The EDENE Doctoral Program

Training 30 international doctoral students at the highest level in the fields of energy and the environment

The EDENE program, laureate of the H2020 Marie Curie COFUND calls for projects, will finance PhD projects proposing innovative solutions for energy and the environment in the broad sense in the disciplines for which the UPPA, the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, is recognized: in Sciences and Technologies and in Social and Human Sciences.

The primary goal of EDENE, the European doctoral program in Energy and Environment, is to train at the highest level 30 international doctoral students who will carry out their research activities in the fields of energy and the environment.

These researchers will be offered the opportunity to be part of a very strong academic-industrial network and to benefit from quality training with a triple approach (international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary).

Contribute to a more sustainable environment

For this, the 5-year project will finance30 high-potential international researchers who will each carry out their doctoral studies over 3 years. Three cohorts of 10 doctoral students will thus be able to obtain their PhDs at the UPPA thanks to the EDENE program.

In the current context of climate emergency and energy transition, integrating the EDENE doctoral program within the UPPA means participating in the deepening of knowledge in these fields by being a driving force for innovative research subjects.

This is a unique opportunity to participate in the development of interdisciplinary and applied research on the impacts of climate change. Participating in EDENE therefore means contributing to the implementation of a more sustainable environment.

EDENE, an H2020 Marie Curie COFUND project

The EDENE Project is one of the 8 French COFUND projects selected to be funded in the 2019 call for projects.

EDENE therefore meets the principles of the “3I” of a Marie Curie COFUND project:

• Interdisciplinarity: thesis projects are collaborative between the two UPPA doctoral schools and the associated research laboratories.
• Intersectorality: establishment of a partnership with a non-academic actor (internship, mentoring, secondment).
• Internationality: the program is aimed at young international researchers, who may do part of their research abroad at UPPA partner universities such as, for example, the University of Zaragoza.

Supported by Gilles Carbou (professor of Applied Mathematics at UPPA), in conjunction with the doctoral schools, the EDENE project will last 5 years from September 2021, and has a total budget of 6.2 million euros. It is co-financed by the European Union to the tune of 2.4 million euros.

Why Apply?

EDENE is co-financed within the framework of Marie-Skłodowska-Curie COFUND actions of the H2020 program of the European Commission. Under this program, doctoral students will sign a three-year employment con-tract with the UPPA and will be enrolled in one of the two Doctoral Schools. During this period, they will bene-fit from the expertise of all the research units of the UPPA and its partners, as well as from a high-performance instrumental park.

Recruited fellows will be hired by the UPPA for a 36-month Research work contract (doctoral contract), governed by French regulations. In all cases, the employment conditions for fellows will be in keeping with the European Charter and Code. Fellows will be subject to employment conditions and entitlements similar to those of permanent researchers regarding working hours, paid annual leave, health care coverage, maternity/paternity leave, pension, and unemployment insurance. They may also be eligible for a family allowance depending on their individual situation. Gender equality will be guaranteed throughout the recruitment process. Support will also be provided to researchers with disabilities and researchers holding refugee status. Applicants having taken a career break may be eligible for the project, as long as they apply within three years from obtaining their Master’s degree.

EDENE fellows will benefit from the following advantages

A net salary (before taxes) of approximately 1 555 € (French income tax will be withheld at the source, at a rate determined by the tax authorities)

A dedicated relocation allowance of 1 000 € to cover the expenses relating to the initial travel and installation

To encourage mobility and the participation in scientific events, EDENE will subsidize up to € 4,500 to cover travel, accommodation, etc. related to secondments during the duration of the project, and costs of participation in conferences up to € 3,600 over the 3 years of the thesis

Research costs will be borne by the UPPA

Secondments of 3 to 6 months are possible and encouraged among the project partners. Other partners can also contribute.

Personalized support

During the doctoral training, the researcher will benefit from personalized support via a Personal Career Devel-opment Plan (PCDP) and will have access to a wide variety of training and workshops.
In addition, detachments of 3 to 6 months are possible and encouraged among the project partners. Other part-ners can also contribute.

EDENE offers a comprehensive training program to ensure the acquisition of skills in line with the personal professional project of each doctoral student. The partnerships created will allow researchers to acquire skills and experience, particularly international and / or intersectoral experience, facilitating integration into the desired future profession.

Available instrumental resources and documentation funds

For experimental subjects, UPPA Tech will be accessible. It is an instrumental service center for the university, bringing together all the experimental power available within the research laboratories. UPPA Tech is structured in the form of technical platforms backed by several UPPA research laboratories. It offers a range of advanced technical services to meet experimental needs requiring high technicality.

For the Social Sciences and Humanities sector, specialized and extensive documentation funds are available. These are essential for laboratories and they are vectors of research influence.

