The successful candidates will be granted free accommodation in a studio apartment for one person in the International PhD College Residence for the entire duration of PhD program (maximum 3 years)
Published on 15 March 2021 | Call for application
Subject and scope
The International PhD College* of the Institute of Advanced Studies is a community of international PhD students from different study areas. PhD students joining the International PhD College must integrate the research activity required by their PhD programs with an interdisciplinary and international “coworking” activity on cross-cutting themes. As a rule, the themes the PhD students will be required to work on will be proposed annually by the Academic Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies or approved by the Academic Board on proposals submitted by the PhD students of the International PhD College. The results of these joint study/research projects will be presented annually during an institutional event. The PhD students will be also required to participate actively in the events and projects organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies.
The successful candidates will be granted free accommodation in a studio apartment for one person in the International PhD College Residence for the entire duration of PhD program. This benefit will be renewed annually and for a maximum of three years, irrespective of the PhD program official duration, on the basis of an assessment by the Institute of Advanced Studies Academic Board. No financial support or subsidies other than the accommodation shall be provided.
*To the date of publication of this Call for applications, the name “International PhD College” is in process of being approved by the Academic Bodies of the University of Bologna.
Number of positions
The Institute of Advanced Studies offers for the a.y. 2021/22 n.10 positions for the admission to the International PhD College. The call is addressed to particularly motivated and deserving international students successfully admitted to a PhD program offered by the University of Bologna.
Requirements for participation
In order to participate in the selection, the candidate must meet all the requirements listed below:
- foreign citizenship;
- residence abroad at the moment of the application submission;
- Master’s degree required for the admission to the PhD program granted by a foreign university (Please note: if the candidate has also been granted a Master’s degree by an Italian university, only the foreign degree will be considered for the purpose of the selection).
Application submission
The application for participation in the selection for the admission to the International PhD College is to be submitted simultaneously to the compilation of the application for the admission to the selected PhD program on Studenti Online by ticking the option “I intend to participate in the selection for the admission to the International PhD College of the Institute of Advanced Studies”. At the moment of the application, the candidate must include the following documents:
- motivation letter for the participation in the International PhD College activities;
- a proposal of interdisciplinary project to be developed under “coworking” scheme in the International PhD College (max. 10.000 characters spaces included);
Unless specifically indicated in the PhD program table, the documents listed above will be evaluated only for the purpose of awarding a position in the International PhD College.
The students who will not include the above listed documents will be excluded from the selection for admission to the International PhD College of the Institute of Advanced Studies. It will not be possible to integrate the application via e-mail after the submission of the application for the PhD program.
Timing of the selection, of the shortlist publication and of the acceptance
The candidates admitted to a PhD program, formally enrolled before September 30, 2021, who have submitted the application for the participation to the selection for the admission to the International PhD College, who meet the requirements listed in point c) and have attached the documents required in point d), will be invited to an interview via the institutional and personal e-mail address indicated in the application for the PhD program.
The invitations to the interview will be sent to the candidates admitted to the selection starting from October 6, 2021. After receiving the invitation, the student must confirm his/her participation in the interview with the Commission of the Institute of Advanced Studies before the deadline indicated in the invitation e-mail.
Please note: If participation in the interview is not confirmed before the deadline indicated in the invitation e-mail, the candidate will be automatically excluded from the selection.
The exact date and hour of the interview will be communicated via e-mail exclusively to the candidates who will confirm their participation within the indicated deadline. The absence of the candidate on the communicated day and time will be considered as the withdrawal from the selection.
The interviews with the Commission of the Institute of Advanced Studies will be carried out in the period October 18th – October 22nd, 2021 and can be carried out remotely via an online platform (Skype, Teams or Zoom). At the end of the selection process, a short list of applicants will be defined by the Commission. The short list will be published on the page of the Institute of Advanced Studies dedicated to the International PhD College (http://www.isa.unibo.it/it/attivita/phd-isa) in the section “Attachments”, normally, before October 31st, 2021. The top 10 candidates will be declared winners and will receive via e-mail an official letter of admission to the International PhD College. The winners will be required to accept the position within the deadline indicated in the assignment letter. The lack of acceptance within the deadline indicated in the letter will be considered as withdrawal from the selection and entails the exclusion from the selection.
In case of withdrawal of a winner or lack of acceptance within the indicated deadline, the vacant position will be offered to next candidates according to the ranking list. The Commission reserves the right to increase the number of available positions based on resource availability.
The withdrawals, if any, after the acceptance of the position, received within January 31st, 2022, will allow the assignment of the position to next candidates in the shortlist based on accommodation availability.
The entrance of the successful candidates in the International PhD College Residence is planned, as a rule, starting from November 1st, 2021. More information will be sent to the winners after the acceptance of the position.
Award criteria
The admission to the International PhD College of the Institute of Advanced Studies is based on the evaluation of the documents submitted by the applicant and the interview aimed at ensuring a high scientific quality and the level of motivation of candidates. The interview can be carried out in Italian or in English, at the discretion of the applicant.
The evaluation criteria which will be used during the interview are as follows:
- curriculum vitae of the candidate and other documents attached to the application;
- motivations indicated in the motivation letter;
- the proposed interdisciplinary project proposal to be developed under the “coworking” scheme at the International PhD College (max. 10.000 characters spaces included);
- knowledge of English and Italian language (if any);
- the doctoral research project to be carried out primarily and mainly at the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna.
Winners obligations
The PhD students admitted to the International PhD College will be required:
- to participate in and actively follow all cultural activities, seminars and other scientific events organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies with particular regard to the Institute weekly lectures and to the interdisciplinary working groups that will be proposed;
- to participate in at least 10 weekly lectures offered by the Institute of Advanced Studies during the academic year;
- to spend the entire duration of their PhD program at the University of Bologna. Periods of study and research at other universities or Italian and foreign research centers must be authorized by the Doctorate Board and cannot exceed a total of 6 months over the entire time span of the PhD program;
- to submit on a yearly basis a report summarizing the carried out scientific activities with attached his/her supervisor evaluation to be submitted to the Institute of Advanced Studies Academic Board for the evaluation of the free accommodation benefit renewal;
- to acknowledge the support of the Institute of Advanced Studies and the affiliation to the International PhD College in the thesis and in all derived publications.
Benefit revocation
The Academic Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies can decide the revocation of the free accommodation benefit and even the expulsion of the PhD student from the International PhD College in cases of repeated and/or unjustified absences to the activities of the College and of the Institute of Advanced Studies or in case of inappropriate behaviors during the stay in the Residence.