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Application Process

Please note that the fellowships available for this programme have already been awarded, therefore no further calls are expected.

How do I apply to EPFLinnovators? Click here to find out.

Applicants must fulfill the following eligibility criteria

In agreement with the Horizon 2020: 2016-2017 Work Programme for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, applicants to EPFLinnovators must be Early Stage Researchers (ESR): “ESR shall, at the date of the deadline of the co-funded programme’s call, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree“ .

The following eligibility criteria must be fulfilled:

1. Citizens of any nationality may apply. There are no restrictions concerning age, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political views, language or nationality of the candidates.

2. Applicants must hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent)

3. Applicants must fulfil the transnational mobility rules:

The applicant must not have resided or carried out her/his main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Switzerland for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the deadline for the submission of proposals. Exceptions to these rules are possible, for women (e.g. in case of maternity leave) or refugees, to ensure equal opportunities are provided to students whose scientific careers have been interrupted. The mobility rules mentioned above are adapted as follows for refugees: the applicant must not have resided or carried out her/his main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Switzerland for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the deadline for the submission of proposals, unless as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention (This is regardless of whether s/he was active in research at that time).

Please see the timeline for the submission, evaluation and selection process for the EPFLinnovators below.

Applications for EPFLinnovators should be submitted via the online submission platform .

The deadline for the submission of applications is (1st call) 15 January 2018 (17:00 hr CET), (2nd call) 16 April 2018 (17:00 hr CET) and 15 January 2019 (17:00 hr CET).

For authentication, use your EPFL computer account if you have one, or otherwise you can create a temporary account. This authentication allows you to return to the form to complete it or to observe the status of your candidacy. The electronic submission form makes it possible to enter the data necessary for the application and to upload the required documents.

The following information should be submitted :

• Official transcripts of diplomas and grades from all academic institutions of higher education listed in the application (after and not including high-school)
• Certified translations of diplomas and grades into English if not originally in French, German, Italian or English.
• Statement of objectives of maximum 2 pages which clearly explains the candidate’s motivation for the EPFLinnovators programme
• A copy of passport or official identity document showing full name

Once you have uploaded all these documents and confirmed all the details you have provided, you will be asked to complete and submit your application by validating it.

Applications cannot be updated after the submission.

After the deadline, the doctoral programme committees (to which the candidates applied) verify the eligibility criteria, evaluate the applicant’s level of excellence and decide, based on a scoring system, on the admissibility of the candidate to their respective doctoral programme. A shortlist of the highest ranked applicants from all doctoral programmes are then proposed to EPFL laboratories for the candidate-project matching phase.

Thesis directors interested in supervising an EPFLinnovators fellow contact the candidate and conduct an interview with her/him, with the potential co-director from the non-academic sector.

All successful candidate-project matches are then submitted to the Intersectoral Excellence committee (IEC). The IEC makes a final ranking and, with the approval of the President of the IEC, prepares the final selection of the best candidates.

The Office of the Programme informs the candidates on the outcome of their application in May 2018 (call 1), August 2018 (call 2) and July 2019 (call 3).

Applications will be assessed against criteria addressing the candidate’s ability and commitment to research, the quality of the project proposal, the quality and the degree of involvement of the non-academic partner, as well as the synergy between the research proposed and the profile of the candidate. Each candidate’s merits will be judged quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Detailed information on the evaluation criteria is also given in the document ’ Rules and Regulations for EPFLinnovators ’.

Both the doctoral programme committees and individual reviewers, members of the Intersectoral Excellence Committee (IEC) are asked to peer review the applications – within the guidelines of integrity of peer review, described in the ‘ Directive concerning research integrity and good scientific practice at EPFL ’ and to score the candidates measured by the following selection criteria.

In May 2018 (call 1), August 2018 (call 2) and July 2019 (call 3), the Office of the Programme informs the candidates on the outcome of their application. For more details, see the timeline.

The selected candidates can start immediately after they have received the decision letter and the formal requirements for their contract have been organized. EPFLinnovators should start at the latest on 1st December 2019.

EPFLinnovators should provide each year an annual report on the progress of their work to their thesis director, according to the regulations of their doctoral programme to which they are affiliated, as well as to the Office of the Programme. Templates for the annual report can be obtained from the doctoral programme’s administration.

The fellowship consists of a monthly contribution of 1’855 Euro to the salary of the PhD candidate at EPFL. The remaining part of the salary is provided by the thesis director, in compliance with the EPFL general salary scale for doctoral students. Co-funding cannot come from projects requiring time keeping.

The duration of an EPFLinnovators fellowship is 48 months and cannot be prolonged. Employment after the initially granted time must be financed from other sources.

