PhD positions in the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Project: PETER.

Applications are invited for 15 PhD positions ("Early Stage Researchers") to be funded by the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network "PETER - Pan-European Training, Research & Education Network on Electromagnetic Risk Management" within the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Commission. The PETER Beneficiaries are 6 high-technology companies, including Barco and Melexis (BE), Nedap and RHM (NL), MIRA (UK), and Valeo (FR), 2 non-university research institutes, WIS and FHG (GE), and 5 universities, KU Leuven (BE), LUH (GE), UTwente (NL), UoY (UK), and ESEO (FR). The consortium is completed by 6 Partner Organisations that include 4 companies, a hospital and a university (see Figure 1). Overall, PETER has some of the best of European industry and the key academic players, guaranteeing an exciting interdisciplinary, intersectoral research-and-training programme. Each of the 15 ESRs will be working towards a PhD degree, supported by a carefully chosen supervisory team that maximizes both scientific excellence as well as interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration. The 15 PETER ESRs will not only receive state-of-the-art science/technology training but will also benefit from a unique soft-skills training programme. This will kick-start their careers as highly employable professionals tackling challenges across many industrial sectors comprising, but not limited to, automotive, robotics, nautical, aviation, and medical industry.

Key Dates

• Jan 7 2019: Launch of 15 ESR Positions
• Mar 17 2019: Deadline for on-line application
• April 2 2019: Circulation list "PETER preselected candidates"
• May 15 2019: PETER Recruitment Event
• May 16 2019: Circulation list "recruited PETER ESRs"
• Sept 1 2019: Targeted starting date for ESR contracts

Key background info
This project has received funding from the European Union's EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 under Grant Agreement No. 812.790

Number of positions available
15 PhD Positions

Research Fields
Electrical/Electronic Engineering - Reliability Engineering - Safety Engineering - System Engineering - Software Engineering - Communications Engineering - Risk Management - Physics - Safety Critical Systems

Career Stage
Early Stage Researcher (ESR) or 0-4 yrs (Post Graduate)

Benefits and salary
The successful candidates will receive an attractive salary in accordance with the MSCA regulations for Early Stage Researchers. The exact (net) salary will be confirmed upon appointment and is dependent on local tax regulations and on the country correction factor (to allow for the difference in cost of living in different EU Member States). The salary includes a living allowance, a mobility allowance and a family allowance (if married). The guaranteed PhD funding is for 36 months (i.e. EC funding, additional funding is possible, depending on the local Supervisor, and in accordance with the regular PhD time in the country of origin). In addition to their individual scientific projects, all fellows will benefit from further continuing education, which includes internships and secondments, a variety of training modules as well as transferable skills courses and active participation in workshops and conferences.

Online Recruitment Procedure (see Appendix 1 for full description)
All applications proceed through the online recruitment portal on the www.etn-peter.eu website. Candidates apply electronically for one to maximum three positions and indicate their preference. Candidates provide all requested information including a detailed CV (Europass format obligatory), a motivation letter and transcripts of bachelor and master degree . During the registration, applicants will need to prove that they are eligible (cf. ESR definition, mobility criteria, and English language proficiency). The deadline for the on-line registration is March 17, 2019. The PETER Recruitment Committee selects between 20 and maximum 30 candidates for the Recruitment Event which will take place in Bruges (Belgium) (May 15, 2019). The selected candidates provide a 20-minute presentation and are interviewed by the Recruitment Committee. Candidates will be given a domain-relevant peer-reviewed paper (prior to the recruitment event) by their prioritised Supervisor and will be asked questions about this paper during the interview to check if the candidate has the right background/profile for the ESR position. Prior to the recruitment event, skype interviews between the Supervisors and the candidates are recommended, along with on-line personality tests. In order to facilitate their travel, selected candidates (from outside Belgium) receive a fixed, lump sum of 250 euro (paid by the prioritised Supervisor). In order to avoid delays in reimbursements, candidates are asked to keep all invoices and tickets (cf. train, plane, hotel...). The final decision on who to recruit is communicated shortly after the Recruitment Event (estimated May 16, 2019). The selected ESRs are to start their research as quickly as possible (target date: Sept 1, 2019).

Applicants need to fully respect three eligibility criteria (to demonstrated in the Europass cv):
1. Early-stage researchers (ESR) are those who are, at the time of recruitment by the host, in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers. This is measured from the date when they obtained the degree which formally entitles them to embark on a doctorate, either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the research training is provided, irrespective of whether or not a doctorate was envisaged.
2. Conditions of international mobility of researchers: Researchers are required to undertake transnational mobility (i.e. move from one country to another) when taking up the appointment. At the time of selection by the host organisation, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account.
3. English language: Network fellows (ESRs) must demonstrate that their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English is sufficiently high for them to derive the full benefit from the network training.

