Four 10-month fellowships offered by IMéRA, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)

RESEARCHER PROFILE:  Postdoc / R2: PhD holders

RESEARCH FIELD(S) AND DISCIPLINES1: Social sciences, Humanities, Other fields

OFFER DESCRIPTION 

The French Institutes for Advanced Study Fellowship Programme offers 10-month fellowships in the seven Institutes of Aix-Marseille, Loire Valley, Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes, Paris and Rennes. It welcomes applications from high level international scholars and scientists primarily in the fields of the social sciences and the humanities (SSH).

FIAS is coordinated by the RFIEA Foundation (Network of French Institutes for Advanced Study), a foundation for scientific cooperation created by the French Ministry of Research in 2007 to support the development of the French IAS. The RFIEA Foundation successfully coordinated two similar grants for the EURIAS Fellowship Programme between 2010 and 2019.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 945408 

The call is open to all disciplines in the SSH and all research fields. Research projects from other sciences that features a transversal dialogue with SSH are also eligible. It is highly recommended to check the Institutes webpages to learn more about their focus, scientific priorities and partners.

The Fellows will benefit from the support and conducive scientific environment offered by the IAS characterized by an interdisciplinary cohort of fellows and a close relation to the local research potential. The fellows will be free to organize their work and conduct research as they wish.

FIAS supports individual research: fellows, released from teaching and academic commitments, conduct in unsegmented time bottom-up research with the greatest freedom, with the strong scientific and extra-academic support of the Institutes for Advanced Study (IAS). The experience is designed to provide fellows with the material and intellectual conditions that will generate a significant boost to their professional careers as they can achieve in a short time what would have taken years to do in a fragmented time.

FIAS fosters intellectual exchanges: fellows get exposed to the collective benevolent intelligence of international and multidisciplinary cohorts of fellows, which brings their work to a higher, and often transdisciplinary level.

In this framework, Iméra offers 4 10-month fellowships:

Iméra promotes innovative experimental interdisciplinary approaches in all areas of knowledge. Artists holding a teaching or research position in an institution, and developing approaches at the intersection of art and science, are eligible for the FIAS call.

Furthermore, the research activity within the institute is hinged around four scientific programs.

The thematic coherence of the project with the program guidelines is a decisive element in the evaluation of the application.

More information on IMéRA programmes : https://imera.univ-amu.fr/en/programs 

WHAT WE OFFER:

• A net living allowance (equivalent to take-home pay) of €2,700 per month*
• Two flexible contractual options, considering individual situations: work contracts or paid leave*
• Adequate social security coverage
• Accommodation or support for relocation
• An individual research and training budget equivalent to €2,500 per year
• Travel expenses (one round trip from the fellow home country)
• Same working conditions as the IAS’ other fellows, including individual offices, special access and lending privileges in university-based research libraries, IT services, multiple collective spaces
• Skills training opportunities

(*) For further information, you may refer to the guide for applicants section and the FAQ.

For information specific to each IAS, please check the Institute dedicated pages.

• The Euraxess Center of Aix-Marseille Université informs foreign visiting professors, researchers, postdoc and PhD candidates about the administrative steps to be undertaken prior to arrival at AMU and the various practical formalities to be completed once in France: visas and entry requirements, insurance, help finding accommodation, support in opening a bank account, etc. More information on AMU EURAXESS Portal

TYPE OF CONTRACT: TEMPORARY / JOB STATUS: FULL TIME /HOURS PER WEEK: 35 H

JOB FUNDED THROUGH AN EU RESEARCH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME: HORIZON UE              

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 6/06/2023 6:00 pm (Paris)

ENVISAGED STARTING DATE: 2/09/2024

ENVISAGED DURATION: 10 months

WORK LOCATION(S):  IMéRA / Institut d'Etudes Avancées d'Aix-Marseille Université, 2 place Le Verrier, 13004 Marseille, France

QUALIFICATIONS, REQUIRED EDUCATION LEVEL, PROFESSIONAL SKILLS, RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS 

At the time of the application deadline, researchers will have to be in possession of a doctoral degree plus 2 years of full-time research experience after the degree. Exception will be made for scholars with a Master + 6 years of full-time research experience after the degree (PhD training will not be considered in the calculation of experience).

The Programme is open to all Social Sciences and the Humanities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to check the IAS’ websites to learn more about the scientific orientation of the Institutes and their potential opening to disciplines outside the humanities and social sciences. Applications from artists matching the eligibility requirements are welcome.

Researchers from all countries and nationalities are eligible to the Programme. Applicants must fulfil the transnational MSCA mobility rule: incoming researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the call deadline.

The thematic coherence of the project with the program guidelines is a decisive element in the evaluation of the application. (see Programmes’ guidelines above)

SOFT SKILLS: IMéRA is keen to ensure that applicants engage in the collective activities of the residence, which take one day a week, including the Community Building Seminar held on a weekly basis (read more here about Residents’ commitment). Bilingualism in English and French is also essential and residents must be able to: understand both languages orally and in writing (passive knowledge) and master at least one orally and in writing (active knowledge).

Strong curiosity for other disciplines

REQUESTED DOCUMENTS OF APPLICATION, SELECTION PROCESS: 

Before applying, please verify if you respect the eligibility conditions, and read carefully the guide for applicants.

The requested application material - in English exclusively - will consist of:

• The completed online application form
• A detailed curriculum vitae with a comprehensive list of publications
• A copy of the diploma
• A detailed research proposal (maximum 5 pages and a bibliography - 1 additional page)
• A selection of three to five publications (articles or book chapters)
• A letter of support/interest by an IAS’s local scientific partner -only requested and mandatory for Le Studium (Loire Valley IAS), for the Collegium de Lyon, for MAK'IT (Montpellier IAS), and for the Paris IAS.
• Optional: Up to two letters of recommendation

Scientific selection: The scientific selection is competitive, merit-based and conducted through an international independent peer review.

The 2024-2025 Calendar of implementation 

• April 17th, 2023: opening of the application platform
• June 6th, 2023, 6:00 pm (Paris, France time): deadline for applications
• June 2023: eligibility check
• July-October 2023: double peer review
• November 2023: preselection by the FIAS Selection Committee (communication of preselection results, December 2023)
• January - February 2024: selection of fellows by IAS Scientific Advisory Boards and communication of results

More details can be found in the guide for applicants.

WHERE TO APPLY: The application is to be completed exclusively via the FIAS website. Applicants must create a user account: https://www.fias-fp.eu/fellowships/how-apply