs) is the main structure to provide guidance, practical information and assistance on all aspects of participation in Horizon 2020. Please visit the Funding and tender opportunities portal for the list of NCPs.

1. Deadline Extension and new timeline for recruitment

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is largely affecting mobility worldwide and triggering changes in lifestyles of the affected countries. These challenges have implications on NEWAVE project planning, including limited mobility of fellows and project’s staff, and their participation in meetings and other events. NEWAVE Management Team has carefully evaluated the situation considering the advice given by the EU Research Executive Agency (REA), overseeing the project, as well as the national authorities of involved countries, and other international organisations (EU, WHO).

To adapt to this situation the NEWAVE Network Management Committee has decided to extend the call for applications for selected positions, and has revised the selection procedure dates to guarantee a more suitable implementation of the activities. We hope that this measure will allow candidates that had difficulties to submit their application or did not make it in time to express their interest. 

New recruitment timeline:
The new deadline for application is 24 May 2020. Candidates will be informed if they have been shortlisted in the week of 8 June 2020.

We will inform all non-selected candidates in due course. Please wait until further notice.

Online interviews will be held in the period 11 June to 1 July. Shortlisted candidates are asked to be available for the interview during that time period. Offers to the selected candidates will be sent by mid-July. Selected candidates will join NEWAVE Network and start before 15 October 2020.

2. Resubmit / edit your files

For the candidates that have already submitted their application: the submitted files are well received and will be duly considered and reviewed by the selection committee after the new submission deadline. If you wish to improve your proposal or edit your files, you can resubmit your application following the standard procedure via the application form. The last application received is the one that will be considered in the selection.  

3. Eligibility Criteria

In order to be selected for the NEWAVE ESR/PHD positions you need to respect clear EU eligibility criteria:

• You can be of any nationality and there is no age limit.
• You must be early-stage researchers (ESR): at the date of recruitment you must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience*) of your research career and have not been awarded a doctoral degree. 
  
  The four years timespan relates to time spent doing research.  As such you would need to be able to demonstrate how much time you have spent doing research since you completed the degree that would enable you to undertake a PhD. If the accumulated time equates to four years full time, then you would not be eligible.
  
  If you have not obtained the degree that entitles you to embark on a doctorate (master or similar), you can still apply provided that you will meet the requirements before the date of recruitment. Please consider bureaucratic times too, such as the time needed to apply for VISA in case you would need it.

*Full-time equivalent research experience is measured from the date when you obtained the degree entitling you to embark on a doctorate (either in the country in which the degree was obtained, or in the country in which you are recruited), even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged. You may therefore be required to provide documentation proving your eligibility for recruitment.

• You must comply with the mobility rules, which stipulates that “researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date*”. Note that the mobility rule applies only to the host organisation (first recruitment) within the project, and not to other organisations to which you might spend time for secondment or at which you may subsequently also be recruited. You can refer to the list of host institution per each PhD project here. In this case, the geographical focus will have no influence on the mobility rule. Finally, the mobility rule is related to your residence or main activity and not to your nationality.
  
  This means that you cannot apply for a position at a host university that is located in the country where you have lived more than 12 months in total, in the 3 years before the actual start of the appointment. If you have lived in such country intermittently within the 3 years, you would need to sum up these periods. You can state your whereabouts in the online application form.

*Date of recruitment means the first day of employment of the researcher for the purposes of the action (i.e. the starting date indicated in the employment contract/equivalent direct contract). Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.

• As you are invited to apply for three positions please be sure that you meet the mobility rules for all the positions you are applying for.

4. Request to check your eligibility criteria

Our team is currently receiving a large number of emails, and will be unable to respond to all the queries about individual’s compliance with eligibility criteria. We will not be able to conduct a preliminary check of your eligibility or give advice on the matter and we strongly encourage you to carefully read the above (point 1. Eligibility criteria) and the European Commission’s Information note for ITNs Fellows. If your doubts remain, you might want to check the ITNs portal and the Frequently Asked Questions section, or contact the responsible agency (your National Contact Point for Maria Curie Innovative Training Networks). You are welcome to submit your application even if you have doubts regarding your eligibility. The recruiting team will carry out repeated checks to verify your eligibility, and it will get in contact with you if additional documents are required.

