The WINNINGNormandy Fellowship Program
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Mis à jour le 18 avril 2023
The WINNINGNormandy Fellowship Programme will foster the research excellence and innovation activities, and increase the international attractivity and influence of the Normandy Region in France by recruiting 40 two-year postdoctoral fellowships in two calls.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska - Curie grant agreement N° 101034329
2nd call : 20 applicants selected and proposed for funding
Between November 2022 and February 2023, 65 applications were evaluated and then 43 applicants interviewed for this 2nd call.
Further to the meeting of the Regional Scientific Committee on March 27th 2023, 22 applicants have been selected to join the 18 laureates of the first call.
Therefore, 40 researchers will be hosted by Norman research institutions for 24 months. There will be no other call within the WINNINGNormandy program.
Overview
Normandy region, situated in the North-West coast of France with 3.3 million habitants, is one of the most visited French regions. It is a very important and dynamic economic area for the country with its several sectors of excellence and innovation such as health, agri-food, energy, chemistry and automotive, naval and aeronautical construction.
To promote attractive research careers
The WINNINGNormandy - WelcomINg and TraiNING of international high-level post-docs in Normandy programme aims to promote attractive research careers in the Normandy Region in France by funding individual-driven research training and career opportunities for Experienced Researchers (ER).
- Post-doctoral Fellowship Programme (24 months)
- 40 fellows (2*20) selected in 2 calls (2021 and 2022)
- 3 I : Interdisciplinary research, International networking, Industry secondments
- An ambitious training program in the identified smart specialisation areas as well as hands-on knowledge in non-research oriented transferable skills necessary for future research leaders
- Contribute to one of the 6 areas of specialization (with one transversal “digital”) of the Norman Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3).
Smart Specialisation Strategy
Food industry – “Preserving and sustainably transforming agricultural, marine, forestry and production systems”
The food industry plays a key role throughout Normandy, with an area of specialization that is structured around 5 areas of development.
- Agro-sylvo-pastoral heritage and uses / Ambition for 2027: develop and disseminate new methods and practices for the management and protection of natural spaces resulting from agro-sylvo-pastoralism and adapted to the Norman context.
- Innovative strategies in agroecology / Ambition by 2027: disseminate agroecology tools and new practices for a resilient Normandy agriculture by 2027.
- Management and preservation of marine, forestry, agricultural and climate change resources / Ambition for 2027: develop over the period 2021-2027, with the support of new digital tools, new innovative methods of resource management.
- Quality of production systems / Ambition for 2027: make Normandy in 2027 a demonstrator of innovative technologies making it possible to reduce unnecessary processing and packaging while guaranteeing superior product quality.
- Promotion of products and co-products of agricultural and marine origin / Ambition by 2027: develop innovation allowing the agri-food industry in Normandy to move towards a zero-waste industry by 2027.
Energy “Develop an energy mix towards zero carbon emissions”
Normandy is the leading energy region in France in terms of economic activity and employment, and its energy specialization is structured around 4 axes.
- Production of renewable marine energies and wind power / Ambition for 2027: make Normandy a territory of benchmark in renewable energies thanks to a massive deployment of renewable marine energies and wind power in its territory.
- Conversion and storage: new energy vectors / Ambition by 2027: generalize the use of sustainable electricity in transport and industry.
- Usages: energy efficiency for affordable and clean energy / Ambition for 2027: develop technologies to optimize the energy efficiency of systems for better management and recycling of energy.
- Impacts: aging of emission materials / Ambition by 2027: make the region a benchmark at European level by 2027 on sustainable materials for energy.
Industry “Transforming processes for a high-performance, sustainable and digital industry”
Normandy is the leading industrial region in terms of industry's share of GDP, and this area of specialization is structured around four axes.
- Experimentation with innovations in processes, organizations or products / services in an industrial environment / Ambition for 2027: make Normandy a benchmark territory in terms of competitive, safe and people-centred factories.
- Digital transformation in industry / Ambition for 2027: make Normandy a benchmark territory for the industry of the future.
- Optimization of the energy performance of industry / Ambition for 2027: strive for a zero-carbon Normandy industry.
- Material recovery and performance of materials in industry / Ambition for 2027: consolidate Normandy's leading position in the development and recovery of bio-based materials.
Mobility & logistics “ develop low-carbon mobility solutions that are efficient and secure”
With the Seine waterway, Normandy is the 1st logistics French region. It has various know-how in transportation.
- Performance of energy vectors and propulsion systems / Ambition for 2027: Make Norman expertise world renowned in terms of propulsion systems and energy vectors for the development of low-carbon mobility
- Efficient and secure logistics / Ambition for 2027: Make Normandy the logistics hub reference in terms of logistics of tomorrow by including innovations (blockchain, Big data, robotics, autonomous vehicles) within one of Europe’s largest consumption area.
- Smart and digital mobility / Ambition for 2027: Make Normandy an experimental territory for new mobilities and uses related to digital.
