Eligibility
What does it mean “place of residence / place of main activity”?
Mobility of the applicant from another country to Italy is an eligibility criterion for the INVITE fellowship.
Please note that for the MSCA mobility rule, it is the actual locations of residence that are taken into account, not the countries of legal residence. The two determining elements are the actual physical place of residence (where you have lived) and place of main activity (where you have studied or worked).
This information provided with the “Declaration on place of activity / residence in the last three years” will be used to verify your eligibility. Any data provided should correspond to the CV.
In case of doubts about the eligibility of the applicant, submission of documentary evidence may be requested, after the call deadline.
Does the PhD studies itself count as a research experience?
Yes, the PhD studies count as research experience. Please also note, that if you have been awarded a PhD title, you are not eligible to participate in the call.
I will gain my Master’s degree after the call deadline. Am I eligible?
No. To be considered eligible you have to hold at the deadline of the call a degree entitling you to embark on a doctorate. Further information on eligibility criteria is available here.
How research experience is calculated in full-time equivalent months?
If you have worked with a full-time contract or fellowship, the FTE research experience is exactly the number of months you have worked in research.
If you have worked part-time, you have to calculate the FTE months pro-rata. For example, a part-time worker employed for 20 hours a week where full-time work consists of 40 hours, is counted as 0,5 FTE. Therefore, if you have worked for 10 months, your research experience is equal to 5 FTE months (i.e. 10 months × 0,5).
What does “research experience” means?
“Research experience” means any professional or academic research activity acquired in any research field in the public or private sector. Part-time research experience would be counted pro-rata.
Research experience is calculated starting from the date when you obtained the (first) degree entitling you to embark on a doctorate (either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited), even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged.
I have been studying PhD for four years, but I do not hold a PhD degree. Can I apply for an INVITE position?
You can apply to the call if you do not hold a PhD degree AND you have less than 4 years full-time-equivalent research experience.
However, if you are selected, you must drop out of your current PhD programme.
Application
For a certain period, I used to live in Country A but I had my legal residence in Country B. Which country should I mention in the “Declaration on place of activity / residence in the last three years”?
For the MSCA mobility rule, it is the actual location of residence that is taken into account, i.e. the country where you used to live.
So, in the “Declaration on place of activity / residence in the last three years” you must mention Country A (place of main activity) and not Country B (legal residence).
Do I have to provide any document proving my research experience?
No document is required at the application stage. However, the University of Verona might ask you to provide documents in support of your declarations at the any stage, in order to verify your eligibility.
How research experience is calculated in full-time equivalent months?
If you have worked with a full-time contract or fellowship, the FTE research experience is exactly the number of months you have worked in research.
If you have worked part-time, you have to calculate the FTE months pro-rata. For example, a part-time worker employed for 20 hours a week where full-time work consists of 40 hours, is counted as 0,5 FTE. Therefore, if you have worked for 10 months, your research experience is equal to 5 FTE months (i.e. 10 months × 0,5).
Do I need to know Italian?
You do not need to know Italian, unless it is requested for your topic of research. The training program will be run in English.
All INVITE PhD students can attend the Italian language course organised by the Linguistic Centre of the University of Verona.
Do I need an IELTS / TOEFL or any other language certificate?
IELTS, TOEFL or any other language certificate is not mandatory.
However, we encourage you to mention any certificate in your CV as an element of your education and training, which is evaluated
No specific score is assigned to language skills, but it is evaluated in the overall assessment of your profile under the sub-criteria “Excellence of the candidate”. You can find further information here.
Where can I find the submission portal to apply?
UPDATE 15/1/2018: The submission portal, called PICA, is now avalable on the following URL: https://pica.cineca.it/univr/invite/.
On the Call documents page, you can find the Guide for applicants with instruction on how to create an account and fill in the form on PICA.
At the moment the call has been just pre-announced and advertised. On 16 January 2018 the call for application will be officially published and the submission portal will be available.