Swiss Research Initiative (Postdoc); 10 Fellowships: Food and Nutrition Sciences 2789 views

ETH Zurich and EPFL have launched Future Food – A Swiss Research Initiative together with Bühler, Givaudan and Nestlé to further expand research and education in the area of food and nutrition sciences. The Future Food Fellowship is a major pillar within this framework. It aims to bring together competences from academic and industrial research in the fields covered by the initiative.

Research areas:

• Plant-based proteins: Dairy analogues, meat analogues, sustainable proteins, etc.
• Digital technologies for food design: Development of food structures, modelling of flavour profiles, modelling of stability, formulation of new food products, etc.
• Sustainable packaging: New or transformed materials, bio-sources, re-use or recycling, bio-degradation, new packaging formats, etc.
• Microbiome: Concrete applications

Eligibility:

• Applications are open to citizens of any nationality and there are no restrictions concerning age.
• Applicants must hold a doctorate (PhD) and must have obtained their doctoral degree at maximum three years before the submission deadline. The latest possible date for a successful defence of the PhD is 30 September succeeding the interview date.
• Applicants must not have been affiliated for studies, research, employment or other activities (with or without payment) at either ETH Zurich or EPFL during the 12 months that immediately precede the submission deadline.

Fellowship value:

• The programme aims to award ten fellowships each year.
• Maximum duration of funding for each postdoctoral Fellowship is three years.
• Annual funds of max. 20,000 Swiss Francs for project costs directly related to the approved project.

Applications:

Apply online and should consist of:

• A letter of motivation including a statement explaining why the planned research is original and a justification for why the candidate is qualified for the fellowship and the proposed research, including a brief description of the candidate’s research achievements (max. 2 pages)
• An abstract of the research proposal (max. 200 words)
• A detailed research proposal, including the state of research to date, the research plan and expected milestones.
• A letter signed by at least one host ETH Zurich or EPFL professor, stating her/his support of the project and detailing the level of independence and the scientific autonomy that will be granted to the fellow in the event of acceptance. Additionally the letter must confirm that the host professor is willing to:
• integrate the fellow in her/his laboratory at the research institution
• provide the fellow with a workplace and access to the infrastructure required to successfully complete the proposed research work during the approved funding period share potential additional research expenses of the applicant (e.g. for material, equipment, personnel, travel, etc.)
• The applicant’s CV including a list of publications (max. 2 pages excluding publication list), diplomas (including a copy of the doctoral degree) and grade transcripts from all higher education institutions attended by the applicant
• A list of five names of potential external reviewers (name, affiliation, and email address). Suggested reviewers should be free of conflict of interest, (i.e. they should have no personal or professional relation with the applicant and should receive no funding or other benefit as a result of the project)
• A list of three names of potential authors of recommendation letters for the candidate with a signed and dated statement from the candidate that she/he waives the right to read or receive copies of recommendation letters collected for the application.
• Recommendation letters should not be requested or submitted upon application. They will only be requested once the applicant has been short-listed (please use this template for the authors of recommendation letters)