How to apply

The IChF Director will appoint a Selection Committee, composed of the BS4S Project Coordinator (Chair), the Training Programme Manager, and two independent researchers from IChF (R3/R4 level).

The application process begins with the official announcement of the call. The online application module remains open throughout the entire duration of the call (approximately 17 weeks). It will close at 23:59 local time (GMT+1) on the final day of the call deadline. In the event of a technical failure of the application module, applicants may submit their documents via email to: bs4s|ichf.edu.pl| |bs4s|ichf.edu.pl.

Before starting your application, please review the list of required documents provided in the Application Documents section.

The online application module will require the following information and documents:

• Personal details (including a valid e-mail address)
• Current or most recent place of employment
• Proposal abstract
• A supporting letter from the IChF mentor (prepared using the provided template)
• A supporting letter from a co-mentor from an international scientific partner organization (prepared using the provided template)
• Optional: A supporting letter from a business partner and co-mentor (no template provided)
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Full project proposal
• Copy of PhD diploma or a formal document confirming the defence of a doctoral thesis
   

Please note that you will also need to confirm the following declarations by ticking the appropriate boxes in the application form:

• Declaration confirming compliance with the mobility criterion 
• Declaration of having read and understood the recruitment procedure 
• Consent to the processing of personal data for the purposes of the selection process

The candidate applies for admission to the “Basic Sciences 4 Society needs: postdoctoral training ” programme (BS4S) via the online application module. 

Once the application form is submitted and all required documents are uploaded, the candidate will receive an automatic confirmation of submission.

In case of a technical malfunction of the module, applications may be submitted by e-mail to: bs4s|ichf.edu.pl| |bs4s|ichf.edu.pl.  If this option becomes necessary, relevant information will be posted on the BS4S main webpage. Unless stated otherwise, applications must be submitted through the application module.

The applications will be accepted until 23:59 local time (GMT+1) on the final day of the application period.

All communication with candidates – including notification of results – will be conducted exclusively by e-mail. Candidates are responsible for providing a valid e-mail address and checking it regularly (including the spam folder).

Submitted applications will be assessed based on the following stages:

• Eligibility check – carried out by the BS4S Project Support Office
• Evaluation of documents – conducted by International External Experts

If there are any doubts regarding the compliance of submitted documents with the eligibility or evaluation criteria, applicants may be asked to provide supplementary information. In such cases, the missing or corrected documents must be submitted within 7 calendar days, counted from the day following the request for supplementation.

Only applications that meet the Eligibility criteria will proceed to the next stage of evaluation – the Evaluation of the documents. This evaluation is performed independently by two International External Experts, appointed by the Selection Committee.

In cases of significant discrepancy between reviewers’ scores (i.e. a difference of 20 points or more), a third reviewer will be involved. The candidate’s final score will be calculated as the average of all valid reviews and will determine their position in the ranking.

Applicants who receive at least 60 points will be invited for an interview.

At this stage, the submitted documents are no longer subject to evaluation. Instead, shortlisted candidates are invited to participate in online interviews, assessed according to the Interview Evaluation Criteria

The interviews will be conducted remotely (using Zoom Communicator or similar). Each applicant will be evaluated independently by:

• two International External Experts (the same who evaluated the proposal in Step 5), and
• two additional External Experts

The Selection Committee will also attend the interviews to supervise the process and ensure consistency across all evaluations, but without scoring rights. An independent observer may also be present to ensure fairness, likewise without scoring rights.

In cases where a proposal receives score differences of 20 points or more, or when conflicting justifications are identified, the Selection Committee initiates a discussion with the experts to enable possible adjustment of scores or clarification of justifications.

The final score will be calculated as the average of all expert scores and will determine the candidate’s position on the final ranking list.

After the final stage, the overall score will determine the candidate’s position on the ranking list. Only candidates who achieve at least 70 points may be offered a postdoctoral position (up to the limit of 720 person-months). In the case of a tie, the criteria “Project viability” and “Motivation” will be used to decide.

Following the interviews, the Selection Committee compiles a single Preliminary Ranking List, and the BS4S Project-Support-Office informs all candidates of their results, including feedback.

The Final Ranking List, containing the names of the selected candidates appointed to the BS4S programme, is published after the conclusion of the appeal procedure.

The Project Support Office informs the selected candidates of their positive evaluation and admission to the BS4S programme, along with individual feedback.