Deadline:
December 01, 2024
Location(s)
Belgium France Netherlands Poland
4 universities The programme is organized by 4 European universities, i.e. Ghent University, Medical University of Gdańsk, University of Lille and the University of Groningen.
Overview
Details
The programme is preceded by a one-week summer school at Ghent University, starting with a half-day assessment of the selected candidates (compulsory), in order to help them identify sub-optimal starting competences. While one unit (i.e. Scientific communication) will be compulsory for all students, 2 additional units will be assigned to each student based on the results of the assessment.
The first semester follows immediately after the summer school at Ghent University and will introduce the students to the broad perspectives and basics of sustainable drug discovery.
The programme continues with the second semester when students move together to the Medical University of Gdańsk, where more in-depth courses on e.g. molecular modelling, omics and green analytics are given. In the mid of the semester, the S-DISCO days are taking place, which are organized by the students. During these days, students will be exposed to the research activities of doctoral, postdoctoral and senior researchers.
The third semester takes place at the University of Lille or the University of Groningen. The different stages in the drug discovery process up to drug development are discussed, i.e. screening, target identification and validation, hit-to-lead, preclinical studies up to first-in-human trials. By selecting the appropriate mobility track, students will be able to become more proficient in certain aspects of drug discovery by benefitting from the specific expertise of the selected partner university.
The final semester is dedicated to the execution and writing of the master thesis. The thesis is performed under the supervision of a lecturer of one of the four consortium universities and will preferentially take place at an international (incl. non-academic) partner worldwide.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
Admission Requirements
Academic degree
Candidates must hold a higher education diploma issued by a competent Higher Education authority attesting the completion of a degree equivalent to a first cycle (180 ECTS - or higher) in the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Biology (incl. Biochemistry), Bio-(incl. environmental, chemical and food) Engineering, Human or Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical sciences or equivalent (which then requires formal equivalency by an official body in one of the 4 consortium countries, e.g. ENIC-NARIC).
Before the final selection of the applicant, the diploma and its transcripts have to be legalized according to the legalization procedure applicable. If these documents are not in Dutch, French, German or English, the applicant is required to add scans of these documents in one of these languages, translated by a sworn translator. Please have a look at the Ghent University website how legalization can be performed and start-up this process well in advance!
Note: Students in their last year of such a study programme at the time of application will also be considered for admission. It is the applicant's responsibility that the required degree is obtained prior to the start of the S-DISCO programme.
English language
S-DISCO is an English taught programme and an English language proficiency is therefore a basic requirement. Therefore, applicants need to provide a certificate of proficiency in English, which should be at least a B2 level according to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference). Certificates issued for English-taught courses or study programs will not be considered proof of language proficiency.
Dates
Deadline: December 01, 2024
Cost/funding for participants
Erasmus+ scholarships
Students can apply for an Erasmus+ scholarship, by indicating this choice in the application form. An Erasmus+ scholarship has a value of EUR 1400 per month, for a total duration of 24 months. For these students, the tuition fee is waived. The scholarship can cover the living costs incurred by the student, including travel, visa, installation, house-rent and other living costs.
There are a number of dedicated scholarships available for excellent students from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Montenegro.
Student selection for scholarships will be performed by the Selection and Admission Board (with representatives of all partner universities) after ranking all eligible applications. Next to the scores for the online test and Bachelor/Master GPA values, further ranking is based on (1) the educational background (5/9), with emphasis on organic chemistry, statistics/math and cell/genetic/immune biology, (2) the curriculum vitae (2/9), and (3) motivation letter (2/9). The highest ranked applicants are then invited for an online interview, that includes a scientific presentation (5 minutes) prepared by the student, followed by a questioning session. This interview score is then used for the final ranking of the candidates.
Students that have already benefitted from an Erasmus+ EMJM scholarship are not eligible to apply for an additional scholarship.
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