Thesis co-financing - 2020

General framework and philosophy

The purpose of the institutes is to strengthen the link between training and research, and to enhance the international appeal of the Aix-Marseille university site, in particular:

• Raising the profile of research themes in which the site is particularly well positioned

• Providing strong coordination of these themes at both Research and Training levels.

In this context, the institute will carry out scientific foresight work and implement a policy designed to strengthen the site's positioning in both Research and Training in the fields of fusion science, nuclear instrumentation and mechanical characterization of materials and structures for fission and fusion. A key element of this strategic positioning is the co-funding by the Institute of around twenty thesis grants over the next 5 years, targeting :

• key themes for the site, some of which are still at the potential stage
• Joint initiatives between the various players on the site (UMRs and faculties within the Institute's perimeter) and partners (CEA, ITER, IRSN, EDF, etc.).

• Partnerships with leading international institutions

The visibility of 5-year funding is designed to enable researchers and teacher-researchers to gradually and serenely build up projects in line with the site policy pursued by the institutes. Thesis co-financing will be accompanied by the creation of a graduate school with a PhD program designed to enhance the attractiveness of the site for students, provide additional training for PhD students and develop international mobility. The Research priorities discussed by the Executive Committee and presented at the first Institute Council, which will be progressively refined over the coming months, are listed in the appendix to this document.

In practice:

The Institute's annual call for projects to co-finance theses is aimed at :

• theses co-financed with targeted partners (CEA, ITER-IO, IRSN). The subject must be co-constructed with the partner's researchers, be at least co-supervised, and concern one of the priority themes on which the teams involved are working closely or plan to work closely. The thesis supervisor (HDR) may be employed by a partner if the co-supervisor is a member of a UMR affiliated to the institute (PIIM, IM2NP, LMA, IUSTI, M2P2, CPT, I2M, DICE, LAMES). The institute is responsible for negotiating a volume of co-financing with each of its partners in advance of the AAP. The final decision on the list of topics to be co-financed will be based on the priorities of the institute and its co-financing partners, and on the implementation of a broader joint strategy aimed at optimizing the chances of financing the greatest number of topics, by mobilizing all possible funding windows.

  The possibility of co-financing with other partners interfacing with ISFIN is not ruled out, and may be explored in the coming years.

• Theses co-financed with top-ranking international partners who are part of AMU's strategic targets (MIT, etc.).

The Institute's role is not to ensure or guarantee the material feasibility of the thesis (upgrading or operation of experiments, computing hours, etc.), which remains the responsibility of the supervisors. However, as part of its PhD Program, the Institute will set up AAPs open to PhD students within the Institute's perimeter (including those not directly co-financed by the Institute), designed to train them through and for research projects, and more generally to reinforce their training. The precise framework is still being defined, but there will certainly be a mobility component to foreign laboratories and an equipment component. The Institute will also make available a capped mobility budget for thematic schools and national and international conferences, and will be able to take charge of training courses. The amount will be around €2,500 per thesis co-financed by the Institute.

The selection is made on the basis of the subject alone (no candidates requested at this stage) by the Executive Committee, made up of the axis leaders and the Institute's management.