AgreenSkills+ Postdoctoral Fellowships in Agriculture, Nutrition, Environment and Animal Health Studies

AgreenSkills and AgreenSkills+ are international incoming-outgoing postdoctoral fellowship programmes designed to increase the research potential and career prospectives of inventive, promising and experienced researchers from all disciplines to better respond to the current and future challenges in the fields of agriculture, food, nutrition, environment, animal health and veterinary public health. Disciplinary or multidisciplinary projects developed within AgreenSkills will contribute directly or indirectly to the scientific objectives of the Agreenium members and the European Commission.

Since its first launch in spring 2012, AgreenSkills (2012-2016) has funded mobility projects of more than 85 young experienced researchers holding a PhD and having up to a maximum of 6 years' research experience after their PhD. Its extension AgreenSkills+ (2014-2019), which is presently running, is open more widely, welcoming applications from young experienced and  independent researchers having up to a maximum of 10 years' research experience following their PhD.

AgreenSkills+ is open to young experienced and independent researchers holding a PhD with 0 to 10 years’ postdoctoral research experience. Career breaks are not included.

There are no special requirements as concerns nationality, gender or country of origin. The mainly aim of those programmes is to attract the best young and experienced researchers from around the world.

AgreenSkills+' Eligibility Criteria

Incoming researchers (applying to one of Agreenium-IAVFF  hosting laboratories in France) must fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

• Hold a PhD (or PhD will have been awarded by mobility start date);
• Have less than 10 years' research experience after their PhD;
• Not have spent more than 12 months in France within the last 3 years immediately prior to the expected date of recruitment;
• Be able to write and speak fluent English or French;
• Have at least 1 publication in an inter-disciplinary or specialised peer-reviewed journal;
• Have 1 publication in an inter-disciplinary or specialised peer-reviewed journal per 2 years of post-doctorate period (patents count as publications) taking into account any non-research career breaks;
• Propose a research project that is relevant to AgreenSkills’ fields of interest and that is compliant with the opinion 24 of the European Group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies.

AgreenSkills+ incoming fellowships are for a mobility period of 12 to a maximum of 36 months.
 
Outgoing researchers (employees of one of the Agreenium-IAVFF members applying in research units of universities or research centres out of France) must fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

• Be a researcher working for an Agreenium-IAVFF member organization, with an employment contract in effect during the entire duration of the mobility period;
• Hold a PhD (or PhD will have been awarded by mobility start date);
• Have less than 10 years' research experience after their PhD;
• Have spent at least 2 years in France within the last 3 years immediately prior to the expected date of mobility;
• Be able to write and speak fluent English or French;
• Have at least 1 publication in an inter-disciplinary or specialised peer-reviewed journal;
• Have 1 publication in an inter-disciplinary or specialised peer-reviewed journal per 2 years of post-doctorate period (patents count as publications) taking into account any non-research career breaks;
• Propose a research project that is compliant with the opinion 24 of the European Group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies.

AgreenSkills+ outgoing fellowships are for a mobility period of 6 to a maximum of 24 months. An additional 6 month return period in Europe is mandatory.

Conditions

AgreenSkills and AgreenSkills+ provide support to research projects and fellows with very attractive employment conditions, including access to state-of-the-art resources and unique career development opportunities.

The hosting laboratories participating in both AgreenSkills’ programmes commit to provide access to:

• Financial resources needed to undertake the fellow’s research project;
• Material resources, including laboratory equipment and high-performing experimental and technological infrastructures;
• Human resources, notably technical and administrative staff;
• Networkingwith the scientific community and training through seminars, workshops, conferences, including social events to ensure optimal informal learning opportunities.

AgreenSkills and AgreenSkills+, along with hosting institutions, provide attractive employment conditions

Incoming fellows (i.e. researchers applying to work in one of Agreenium’s hosting laboratories) receive a monthly mobility allowance ranging between approximately €1300 and €1700 for young and independent researchers, respectively. This financial support is provided by AgreenSkills and AgreenSkills+ and includes all benefits from the French health care and pension contributions, insurance and other social benefits.

The mobility allowance comes in addition to a basic salary, which can be ensured by different means:

• by the home institution (if home salary is maintained during the fellowship period);
• by the hosting laboratory (equivalent to a basic salary of a junior or senior researcher in France).

In order to respect the principle of co-funding, the basic salary cannot be sourced from EU funds.

The total amount perceived (mobility allowance plus the basic salary) represents an overall salary which is significantly higher than French state salaries for young and independent researchers.

Hosting institutions can offer relocation support, if needed, including provision of a guarantee and deposit for accommodation for fellows and their dependents, as well as legal and administrative support.

Outgoing fellows (i.e. researchers employed by one of the Agreenium members and applying to work in research units of universities or research centres outside of France) are offered a mobility allowance in the form of tax free per diems. The amount of the daily allowance (per diem) is calculated by the AgreenSkills management team and depends on the country of your stay, currency rate and current employer.

Please note that AgreenSkills and AgreenSkills+ do not provide additional financial aid to cover travel expenses. However, travel allowance can always be negotiated with the selected hosting institution.

Submission schedule

• 1st Round 2017: 28 April
• 2nd Round 2017: 13 October

What will happen next?

Each submitted application is assessed by up to 3 international reviewers, and then by the AgreenSkills Scientific Committee panels. The evaluation process takes up to 10 weeks.

The AgreenSkills Steering Committee decides which research projects have to be funded, based on the Scientific Committee's recommendations and ranking.