Fully Funded Welcoming International Talent (WIT) PhD Fellowship 2023-24

Scholarship Description:

The Welcoming International Talent (WIT) PhD Fellowship is a fully-funded fellowship program offered by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The program aims to attract talented international students to pursue a PhD degree in the fields of science, engineering, and humanities at the university.

The key advantages of Wit can be summarized as follows:

1. It pioneers innovative research initiatives and offers exceptional scientific education in designated fields, available at either the Public University of Navarre (UPNA) or the University of Navarre (UNAV).

   
   
   



2. It contributes to three critical areas of the Navarra Region's (RIS4) Regional Smart Specialization.

   
   



3. It strengthens transnational mobility for excellent researchers from any country within Europe, working in the RIS4 areas.

   
   



4. It provides a comprehensive, intersectoral experience by creating close partnerships between universities, non-academic organizations, and private companies on both a regional and international level.

   
   



5. It promotes the acquisition of transferable skills by offering additional training, short-term stays, and secondments at external non-academic and academic partner organizations.

   
   
   



6. It facilitates internationalization by providing opportunities for research-oriented training and short-term stays at distinguished research institutions worldwide.

   
   



7. It enhances international networking and regional cooperation between academic and non-academic sectors.

   
   

Overall, the WIT PhD Fellowship offers an excellent opportunity for international students to pursue a PhD degree at a top-ranked university in the Netherlands, with full financial support and access to world-class research facilities and resources.

Degree Level:

Fully Funded Welcoming International Talent (WIT) PhD Fellowship 2023-24 is available to undertake PhD, Fellowship level programs at Welcoming International Talent.

Available Subjects:

Following subject are available to study under this scholarship program.

• All Subjects

Scholarship Benefits:

The successful candidates will be offered the following:

Main package

• Full time contract (up to 36 months, co-funded by MSCA COFUND grant) in the university where the doctoral programme will be done.
• Gross salary (living allowance) of 32.400€ per annum. The salary will be paid by the employer (recruiting universities UPNA, UNAV) and will include (Spanish law) all corresponding benefits such as national social security & health insurance, pension deductions, employee tax and maternity/paternity leave, etc.)
• Relocation expenses (mobility allowance) up to 2.400 €. Each ESR will receive a single payment at the beginning of the fellowship to cover relocation costs according to the average distance between the hosting institution and the ESR’s location.
• Family allowance of 3.600 € per annum for ESRs with family and/or dependent. Researchers with children and/or elderly dependent requirements will be offered a flexible organisation of work by individually-tailored solutions, such as teleworking or flexible working hours. In addition, maternity and paternity leaves will be paid in accordance with the Spanish national law, and additionally, in case of maternity or paternity leaves during the fellowship, a corresponding extension of the duration of the fellowship will be granted to enable them finishing their research.
• Personal research budget up to 4.800 € per annum for each ESR to cover comestible, conference attendance, publication costs, workshops, etc.
• Travel allowance up to 2.400 € per annum for each ESR to cover travel and subsistence during secondments or short stays at partner facilities.

Eligible Nationalities:

This scholarship is open to international students.

Eligibility Criteria:

Early-Stage Researchers (ESR) from all nationalities can take part in Wit programme if they meet the following requirements (according to admission conditions of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions):

1. Research experience-Early-Stage Researcher (ESR): candidates must be in the first four years (Full-Time Equivalent Research Experience: it is measured from the date when a researcher obtained the degree which would formally entitle him or her to embark on a doctorate, ) of their research careers at the time of submission of their application and not yet have been awarded a doctoral degree.

   Career breaks: exception will be made for career break due to maternity/paternity leave, illness or compulsory national services. These career breakers will be encouraged to apply for the WIT Programme and to restart their scientific careers. Besides, the research career path and any breaks caused by interruptions due to time spent working in the industry or other sectors will be considered an advantage of the intersectoral ability of the researcher.

2. Comply with the MSCA mobility rule: Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity in Spain for longer than 12 months (whether consecutive or not) within the 3 years immediately prior to the deadline for submission of applications (18 March, 2023). 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.

   Spanish researchers who fulfill this requirement can also apply. Returnees from phases of international, intersectoral and/or non-academic mobility (such as research stays outside of Spain, working for industry, or after a career break e.g. due to family reasons or medical reasons) are especially encouraged to apply.

3. Hold a degree entitling them to embark on a doctorate: candidates must have completed the studies that lead to an official university degree from any country of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) awarding 300 ECTS, of which, at least 60 ECTS must correspond to master level. Or they must have completed a degree in a University not adapted to the EHEA that gives access to doctoral studies.

4. Applicants need to be able to comunicate and understand English fluently (written and spoken-B2 level at least must be certificated).

Application Procedure:

STEP 1 - SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS [ 18 JANUARY- 18 MARCH, 2023 ] 

STEP 2 - ELIGIBILITY CHECK [ 18 MARCH- 18 APRIL 2023 ] 

STEP 3 - EVALUATION PHASE 1. PRE-SELECTION OF CANDIDATES [ APPROXIMATELY 18 APRIL - 18 MAY, 2023 ] 

STEP 4 - PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF THE RESEARCH POPOSAL [ APPROXIMATELY 01 - 30 JUNE ] 

STEP 5 - EVALUATION PHASE 2 [ JULY - AUGUST, 2023 ] STEP 6 - ONLINE INTERVIEW AND SELECTION OF THE CANDIDATES [SEPTEMBER, 2023 ]