The general objectives of the ILCB post-doc grants are (i) to develop interdisciplinary research on language, communication and the brain, (ii) to promote collaborations between the teams of the institute and (iii) to support research of high international level.
1. Research project
Potential candidates may propose their own research project (case 1) or respond to a proposal made by one or more ILCB members (case 2).
Case 1. When the application includes one’s own project, it is strongly recommended to contact one or more potential collaborators within the ILCB to contextualize the project as a collaboration within the ILCB. An updated list of potential collaborators is published at the same time as the call for applications. A host laboratory must also be proposed in the application file, which may involve contacting the laboratory director. Interdisciplinary projects involving several ILCB members are preferred (see selection criteria below).
Case 2. ILCB members and interdisciplinary teams (“project groups”, “cross-cutting topic groups”) are invited to publish on the ILCB website pre-proposals for research projects specifying a research theme, key words and, optionally, an abstract and the desired applicant’s competence. Applicants can then contact the person(s) who submitted the pre-proposal and develop with them a project in relation to this theme. Interdisciplinary projects involving several ILCB members are preferred (see selection criteria below)
Rules:
1.1 Case 1 & 2: An ILCB member can only be the primary collaborator (% participation equal to or greater than 50%) on a single application.
1.2 Cases 1 & 2: An ILCB member who is the principal director of an ILCB PhD project cannot be the primary collaborator of an “ILCB postdoc ” project in the same year.
1.3 Cases 1 & 2: An ILCB member who is the principal collaborator of an ongoing postdoc project cannot be the principal collaborator of a new postdoc project unless his/her % participation in the ongoing postdoc project is less than or equal to 30%.
1.4 Case 2: An ILCB member can submit several pre-proposals for research projects before the competition but can only be a principal collaborator (% of participation equal to or greater than 50%) on a single post-doc application. If the % of participation is less than or equal to 30%, he/she can be a collaborator of several projects.
1.5 Case 2: A pre-proposal can lead to several potential post-doc applications. It is up to the persons in charge of each pre-proposal to select the candidate to be retained, and to elaborate in collaboration the complete project. The files of unsuccessful candidates must be sent to the ILCB direction for distribution to the entire list of potential supervisors.
2. Eligibility criteria of applicants
2.1 The project must be related to the scientific objectives of the ILCB
2.2 The candidate must have defended his or her PhD thesis at the time of the audition
2.3 It is not possible to apply for an ILCB postdoc position with one’s own thesis director immediately after the end of the thesis.
2.4 The application must be complete (see text of the call for applications)
3. Selection of candidates for the audition
– After checking the eligibility of the candidates, the assistant director team selects for each application 5 to 6 experts from the members of the advisory board.
– The evaluation of the applications by these experts is based on the selection criteria (see point 4 below).
– The experts’ reports are forwarded to the jury (see point 5 below) which decides on the list of candidates to be interviewed.
– The ILCB is attentive to gender parity in the selection process.
4. Selection criteria
– quality of the CV (5 points)
– quality of the project (5 points)
– originality (5 points)
– feasibility (5 points)
– interdisciplinarity¹ (5 points)
– structuring effect for the ILCB² (3 points)
– projects linked to a “cross-cutting topic” or a “project team” (2 points)
¹ Priority is given to applicants who present an interdisciplinary project involving at least two ILCB labs, teams or researchers. It is nevertheless possible that the collaborators belong to the same lab, or even to the same team, but it remains essential that their respective expertise promotes interdisciplinarity.
² A structuring effect for the ILCB often results from bringing together teams from different labs, from the use of different techniques/platforms, from the development of techniques and protocols that can be reused for other projects, from the acquisition of data that can be reused by different ILCB teams, etc.
5. Composition of the jury
The jury is composed of the director of the ILCB or an assistant director and, as far as possible, at least one person per laboratory (10 laboratories) with no conflict of interest (see point 6 below). Laboratories with more than 20 members (according to the ILCB website: LPC, LPL, INS, INT) can nominate 2 members for the jury. The ILCB is attentive to the gender parity of the jury members.
6. Conflict of interest criteria for jury members
6.1. Being a principal collaborator of a candidate (% of participation equal to or greater than 50%).
6.2. If the % of participation of the jury member in the postdoc project is less than or equal to 30%, it is possible for him/her to participate in the jury without taking part in potential votes concerning the candidate.
6.3. If a member of the jury belongs to the same laboratory or team as the principal collaborator, he/she may participate in the jury without taking part in potential votes concerning the candidate.
7. Audition
The audition takes the form of an individual interview (10 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of questions). The members of the jury then deliberate for 5 minutes. A general deliberation takes place after the audition of all the candidates to arrive at the final selection.