POSTDOCS

PDF Fellowship for Persistence

The 2020 PDF Fellowship for Persistence was allowed to Sandra Lai. Congratulation!
The next call will open in October 2021.

The recruitment and training environment at BIOS² follow the Diversity and Inclusivity engagement of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. As such, we embrace equity, diversity and inclusion and believe that all fellows deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and kindness and will treat others in the same manner. We recognize the role we have to play in promoting equity, diversity and encouraging inclusion in our activities.

The transition from graduate studies to autonomous research career is a critical step where intensive selection takes place, often in a biased way. Job perspectives, life conditions, search for excellence are unequal sources of pressure which tend to reduce diversity and inclusion in academia. BIOS² will specifically promote persistence at this stage of career with a specific fellowship that has for objective to promote equity, diversity and inclusion of postdoctoral scientists. We propose a non-competitive procedure to select persistent fellows.

This specific program will support one Fellow per year.

All BIOS² fellows are expected to actively participate in the program’s activities and contribute to the collaborative environment of the program. More specifically, fellows should complete one internship per year with a collaborative member or non-academic partner, participate in one (but preferentially both) summer schools and take part in a working group. Moreover, postdocs should play a role in the training of students by doing mentoring or proposing training sessions.

Eligibility :

The application must meet eligibility criteria based on: 

1. Alignment with the program goals for training, 
2. Promotion of equity and diversity in science,
3. Leverage effect of the fellowship on career continuation and development.

Fellows must be registered at one participating institution and must be co-supervised by one new member to the program. Non-academic members are welcome.¹

Application process :

Applications will be received continuously, starting from October 15, 2021, until the position is filled. 

To apply:

• Fill in this form: https://forms.office.com/r/txihH0B20f
• Send a motivation letter explaining how the eligibility criteria are satisfied and a CV to info.bios2@usherbrooke.ca

Eligibility will be evaluated by consultation of the program co-PIs.

Funding and Resources :

• Selected postdoctoral fellows will have access to all training activities and financial support, including scholarships and mobility / communication grants.
• Postdoctoral fellows are eligible for one year of funding equivalent of 50% of their stipend ($22500 per year). The remaining of their stipends must come from other sources (supervisors, departments, universities, partners, etc.).
• All BIOS² Fellows have access to travel / communication grant up to the value of 2000$. 
• BIOS2 support NSERC’s policies about family and medical leaves. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need more information.

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¹ General Eligibility Rules

Fellows need to be supervised or co-supervised by a BIOS² academic member from an associated institution : Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Montréal, Université Laval, UQAM, UQAR, Concordia University, University McGill, University of Alberta and University of British Columbia.

Researchers from any Canadian institution can apply to become a BIOS² academic member and thereby access training and funding for their students and PDF. To do so, they should send a motivation letter to the direction team (dominique.gravel@usherbrooke.ca, timothee.poisot@umontreal.ca, c.c. kim.gauthier.s@usherbrooke.ca) describing their interest in the program objectives, their commitment to the collaborative training experience, and how they could be involved in the training activities and administration. All members are expected to contribute to the development or maintenance of at least one training package. Researchers that do not work at one of the 9 associated institutions will need to invite one of the co-PIs to co-advise the Fellow. In all cases, we require that one of the co-PIs be a member of the Fellow’s advisory committee.

Applications to become academic members will be reviewed in parallel to the student’s / PDF application.

If you have any questions, please contact Kim, the program coordinator: kim.gauthier.s@usherbrooke.ca.