Further details on the admission procedure will be available on this site by October 1, 2021.
In the meantime you can take a look at our Pre-Call for Applications and send us a message under msca(AT)vcla.at if you want to be kept updated about Logics@TUWien.
Timeline
The First Call for Applications will be published on October 8, 2021, with an application deadline of December 30, 2021.
The Second Call for Applications will be published on February 1, 2022.
Start of LogiCS@TUWien PHD-School: June 2022
Application & Selection Process
Application must be submitted through the TUW Job-Portal (link coming soon) from October 8, 2021 until December 30, 2021.
The application and selection process is articulated in several stages. After a preliminary eligibility check, all the applications will be reviewed in a three-step evaluation process.
The call for applications will be open for three months.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure that his/her reference persons have sent their recommendation letters before the deadline to the email address provided in the call. Each missing letter reduces the score in the background check (each letter counts).
Eligibility Criteria
At the date of recruitment, all candidates for an ESR position must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and must not hold a doctoral degree.
The applicants are expected to have completed an excellent diploma or master’s degree at the Call deadline in one of the following subjects: computer science, mathematics, or a related field (i.e., computer engineering, business informatics, etc.). This will guarantee that the candidates have acquired fundamental education in a research area relevant to LogiCS@TUWien.
Please note that – according to the guidelines of the Marie-Skłodowska Curie Mobility Rule – applicants for LogiCS@TUWien must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Austria for more than 12 months between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021.
Application Requirements
The application of the candidates (in writing) should include:
a letter of motivation (detailing previous research achievements, research goals, career plans)
a complete CV, including a list of previous scientific expertise, awards, grants, stays abroad, attended lectures
attended summer schools, attended workshops, skills, and publications (if applicable)
an abstract in English of the applicant’s master’s thesis
a complete list of completed studies and transcripts of all grades
contact details of two reference persons (at least one academic) who are willing to provide a letter of recommendation
The letters should be sent to msca(AT)vcla.at before the application deadline.
proof of proficiency in English (usually TOEFL/IELTS/CAE)
at most three research topics (among the proposed ones) or their own topic and related supervisors
Each application will be assigned a score ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (very good) averaged and rounded to the first digit after the decimal.
If the score is above or equals the threshold of 3.5, the candidate will be invited to a first interview via teleconference, otherwise she/he will be notified within one month after the application deadline about the reasons of exclusion.
Evaluation Criteria
Indicators
Source
Weight
Academic qualification (45%)
BSc grade point average
Transcripts
10%
MSc grade point average
Transcripts
10%
Match of the studies with the research fields of the doctoral college
based on the reviews of the experts
10%
Letters of reference
based on the reviews of the experts
15%
Research interest, motivation and compatibility (40%)
Motivation
based on the reviews of the experts
15%
Knowledge and previous research experience in the PhD research topics chosen by the applicant
based on the reviews of the CV (e.g., publications, attended conferences, workshops, grants and awards, summer schools) by the experts
25%
Complementary Skills (15%)
English language skills
English language certificates, or English asnative language or English as graduate stud- ies
10%
General skills and advanced experience
based on merits, such as professional or volunteer experience, stays abroad, etc.
5%
Table 1: Evaluation Criteria for Background Check
3. Video Interview (approx. starting week 5 after application deadline)
In the first interview via teleconference, the candidates will be asked questions on their motivation, learning and working style, and on other scientific, professional or volunteer experiences (ca. 20 min). In turn, the candidates may ask questions to the supervisors and the doctoral program management (ca. 10 min).
During the interview the Personal Interview Panel (PIP) will assess the motivation of the candidate, his/her knowledge of the relevant topics, the learning & work-style of the candidate, the English communication skills and the compatibility of the chosen research topic to the program.
The PIP will assign a score between 1 (poor) to 5 (very good) with at max one digit after the decimal. If the score is above or equal to the threshold of 4, the candidate will be invited to the second interview in-person, otherwise she will be notified within a week after the interview about the reasons of exclusion.
Evaluation Criteria
Indicators
Source
Weight
Motivation, Research Experience (70%)
Knowledge and previous research experience
Assessed by the PIP, based on the interview
40%
Motivation
Assessed by the PIP, based on the interview
30%
Complementary Skills (30%)
Communication skills
Assessed by the PIP, based on the interview
20%
Additional relevant skills and experience
Assessment (based on the interview) by the PIP of additional skills, such as leadership, working in a team or international, interdisciplinary or inter-sectoral (non-academic) experience
10%
Table 2: Evaluation Criteria for the Video Interview
4. In-Person Interview (approx. starting week 8 after application deadline)
If the physical presence of the candidate is not feasible (e.g. visa issues, pandemic, travel restrictions) the interview will be held remotely.
The Program Manager and a member of the Equal Treatment Committee will participate in the meeting to ensure that equal opportunities are given to all the candidates. During this second interview, candidates are expected to give a presentation in English (20 min) on their MSc thesis, followed by a scientific discussion on the presentation and thesis (10 min).
Then they are expected to give a presentation of a scientific paper chosen by the potential supervisors (20 min), followed by a scientific discussion on the presentation of the paper (10 min).
The Personal Interview Panel will then assign a score ranging between 1 (poor) to 5 (very good) with at max one digit after the decimal based on this second interview and the evaluation criteria.
Evaluation Criteria
Indicators
Source
Weight
Scientific Skills (85%)
Quality of scientific presentation and discussion
Assessed by the PIP, based on the presentation of the
MSc thesis
45%
Capacity to understand and to present the scientific literature related to the chosen research topic
Assessed by the PIP, based on the presentation of the assigned scientific paper
40%
Complementary Skills (15%)
Communication skills
Assessed by the PIP, based on the interview
15%
Table 3: Evaluation Criteria for the In-Person Interview
5. Final Ranking (approx. starting 9 weeks after online submission)
The final consensus meeting (remote, if needed) will include the members of the Selection Committee and independent experts.
For each candidate a final score will be computed by adding the scores of the previous evaluation steps weighted as defined in Table 4.
Then the candidates will be grouped according to the chosen prospective supervisor and ranked in each group according to the final score. If two or more candidates have the same final score in the group, priority will be given to the candidate that has obtained the best score in the in-person interview. If also this is the same, the priority will be given to the candidate with the best score
in the video interview. In the case of a tie (ex-aequo), the SC will consider diversity criteria (e.g., underrepresented gender, researcher with physical disabilities) and in the ultimate case toss a coin.
The top researchers for each group will be then ranked according to the same criteria and tie-breaking priority. The top candidates will be chosen to fill the positions available for each prospective supervisor in each call.
The ranking list will be presented to the Steering Committee who will endorse the final decision. Subsequently the candidates will be notified about the final decision.
Evaluation Step
Score
Weight for the Final Ranking
Threshold
Ex-aequo Priority
Background Check
1 (low) – 5 (high)
35 %
3.5
low
Video Interview
1 (low) – 5 (high)
25 %
4
medium
In-person Interview
1 (low) – 5 (high)
40 %
4
high
Table 4: Score range, weights for final ranking, thresholds, and ex-aequo priority order for each stage.
Human Ressources will prepare the employment contracts for the successful candidates. The supervisor is chosen during the admission process of the student for the LogiCS@TUWien program in a mutual agreement with the supervisor and the student. The co-supervisor is chosen after the doctoral student has defined his/her research goals.
If the candidates believe that the evaluation of their application was not properly handled, or that the results of the eligibility check are incorrect, they may appeal for a redress procedure within one week from the notification.
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034440.