5. Application procedure

Please note that only applications received via the online application form and meeting the deadline will be considered. If you wish to edit your application, please proceed with resubmitting your files. The last received application will be the one we will consider. Our team is currently receiving a large number of queries, and will not respond to emails containing CVs, motivation letters, and descriptions of interest. We encourage you to submit your interest via the online application procedure. Please note that the deadline for submission has been extended to 5 April 2020.

6. Additional information on PhD projects and process of selection

NEWAVE operates in an open, transparent, impartial, equitable, merit-based and internationally comparable way, meaning that the same information on the research projects is given to each individual applicant. Our management team will be unable to provide further information on the PhD research projects. You may contact the supervisors, but please bear in mind that no meetings in person or via Skype can be planned other than the ones that will be organised for the interviews of shortlisted candidates.

The selection process is outlined in the published Guide for Applicants, please read the document carefully. Please also note that the deadline for submission has been extended to 5 April 2020.

7. Additional information on Proposal Submission

Research proposal recommendations (3 pages excluding references):

Your research proposal should comprise a detailed outline of your proposed research, written in English. The coordination team and recruitment panel have decided to not include specific instructions on how to structure the proposal as this will be used to evaluate the candidate's skills and fit. This will be assessed for evidence that you have a sound research approach with clear operational research questions, you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your methodology is solid. The research proposal should address the questions of:

• what you plan to accomplish in order to fulfill the ESR position objectives (see the research project you are submitting the proposal for),
• why you want to and,
• how you are going to do it.

The proposal will also be assessed to determine that you have the capacity for sustained and intense work and the feasibility of successfully completing the project in the time available for the program (three years). Please make sure you follow academic guidelines for drafting your proposal.

8. VISA requirements

Applicants can be of any nationality. However, VISA requirements may apply for certain countries and host organization. Before applying, please check the VISA requirements on the websites of the host institutions you are applying to. You would need to be eligible to work in the country of your supervisors and co-supervisors’ organisations. If you are selected you will work with the host institution to arrange your VISA status. Please keep in mind that your VISA requirements must be satisfied in time to allow the host organization to recruit you before October 1, 2020, at the latest.

9. Salary conditions

Selected candidates will have a fulltime employment contract for the duration of 36 months. Selected candidates will receive a salary in accordance with the MSCA regulations for Early Stage Researchers. The basic gross salary (living allowance) is €3,270 per month (€39,240/year). A correction factor will be applied per country (please check the H2020 Work Programme, pg. 94, Table 2, to know the country correction coefficients); therefore, the exact gross salary will be confirmed upon appointment. Please consider that the net salary will be lower than the amount mentioned due to taxes, social benefit premiums etc. The salary (Living allowance, mobility allowance, family allowance) is defined by the EU. In addition to the living allowance, selected candidates will benefit from a mobility allowance of €600 per month, and a family allowance of €500* . All details of financial aspects can be found in the H2020 Programme – Guide for Applicants (pg. 27-29).

* Family allowance will be paid should the researcher have family, regardless of whether the family will move with the researcher or not. In this context, family is defined as persons linked to the researcher by (i) marriage, or (ii) a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the national or relevant regional legislation of the country where this relationship was formalised; or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained by the researcher. The family status of a researcher will be determined at the date of their (first) recruitment in the action and will not evolve during the action lifetime.

10. Expression of interest

If you have sent us an email via the contact form, stating your interest in NEWAVE, we warmly thank you for this. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria to apply to one of the available PhD positions, please note that there will be future opportunities for engagement in training and networking events. We invite you to check our website regularly, and subscribe to the newsletter and our social media accounts to receive updates and information on our activities and recruitment. Our team is currently receiving a large number of queries, and will be unable to respond to individual expression of interest outside the purpose of the ongoing ESR/PhD recruitment.