Dear applicant,

We are delighted that you consider joining the SUBITOP ETN framework as an Early Stage Research (ESR) fellow. We encourage you to become a member of this family. Please find in the following some general information, intended to guide you through the forest of application criteria, necessary steps, evaluation and assignment layout and the scope of the framework. In case you have any questions unresolved by these guidelines, please do not hesitate to contact the Coordination Team.

As a SUBITOP ESR fellow you will benefit from a wealth of innovative research and training possibilities, in close, international relationship of academia, industry and education. You will have access to profound expertise and experience of state-of-the-art theories, concepts and techniques in Earth Sciences and adjacent fields, such as physics and computation. You will be able to shape your career in academia or industry by being provided with strong organisational, presentation, team-building, networking and management skills, experience of the private sector and professional connections. You will gain essential outreach and communication experience through a dedicated Classroom Partnership programme.

Successful SUBITOP candidates will be employed on full time and fixed term contracts. Full staff benefits include maternity and paternity leave, flexible working hours, annual leave, social security and pension coverage. In addition to the basic salary, successful applicants will receive a monthly mobility allowance (amount depending on personal and family circumstances). The salaries for these posts are set by the regulations governing Marie Curie ITN projects. The gross employers costs take into account differences in living costs and are hence country-dependent. If you are interested in the gross employers costs in an individual ITN SUBITOP partner country look at the 2015 People Work Programme (p.49-53).

Who can apply?

Candidates of any nationality, having a degree of Master of Sciences (M.Sc.) or an equivalent degree, may apply. For your application it is crucial that you meet the eligibility criteria of the European Commission. These include the mobility rule, i.e., at the time of recruitment by the host organisation, you must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of your host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date. Further, you must meet the ESR criteria, i.e., be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of your research career and have not been awarded a doctoral degree.

How to apply?

Application is only possible via the online application form page. All documents should be in English unless specified differently. The online application must be submitted in a single session. Hence, please prepare all required documents and information before filling out the application form. You are invited to browse the forms at any time prior to submitting your application. There is only one trial possible to submit your application.

Note that you are supposed to indicate at least one project of interest but not more than two projects. The order of the indications does matter.

Your are asked to indicate contact details of potential references, that could write a letter of recommendation for you. If your application is shortlisted, we will contact these persons and ask for their support.

Along with the information you enter into the online form you have to upload three pdf documents. All documents together must not exceed a file size of 4 MB. These three documents are your most important items to convince supervisors of your quality and appropriateness for the envisaged project. So it might be helpful to take some time to think how these can be prepared to optimally convey your intended messages.

The documents contain:

  • Letter of motivation (the essence of your application, not more than two pages, please name the files consistently: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_LOM.pdf)
  • Curriculum Vitae (not more than two pages, balance detail and readability, please name the files consistently: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_CV.pdf)
  • Certificates and references (please name the files consistently: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_CERT.pdf)

Finally, you are asked to confirm that your application conforms to the following eligibility criteria and then to submit your application. After successful submission you will be notified immediately by email. In case you do not receive a confirmation email (and you are sure you provided your correct email address and your mailbox is not full and you have checked your spam folder), please contact the Project Manager.

Details on the application documents

Letter of motivation

This letter is the very heart of your application, the document that allows you most freedom and impact. It should describe in a condensed, focused form your scientific career and future plans as well as your motivation for the envisaged project and your interests. When writing your letter of motivation, make sure you address the following questions:

  • What is your fundamental interest in the specific research studies?
  • Which work have you done previously and what are you working on currently?
  • Which skills can you contribute?
  • Which advances do you expect to gain?
  • How does the SUBITO ETN framework align with/support your career goals?
  • What drives the interest in your envisaged host institution(s)?

Curriculum Vitae

The Curriculum vitae should be at most two pages and should give the following information about your:

  • Personal details (full name, address, email, phone number(s) – feel free to add additional information like nationality, date of birth, place of birth, sex, marital status, children, handicaps)
  • Secondary education
  • Vocational training and professional experience after school, if applicable University education
  • Previous experience and training in fields related to the envisaged project
  • Work placements
  • List of Publications / conference abstracts (if any)
  • Experience abroad (studies or work placements)
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Language skills (please use the following gradation):

    • basic command,
    • good command / good working knowledge,
    • very good command,
    • excellent command (highly proficient in speaking and writing),
    • native speaker
    • If you acquired a special certificate in your language training, e.g. the Cambridge Certificate, TOEFL-TEST etc., you should mention that as well, including the score and the year of examination. Remember to include your native language!

  • Special computer skills
  • City, date and signature

Certificates and references

Please provide the following documents as a scan (150 dpi, greyscale) of the original and include an English translation, if necessary. If there is shortage of time the translation may be skipped but will be required during a later step and can also be requested by an ESR supervisor on demand. The required documents for your application are:

  • Secondary school leaving certificate (optional)
  • Certificates of University degrees including transcripts
  • A short (!) abstract of the M.Sc. thesis or equivalent
  • Additional training certificates, if applicable
  • References of work experience, if applicable

General selection process

Your complete application (if in agreement with the eligibility criteria) will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Overall potential as researcher
  • Creativity and innovation ability
  • Level of independence
  • Mobility experience
  • Teaching experience
  • Teamwork ability
  • Management aptitude
  • Availability at intended start date

All eligible applications will be sent to a fellowship-specific recruitment panel, composed of the academic and private sector supervisors of the envisaged project and a randomly selected supervisor of another project in the network. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview (in person or via Skype). Based on all the above criteria, each recruitment panel will propose a ranked list of suitable candidates for the project to the SUBITOP Supervisory Board, which will decide on the offer of the fellowship.