Introduction
The “Create your future” pathway is a compulsory package meant for doctoral candidates from BoostUrCAreer programme. It increases the attractiveness of international students with high potential for excellence at Université Côte d'Azur (UCA). Specially designed by the university, it aims to improve the training and employability of doctoral candidates, in order to prepare junior researchers to meet the major challenges of research and innovation of tomorrow.
- Main components of the pathway
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- Welcoming of the ESRs and design of the Career Plans
- Design of an individual training track (135 hours of training): 60 hours of scientific training and 75 hours of training towards employability and career development
- Organisation of a 6 months secondment in an international laboratory
- Participation to several existing events (conferences, workshops, science popularization events) aiming at disseminating the ESRs results and organisation of one event by each ESR
- Organisation of workshops and round tables on e-health - Main advisors
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Supervisors: Each early-stage researcher in the BoostUrCAreer programme will be supervised by two supervisors whose complementary skills foster a specific interdisciplinary project. The supervisors will also ensure that early-stage researchers develop scientific skills, autonomy and creativity over their 3.5 years.
Supervisors ensure that their doctoral candidate follows the various stages of their career development plan (see Annex I), in particular with regard to their training programme (135h), and that the research projects are in line with the BoostUrCAreer programme requirements.
Tutor: Tutor is an UCA academic from a different field of the supervisors. His/Her role will be to complement the supervisors by offering guidance on academic careers and academic career development. He/She will be the go-to person for both the supervisors and the ESR in case of issues faced by the ESR and he/she will be the bridge between the Follow-Up Committee, the supervisors and the ESR for the academic part.
Mentor: Mentor is a non-academic sector professional, in priority UCA (or UCA members’) alumni. His or her main roles are to provide guidance on the effectiveness of the personal project in view of career development and give suggestions to the ESR on their inter-sectoral mobility. Casual exchanges between ESR and his mentor are expected throughout the programme. However, 2 formal discussions will take place: the first discussion at the beginning of the PhD project to define the goals and establish a career development plan. Another assessment meeting will be organised towards the end of the ESRs’ contracts to discuss career plans and exit strategies.
► Tutors and mentors are appointed by the program office after a formal discussion with doctoral candidate and supervisors, within 6 weeks of the arrival of the doctoral candidate. - Follow-up Committee
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Each fellow will have their own follow up committee thus ensuring personalised advice and support. The committees are composed of the doctoral candidate him/herself, 2 researchers (one UCA researcher who is not a member of the supervising team and one external to UCA), the ESR’s host during the international secondment, the ESR’s academic tutor and the ESR’s non-academic mentor.
The committees’ role is to monitor the doctoral candidates’ development and their research progress (assessment of what has been done in terms of research, training, networking and intersectoriality (positive/negative experiences, plans for the upcoming year, any issue related to the completion of the degree, etc.).
4 planned meetings: the first meeting will be held from 6 to 10 weeks after the beginning of doctoral project and then once a year (10, 20 and 30 months after the beginning of the doctoral project).