Career opportunities

One of EDENE’s ambitions is to provide doctors trained at the UPPA with important professional perspectives. Co-supervision by a partner, secondment within partner organizations, and the possibility of training in cross-functional areas are all facilitating tools for good professional integration in line with the personal professional project.

EDENE’s 5 strong points for optimized professional integration:

• Obtaining a doctorate from a high-level research university as part of the globally-recognized MSCA program
• The ability to draw on international, multisectoral and interdisciplinary networks for future collaborations and career opportunities
• Experience in research applied to Research and Innovation
• The development of transferable skills, including dissemination and communication
• Appropriation of an ambitious but achievable career plan (PCDP) through individualized mentoring

A field of research and innovation chosen by the candidate in the UPPA’s fields of expertise

Candidates have the possibility of proposing their own research projects directly related to the themes of energy or / and the environment in the broad sense.

Improve or expand your skills

Doctoral students will be able to improve or broaden their skills, in particular their transferable skills, in order to maximize their professional integration in the academic and non-academic sectors.

But also…

• Assistance with administrative procedures via the university’s International Welcome Desk
• Several activities for social and cultural integration
• French as a Foreign Language courses available

Partners

The EDENE program aims to train future researchers while developing their capacity for innovation, through collaborations between research centers of excellence and public / private partnerships. But it also aims to strengthen collaborations with socio-economic players in the area and cross-border university players. For this, 7 partners are collaborating with the UPPA:

• the University of Zaragoza,
• international companies (TOTAL, Enedis, Bertin, Teréga),
• a competitiveness cluster (POLE AVENIA) and
• a technology transfer office (Aquitaine Science Transfert – SATT)

By relying on its strengths in terms of location (the Pyrenean region of France, neighboring Spain), the UPPA has developed cross-border collaborations and solid partnerships with international companies established in the southwestern region of France.

Apply

From 25 January to 31 March 2021

Prepare your application

The entire application procedure (Eligibility criteria, timetable, application and selection process, required documents, various committees involved) is detailed in the “Applicant Guide” (pdf – 2Mo)”. Please refer to it before applying.

In order to prepare your research project, you must contact the UPPA research laboratories of your choice according to your area of interest.

The UPPA’s research units, or research laboratories, are attached to two doctoral schools:

• In Letters, Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences: the Doctoral School in Social and Human Sciences, SSH (ED481)
• In Science and Technology: the Doctoral School of Exact Sciences and their Applications, SEA (ED211)

Your application

Examples of themes studied at the UPPA

Fields of geoscience, physico-chemistry, biology …

• Characterization and production of geo-resource exploration, an innovative industrial process for research and management of the subsoil
• Development of sustainable energies and processes, storage and management of energy for the energy transition
• Innovative industrial processes and methods for the management of the production, transport and use of energy, as well as for risk management
• Physical and chemical characterization and modeling of natural and man-made materials and material damage, mixing of complex fluids, high power systems, coupled porous and fluid environments
• Physical and chemical analytical platforms for the quantitative chemical, elemental and isotopic characterization of natural, artificial and biological environments
• Chemical synthesis and characterization of new materials, polymers and composites thereof; analysis of chemical and biological processes related to pollution
• Quantification of natural geological processes and geological characterization of surface and underground, monitoring and inspection, laboratory analysis of natural geological objects
• Aquatic environment: biology and dynamics of populations of living organisms, ecological and physical response to environmental disturbances, including climate change
• Analysis and modeling of the natural population of aquatic organisms, population biology, understanding of metabolism and nutritional strategies in aquaculture
• Reduction of impact and pollution, management of waste and pollutants, analysis and remediation of environ-mental impact, biological response to environmental and chemical stresses
• Analytical science for food traceability

Fields of computing, mathematics …

• Modeling, mathematical analysis, numerical analysis and simulation for problems related to environmental and energy issues
• Statistical and stochastic methods applied to energy and the environment
• Management and use of data and big data, smart web and green IT applied to energy transition, risk assessment and management, improvement of industrial processes digital, IT and data / software management and development skills

Fields of human sciences …

• Smart and green buildings and cities, new societal organization and approaches to reduce current negative environmental impacts
• Energy law / environmental law, in particular from the perspective of comparative law, international law and European law
• Analysis of trade and economic transitions, international economy, development, regulations and public policies
• Spatial reconfigurations and global changes linked to energy and environmental transitions
• Energy law / environmental law, in particular from the perspective of comparative law, international law and European law
• Energy transition and societal acceptance, energy laws and regulations, societal impact and associated societal development, new technologies for reducing the societal energy footprint
• Economic transitions and economic policy issues due to energy issues and environmental changes

Contact

For any question, please contact the Administrative Team of EDENE:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska Curie actions, Grant Agreement No. 945416.