The BIGCHEM project is a Horizon 2020 MC ITN EID project, started 01-01-2016, providing innovative education in large chemical data analysis. The innovative research program will be implemented with the target users, large pharma companies and SMEs, which generate and analyze large chemical data as well as will promote technology transfer from academy to industrial applications.
The project will employ ten Early Stage Researchers (ESR). Each ESR will spend at least 50% of time with industrial partners and 50% with academic partners and will be employed for 36 months in total. Check eligibility rules before application.
PhD program: Each ESR will be enrolled in a PhD program within a respective University with a goal to receive PhD at the end of the employment. He or she will be supervised by the respective academic and industrial supervisors during his or her training and will participate in six schools and in on-line training to be organised by the network.
Thesis Committee: For each ESR a Thesis Committee (TC) will be established, which will be in charge of progress of the respective fellow and will supervise their works according to the individual Carrier Development Plan (CDP). The CDP will include a detailed time schedule for all major research and training tasks to be completed under the timelines of the fellowship and will be prepared at the beginning of each fellowship. Importantly, CDP will be individually designed by the fellow and TC in light of the educational background and scientific interests of the fellow as well as his/her professional goals. The TC head will be an academic professor with a right to award a PhD degree, while the TC members will be academic and industrial partners. The industrial partners will be part of TC and thus will regularly participate and supervise the progress of ESR towards their PhDs during the whole period of employment of fellows. All industrial partners are senior scientists and/or group leaders within their respective organisations and have adequate knowledge and experience in management and training of people. They are strongly committed to provide the training and deliver on-line training courses and lectures during the Schools to the fellows and all of them are actively involved in research.
Secondments: The fellows will also spend 3 months with SMEs and 3 months with another partner during secondments, thus allowing them to get experience in both large and small companies. These will provide an adequate exposure of the fellows to both academic and different industrial environments.
Thus, BIGCHEM will provide structured curriculum to the ESRs by unique combination of on-line training and six schools. PhD theses committees, composed of industrial and academic partners, participation to schools, work on common research topics, secondments with SMEs and academic partners will warrant cross- and inter-sectorial interactions between all partners as well as will provide tight involvement of industrial partners (both large companies and SMEs) in doctoral and research trainings.