Research promotion

Interested candidates should first consult the regulations of the funding agencies and, second, contact a potential mentor (that is, an elected professor) within the institutes of the department well ahead of time.

The mentors guide the candidates through the internal procedures. In particular, their duties are

1. Make sure the candidates are aware of all deadlines.
2. Make sure the candidates get interviewed on the level of the institute.
3. Make sure the candidates have a sound financial plan.
4. Make sure the candidates are aware of the teaching duties of their prospective personnel.
5. The mentor has to be present at the institute meeting to introduce the candidate and to answer questions that may arise during the interviews.

Once the prospective candidate has identified a potential mentor, she or he will be interviewed by the host institute. The mentor will provide relevant additional information and will make sure the head of institute schedules the interview meeting. 

Each institute's interview will be chaired by a faculty member from another institute, ensuring departmental oversight. A first vote at the institute level will involve all those who typically participate and vote in the respective institute meetings. Additionally, all professors are invited to attend any institute's interview and have voting rights for a second vote at the institute meeting on those candidates who passed the first vote.

Candidates are welcome to apply to be hosted at the Department of Physics for the SNSF StG 2025 call. The general procedure is outlined above. For this call the following deadlines have to be kept:

1. Before October 31, 2024:
   1. The candidates agree with a faculty member of the Department that they will be acting as the mentor.
   2. The candidates make sure they are eligible for the call.
   3. The candidates submits a CV that includes the birthdate and the date of the PhD to the .
2. Before November 10, 2024:
   1. Institute heads communicate their interview dates to the coordinator.
   2. Institute heads provide the names of candidates and their research statements to the coordinator.
   3. Institute heads are responsible for ensuring all institute members (who are not professors) receive these documents by this deadline.
3. Before November 13, 2024:
   1. The coordinator will distribute the candidates’ names, CVs, and research statements, along with their interview schedules such that all professors have this information prior to the interviews at the institutes.    
4. Before December 15, 2024:
   1. Chairs of the institute meetings communicate the results of the votes to the coordinator and the head of the department.
5. On December 15, 2024:
   1. The Department sends its hosting letters to the office of research of ETH which will then issue the official hosting agreement. 

For further questions, please get in contact with your mentor.

The award is open to female postdoctoral researchers in the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich who desire support in their careers during the early years of motherhood, or for the early years of a second or third child. It can be applied for during pregnancy.

A postdoctoral researcher already holding such an award will not become eligible for a second award until two years into the PhD position associated with the running award.

This fellowship will provide funding to support a four-year PhD position in the Department of Physics.

The fellowship will allow the post-doctoral mother to gain experience by co-supervising the student, while being supported by the professor leading the research group.

The fellowship involves release of the post-doctoral mother from non-research departmental teaching duties for one year, starting from the date that the mother returns from maternity leave.

The supervising professor should send a supporting statement covering the following points:

• The supervising professor should commit to employing the post-doctoral mother for more than one year beyond the date of return from maternity leave, and indicate the expected duration of the stay of the post-doctoral mother in the research group.
• The supervising professor will pay the salary of the PhD student that goes beyond the standard four-year period.
• The supervising professor must commit to providing the official supervision for the PhD position associated with the fellowship.
• The supervising professor will provide mentoring to the post-doctoral mother to support the postdoctoral researcher’s role in supervising the PhD student.

Applications for a fellowship should include the following:

• A description of the proposed research, including a plan for the full PhD period.
• A description of the intentions of the post-doctoral mother with regards future career plan, including the envisioned time spent in the research group of the host professor.
• A statement of support from the host professor, including a commitment along the lines indicated in the section “Commitment from the Professorial supervisor”.
• A full CV for the post-doctoral mother.