PhD Positions – NANO GLASS

ICFO is offering four PhD-fellowships Marie Curie Early-Stage Researcher positions in the EU Horizon 2020 MSCA-ITN-EID “Nano-structured glass for future display and communication technologies” (NANO GLASS) to well-qualified graduate students, who wish to obtain a doctoral degree in any of the research topics covered.

Our International PhD Fellowship Program welcomes applications from individuals with a degree in a field of science and engineering related to ICFO research activities in particular nanophotonics or quantum technologies.

NANO-GLASS will introduce disruptive nano-structuring designs and methods to create a wide range of innovative glass-based products such as optical screens without reflections, functionalised substrates with ultrathin and bidimensional materials and optical fibres that efficiently generate, store and manipulate quantum signals.

NANO-GLASS will train four PhD students (ESRs) in frontier glass materials science and nano-photonics through collaborative interdisciplinary research projects undertaken in state-of-the-art academic and industrial facilities.

NANO-GLASS is based on a partnership between CORNING, a global industrial leader specialising in advanced glass technologies through collaborative interdisciplinary research projects undertaken in state-of-the-artacademic and industrial facilities.

The successful candidates will be joining the Optoelectronics research group lead by Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri or the Quantum Photonics with Solids and Atoms research group led by Prof. Dr. Hugues de Riedmatten.

Please, browse our website for details about ICFO Research Groups and Group Leaders at https://www.icfo.eu/lang/research. If you are interested in discussing possible research topics, please contact ICFO Group Leaders directly.

Important: During your application you will be requested to indicate the research group(s) you are interested in accomplishing your PhD with.

Requirements and conditions

To be eligible for an ICFO PhD position, candidates must:

• Have an internationally-recognized Master-equivalent degree preferably in experimental physics, nanophotonics, optical engineering or related areas. The degree must be completed by the start of your prospective PhD at ICFO, at the latest, and must be in a field of science and engineering related to the ICFO research activities. Degrees issued within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) must have an equivalent to 300 ECTS, out of which a minimum of 60 ECTS must have been obtained in postgraduate studies. Please, if in doubt regarding your academic eligibility, contact us at jobs@icfo.eu.
• Candidates who have already been awarded a PhD are not eligible to apply.
• Have an excellent academic record, previous research experience and a strong commitment for scientific research.
• Have a high working knowledge of English.

Additionally, to the general eligibility criteria, candidates for the ITN positions must comply with the following EU-rules by the time of activation of the ITN:

• By the time of the potential recruitment, the candidate must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months during the last three years. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.
• The Master-equivalent degree should not be older than four years prior to the application deadline. Exceptions are made for documented periods of parental leave. Other equivalent exceptions may be considered when properly documented and motivated by the applicant, e.g. in case of applicants from underdeveloped countries, minorities, or for applicants that pursued their studies under comparatively unfavourable conditions.

ICFO is an equal employment opportunity employer. Candidates are selected exclusively on merit and potential on the basis of submitted application material. No restrictions of persons with disabilities, citizenship or gender apply to ICFO positions. ICFO abides by the principles of openness, efficiency, transparency, supportiveness, and international comparability as stated in the European Charter for Researchers and the European Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

The conditions of the positions awarded in the scope of the ICFO International PhD fellowship program are as follows:

• Initial contract for a period of 6 months, while being pre-admitted to the PhD program, with an explicit follow-up/ renewal procedure at the end of this first stage. During this period, students already take part in the ICFO working environment, join a research group, and work with their supervisor to define a research project. For the ICFO standard PhD positons, the annual gross salary subject to the stipulated fiscal and social security deductions during this period is €19.500.
• After this initial training period, students are formally enrolled in a PhD Program with a local university (as a general rule, the UPC PhD in Photonics program administered by ICFO), and the full PhD Fellowship activated. Fellowships are offered for periods of three years, renewable for an additional fourth year, and are formalized via a PhD-contract. Continuity and renewal are subject to satisfactory performance in the PhD studies and related research activities, evaluated annually by the Thesis Director and the ICFO PhD Committee.
• For the ITN Fellows the salary is stipulated by the European Commission (EC) (including living and mobility allowance) and subject to the stipulated fiscal and social security deductions for 3 years PhD contract. The salary for initial training period of 6-months and an additional fourth year is stipulated by ICFO.
• Selected candidates shall start ideally between June 2021 and September 2021.
• All ICFO fellowships include medical care coverage and work accident insurance through the Spanish Social Security system, providing access to the Spanish public health care system.

Application process

In case of interest, candidates may contact Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri (valerio.pruneri@icfo.eu) and Prof. Dr. Hugues de Riedmatten (hugues.deriedmatten@icfo.eu) for further details.

For more details and application please visit: Applications for PhD-positions available within the ICFO International PhD Program (Spring 2021)  http://jobs.icfo.eu/?detail=560

Deadline for applications: 14 February 2021.

IMPORTANT: Please indicate explicitly in your presentation letter that you are interested in the PhD positions in the EU Horizon 2020 MSCA-ITN-EID “Nano-structured glass for future display and communication technologies” (NANO GLASS).

At all stages of the process, candidates may contact ICFO Human Resources and Education via jobs@icfo.eu; for complete information about the PhD Admissions process at ICFO, please see http://phd.icfo.eu

NANO GLASS has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 956419.