- Electrification, electronization and reliability of onboard systems and components / Ambition for 2027: strengthen Normandy as a reliability specialist at national and European levels.
Health “Accelerating synergies and innovation in the service of human and animal 5P medicine”
2nd French Region for pharmaceutical chemistry, 3rd for drugs production, Normandy is a territory of excellence in terms of health.
- Chemistry dedicated to therapeutic and diagnostic innovation / Ambition for 2027: strengthen Normandy as a leader in applied chemistry for health in France.
- Innovation in biomedical research in relation to Norman public health issues / Ambition for 2027: assure an international influence of the Norman biomedical innovation strength to the advantage of its economy, of the patient and at reasonable costs.
- Technologies and digital applied to health / Ambition for 2027: Outline a strong innovation fabric in technologies and digital applied to health in Normandy.
- One health approaches / Ambition for 2027: develop an innovative research in Normandy based on human-animal health interactions. Position Normandy as an international leader in equine health research.
- Health, well-being and resilience / Ambition for 2027: Being innovative and position Normandy as an international leader in identification, comprehension and control of emerging sanitary risks and of well-being. This ambition includes also the transfer of approaches validated by research toward health care (general practitioners and specialists) but also toward paramedic care (psychologists, psycho-motor therapists, speech therapists…) whose non-medicinal care approach constitutes their core business.
Risk management “make Normandy a resilient territory by mastering technological, natural, health and social risks”
This 6th emerging domain is centred on 3 development axes. Each of them constitutes a key issue for Normandy.
- New technologies for risk anticipation and prevention / Ambition for 2027: develop applications of these technologies for anticipation and prevention of risks in order to make Normandy a resilient territory for 2027.
- Practice for risk management / Ambition for 2027: Make Normandy a resilient territory towards human or natural changes and risks.
- Smart and digital mobility / Ambition for 2027: Build a risk knowledge adapted to the particularities of Normandy.
List of Norman research units
A WINNINGNormandy fellow can only be hosted by a research unit in Normandy and be employed by one of the academic partner institutions.
Benefits and features
Why to apply ?
Recruitment conditions
Benefit from a 2-year post-doctoral research fellowship with a minimum gross salary of 5540€/ month, and supplementary budget for research, training and travel expenses
Training programme
Develop technical and transferable (non-research related) skills thanks to training carried out by professional partners
Individual-driven mobility
Develop your research topic and choose your host group among the Normandy research organisations
Career Development
Get mentoring & career development support
Benefit from secondment opportunities both in academic and non-academic sectors
Prestigious environment
Be part of world-class research environment, with exceptional infrastructure capacities
Increase networking possibilities
Quality of life
Enjoy Normandy way of life
Get support provided by Euraxess centers and host institutions
Application process
Main requirements of the programme
Eligibility criteria
- Compliance with the Marie Sklodowska-Curie mobility rule : applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the last three years before the call deadline;
- At the time of the call deadline, applicants must be in possession of a doctoral degree (or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience);
- Applicants can choose a host research group belonging to one of the “Smart Specialisation Strategy” domains (around 110 laboratories) to develop the research project of their choice.
- No other restrictions are implemented, the WINNINGNormandy programme applies strict equal opportunity principles for candidates’ selection and recruitment.
- Any ethical issues linked to the research project must be clarified by the Ethics self- assessment.
Application
Applicants need to apply to the fellowship through the call platform following the key dates indicated below (1st call July 2021, 2nd call July 2022). Incomplete applications will not be eligible, and no applications will be accepted after the call closure. The application contains the following documents :
- Application Form (administrative data, host research unit details, declarations…)
- Research project description. Based on individual-driven mobility principle, fellows will freely choose a research topic and the appropriate host (and secondment) organization(s) and supervisor(s) fitting their individual needs
- Curriculum Vitae and track record
- Ethics self-assessment form
- Proof of identity
- PhD degree transcript and/or appropriate work certificate(s)
- 2 recommendation letters
Further information
Contact
winning@normandie.fr
Recruitment process
Main features of the process
Eligibility and ethical issues check
The applicants will be informed of their eligibility (completeness, compliance, ethical issues) by e- mail after the call closure. Only eligible applicants will be evaluated at the 1st selection round.
Evaluation by international / independent experts
Each application will be evaluated by 3 international / independent experts. They will evaluate both the profile of the candidate and the research project. An independent Selection Committee will rank the applications. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for the 2nd selection round (interviews).
Interview of shortlisted candidates
The online interview will consist of a 15-minute presentation followed by a 15-minute discussion between the candidate and the Interview Evaluation Panel members composed by the Selection Committee.
Funding decision
The Regional Scientific Council will formally approve the final list of selected candidates.
Feedback & redress procedure
All candidates will be informed of the results and next steps by e-mail. Redress/appeal possibility is available at all stages of the procedure by contacting winning@normandie.fr