ETN PETER project abstract and key project information.
Sophisticated electronic technologies are increasingly used in mission- and safety-critical systems where electromagnetic interference (EMI) can result in significant risks to people and/or the environment. Currently, EMI engineering follows a rule-based approach, which is unable to cope with complex modern situations. With this rule-based approach, during the design stage, guidelines are prescribed, which result in the application of a set of mitigation techniques, which are verified in the finished product against standards. This rule-based approach results in high costs, but with no guarantee of the required performance. This is very much the case for highly sensitive medical applications or the full-autonomous systems that are becoming ever-more common in our society. What is needed is a risk-based approach, which is what PETER, the Pan-European Training, Research & Education Network on Electromagnetic Risk Management, will provide. PETER will train 15 young engineers in research topics related to the development of high-tech systems that maintain reliability and safety over their full life-cycle, despite complex EMI, such as in hospitals or around transport systems. This will be achieved using best practices and state-of-the-art EM engineering, reliability engineering, functional safety, risk management and system engineering, thereby creating the novel risk-based EMC approach. The coordinated multidisciplinary multinational doctoral training program will provide the researchers with experience and at the same time allow them to develop and eventually lead their chosen area of research. PETER is closely aligned with the high-priority areas of the EU, addressing many Horizon 2020 thematics, e.g., Industrial Leadership (Advanced manufacturing and processing), Societal Challenges (Smart, green and integrated transport; Secure, clean and efficient energy) and Excellent Science. But the most important output of PETER will be 15 highly qualified people who have been trained to tackle many of the problems now being faced by European industry.

Methodology and Approach
The PETER project is based on 7 Work Packages (WPs), four of which are S&T WPs (WP1-4), one for training (WP5), one for Exploitation, Dissemination and Communication (WP6) and one for Management (WP7). The training and research activities start at month 7, with the first 6 months being devoted to the ESRs' recruitment. The S&T WPs are organized along 4 research tracks covering, on the one hand, the 3 main elements in a risk-based approach (risk identification, risk reduction and verification & validation) and, on the other, the application case studies.

Recruitment Procedure and Principles.
Advertisement Process: The search for appropriate candidates is initially based on normal recruitment strategies (e.g. publication on ec.europa.eu/euraxess, etc.; personal contacts of the network partners). All the recruitment is in line with the European Charter for Researchers, providing the overarching framework for the roles, responsibilities of both the researchers and employers. The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers functions as a set of principles and ensures that the selection procedures are transparent and fair. The recruitment strategy for PETER will fully comply with the Code of Conduct's definition of merit. For example, merit is not just measured on researchers' grades, but on a range of evaluation criteria, such as team work, interdisciplinary knowledge, soft-skills and awareness of the policy and economic impact of science. The RC has members of each gender and considers the promotion of equal opportunities and gender balance as part of the recruitment strategy. Special efforts are made to attract women and ESRs from new EU Member States.

Selection Process: The pre and final selection will be made in a collective progress, led by the Recruitment Committee (RC), which consists of all the people who will be involved in the supervision process. Every member of the RC will receive 4 hours of training on recruitment procedures and will be made aware of factors like unconscious gender bias. The candidates can apply for a maximum of three projects and list their order of preference. The 30 most suitable are invited to a Recruitment Workshop (Bruges, Belgium, month 4). In order to facilitate their travel, selected candidates (from outside Belgium) receive a fixed, lump sum of 250 euro (paid by the prioritised Supervisor). In order to avoid delays in reimbursements, candidates are asked to keep all invoices and tickets (cf. train, plane, hotel...).

Each candidate will give a presentation and be interviewed. Candidates will be given a domain-relevant peer-reviewed paper (prior to the recruitment event) by their prioritised Supervisor and will be asked questions about this paper during the interview to check if the candidate has the right background/profile for the ESR position. Prior to the recruitment event, skype interviews between the Supervisors and the candidates are recommended, along with on- line personality tests.

The committee selects the ESRs (1) based on their scientific background and potential, (2) based on the expected benefit of scientific exchange between the trainees' home countries and institutions and the hosts, and (3) in accordance with gender equality and minority rights. The candidates are ranked and a collective decision is made, taking into account the order of preference. In this way a complementary team of ESRs can be assembled. All non-selected candidates will receive a letter explain the reasons why they were not selected (in line with the Code of

Conduct). The ESRs are employed on fixed-term contracts and are registered as staff candidates for PhD degrees. Therefore, they are entitled to pension contributions, paid holidays, and other employment benefits, as governed by the universities, non-academic partners and industrial companies.
In case not all 15 ESRs can be recruited during the collective Recruitment Event, the recruitment procedure is "decentralised", meaning that the involved supervisors continue the search for good candidates. The RC is kept informed at all times when new eligible candidates appear. The RC makes an official complaint in case the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers is breached. The involved supervisor is then expected to find another candidate. Recruitment problems are also, if still needed, discussed during the first PETER Network Wide Events (M7, M12) in order to deliver specific action plans to target specific networks relevant for the vacant ESR positions.

Recruitment Committee = This committee involves the General Coordinator, the Vice-Coordinator and at least one representative per Beneficiary. Its goal is to oversee the recruitment of the 15 ESRs during the collective recruitment event.

The full overview of the ESRs can be found here:
https://iiw.kuleuven.be/onderzoek/peter/esrs