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EMBL welcomes young scientists
This autumn, students begin their PhD in research groups across EMBL’s six sites.
A new generation of young scientists will start their scientific careers at EMBL in mid-October. After an international selection process conducted entirely virtually due to the pandemic, 62 students have been accepted into the EMBL International PhD Programme (EIPP) from multiple countries around the world, including 14 of EMBL’s member states.
“Developing the research and industry leaders of the future has been a core mission for EMBL since its foundation, and we have worked hard to continue to offer excellent training throughout the pandemic,” Dean of Graduate Studies Dr Monika Lachner said.
The incoming students will pursue research projects addressing a broad range of topics within the life sciences, from understanding the structure and function of a specific protein to examining the impact of external environmental factors on the whole organisms.
In addition to the student’s core research project, they receive training that covers all research areas represented at EMBL as well as complementary topics such as ethics and research integrity, science communication and outreach, technology transfer and entrepreneurship, EDI and sustainability. There is also a wide range of career development workshops and other vocational skills training activities.
To start their PhD journey, the majority of the newly recruited students will attend the Core Course, a nine-week event that represents the core of the EIPP curriculum. This year it will be offered in a hybrid format under safety protocols at the EMBL International Centre for Advanced Training in Heidelberg. Upon completion of the course, the participants will join their research groups in each of EMBL’s six sites across Europe.
EMBL Director General Edith Heard said she was particularly pleased with the diverse backgrounds of the new hires. Internationality and interdisciplinarity are two hallmarks of the EIPP.
“We are Europe’s only intergovernmental life sciences research organisation, with a special role to not only deliver excellent research but to help improve and enhance research quality and societal benefit more widely. As a result, our students receive the very best training, and then spread these improvements to institutes around the world,” Heard said.
EMBL offers two PhD intakes each year: the 2022 Winter Recruitment is currently open for applications until 11 October and the next call will open in mid-February 2022.
