“EU Research Fundrising and Project Planning”, doctoral and post-doctoral seminar series

Doctoral and post-doctoral seminar series
Begins on 16th November 2020
Seminar coordinator: Roberto Di Quirico, Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering

“EU Research Fundrising and Project Planning”
Doctoral and post-doctoral seminar series

The Council of PhD Programme Coordinators organises a series of courses, seminars and activities of general interest for all the PhD students of the University of Cagliari.  This seminar series, coordinated by Roberto Di Quirico (Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering.) is the first such activity in the A.A. 2020/21.

Description

This seminar aims to train PhD students and Post-Doc researchers in preparing projects to submit to the European Union applying for funds. Projects discussed during the seminar will be of two kinds: Individual Research Projects (e.g. Maria S. Curie Fellowships and ERC) and Collective Research Projects (e.g. Horizon 2020 and Jean Monnet Projects). Particular attention will be devoted to Individual Research Projects because they are crucial for the academic career of participants as well as the funding of their researches. If participants express their interest, H2020 projects will be analysed in details.

The seminar is structured in 3 parts.

The first part consists of workshops on different aspects of the EU Research policy. The aims of the policy, the instruments adopted, the most important topics, and the main fields of application will be explained. Particular attention will be devoted to recent calls on Circular Economy and Environmental Protection. Other topics will be selected depending on the participant’s background.

The second part deals with the main programmes for research funding (H2020, ERC, EACEA) and the main funding opportunities for PhD and Post-Doc. More specifically, the main contents of an application form, and the correct methods to fill them will be explained. Real applications submitted to the EU (funded and not funded) will be analysed and discussed in class.

Finally, during the third part, an application for EU funding will be prepared. Participants will work in groups created in accord with their interests and background and will be assisted by the seminar coordinator in their activity.

The course will be held in the Facoltà di Ingegneria e di Architettura and organised by the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Chimica e dei Materiali. The course coordinator is Roberto Di Quirico, lecturer in European Politics. The working language for the lessons (English or Italian) will be agreed with the participants at the start of the course. The course is open to doctoral and post-doctoral students from all the University of Cagliari Departments.

Due to the Covid19 emergency some changes could be required during the course. In particular, the teaching modalities will be adapted to the rules established by the University and the emergency procedure will be applied if needed. Also, the course will be held in mixed modality with traditional lessons and on-line interactive lessons.

All those interested in participating in the course are kindly requested to register sending an email to diquirico@unica.it .

 

Calendar

(2 hours each; scheduled hours and room to be assigned)

• November 16^th  Introduction of the course and the participants
• November 17^th  Why the EU funds research and scholarships matters  
• November 18^th  An overview of the main EU funding programmes
• November 23^th An overview of the main research topics funded by the EU
• November 24^th How to find a call and how to select the right one
• November 25^th The standard structure of an application form
• November 30^th How to fill the form: Demonstrating Excellence
• December 1^st How to fill the form: Explaining Concepts and methodology
• December 2^nd How to fill the form: Depicting Impact
• December 7^th Creating a Consortium and finding hosts
• December 8^th The Financial plan and the Work Packages
• December 9^th Case study: the project SIMPLE
• December 14^th Case study: The project SMiLE
• December 15^th Some reflections about Maria S. Curie Fellowships and Jean Monnet Projects
• December 16^th Working groups creation and debate on the planning exercise
• January 18^th 2021 Student presentation of the project ideas and class debate
• January 19^th 2021 Student presentation of the project ideas and class debate (TBC due to the numbers of participants)
• January 20^th 2021 Student presentation of the project ideas and class debate (TBC due to the numbers of participants)
• January 21th 2021 to April 30^th 2021 On-line meetings with the different groups for debating the advancement of the project preparation