• Rebuttal period

All candidates have the right to a rebuttal procedure if they feel that there has been a shortcoming in the way their candidacy was evaluated and that this shortcoming affected the results of eligibility checks or the final decision. This procedure is not intended to call into question the scientific judgement of the external reviewers or the assessment by the IEC, but to address failings in the evaluation process.

A written request for rebuttal must be submitted within 30 days from the decision date to the Office of the Programme. The rebuttal request will be reviewed by the Office of the Programme to ensure that it concerns a procedural shortcoming rather than a judgement on the scientific evaluation conducted by the experts. If the rebuttal request is valid, it will be transferred to the IEC for further review and decision.

The candidate will be informed of the outcome of her/his rebuttal request within six weeks after the reception of his request by the Office of the Programme. Only one request for rebuttal per proposal will be considered. All requests for rebuttal will be treated confidentially.

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A best practices guide to PhD programs at EPFL

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© 2021 Adrien Miqueu

EPFL has published a guide that sets out the rules of its PhD programs, as well as the rights and responsibilities of PhD students and their thesis supervisors.

A large part of a PhD program is the relationship between students and their thesis supervisors. The quality of this relationship has a significant influence on the quality of the work produced and the well-being of everyone involved. Starting a PhD program can be daunting. In addition to their classes and research, students may also be adjusting to different habits and customs, adapting to a new culture, and learning certain unspoken rules. As for supervisors, they have to juggle many different responsibilities at once, are under pressure to deliver results, and must always be familiar with the best practices for overseeing PhD thesis projects.

Since 2017, PhD students have been asked to complete a survey each year. This gives them a chance to express their opinions and share their experience completing a PhD at EPFL. In 2019, three-quarters of respondents said they were satisfied with their experience, but many students also said they were under extreme pressure and were experiencing symptoms of stress and depression. Some students said they felt they had not received enough guidance on managing their thesis projects. This prompted EPFL’s doctoral school to create a best practices guide for both PhD students and supervisors.

Clarifying the relationship between PhD students and their supervisors

“We took all this feedback into account,” says Marius Burgat, a scientific advisor and lead writer of the guide. “We raised these issues with the Doctoral Commission (Cdoct), an advisory body that includes program heads as well as PhD student representatives.” Luisa Lambertini, Associate Vice President for Postgraduate Education, adds: “The 2019 survey and comments we received from supervisors highlighted the need for a guide that summarizes the rules, systems and procedures for PhD programs at EPFL. This information was previously out there, but was split up in many separate documents or had not yet been formalized in writing.”

The 2019 survey and comments we received from supervisors highlighted the need for a guide that summarizes the rules, systems and procedures for PhD programs at EPFL Luisa Lambertini, Associate Vice President for Postgraduate Education

“The aim of our guide is to give everyone involved in PhD programs a useful resource for information and contacts,” says Burgat. “It’s intended to be helpful both at the start of and during PhD studies, and can always be referred back to if someone experiences a problem.” The guide also offers advice to students and supervisors about settling into a PhD program, achieving a healthy work-life balance and preventing harassment. The paragraphs are color-coded, so it’s easy to see which parts are intended for students and which parts are for supervisors. “Students therefore understand what they can expect from their supervisors, and vice-versa,” says Burgat.

Understanding the aims of a PhD program

The guide also clearly outlines EPFL’s position on what a PhD program should lead to and how it should be conducted. Students must of course write a thesis, but there is more to it than that. “PhD students also need develop soft skills, such as project management and networking, which will be useful to them throughout in their careers, whether they decide to stay in academia or not,” says Burgat. “It’s important that supervisors encourage students in these skills as well.”

A work in progress

“Developing the PhD guide was a real team effort,” explains Burgat. Four PhD students and several supervisors volunteered their time to help put it together. “I would like to thank the many people and departments that contributed to this initiative,” says Burgat. “Special thanks go to PhD student Alice J. Gillen, to Jeroen van Hunen, who was then the Deputy Vice President for Postgraduate Education, and to Juliane Kuntschen and Anikó Borbély, who added the finishing touches and made sure the guide was ready for publication.” Lambertini points out that “the contents of this guide are destined to continually change and evolve. We therefore welcome any contributions from members of the PhD community.”

• Best practices guide for doctoral studies
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Thinking about a PhD or perhaps a research internship? This section is for you!

Unfortunately, many applications get rejected because they do not provide enough information to make an informed decision. That is, people who read the applications cannot tell whether the applicant would be a good match, because the application contains too many unnecessary details and not enough relevant data. This guide is all about maximizing the amount of useful information your application contains, so that you can stand out and be evaluated fairly.

Remember that applying for a CS PhD at EPFL is entirely free and online . If you’re preparing application materials anyway, and you think EPFL is a good option, there are no downsides to applying ! If you are still doing an undergrad, how about the Summer@EPFL internship program?