(March 4th, 2010) Quite a number of career programmes have recently been established, claiming to support the young researchers’ way to independence, as does the novel Vienna International Post-Graduate Program for Molecular Life Sciences (VIPS).
(Photo: Gabriele Permoser (l.) and Renée Schroeder)
The programme has been realised by the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL), which were established in 2005 as a joint venture of the University and the Medical University of Vienna and today harbour 60 research groups covering a broad range of research topics in molecular biology. Applications to the first VIPS call will be accepted up until the 1st of May. LabTimes talked to the scientific coordinator, RNA-specialist Renée Schroeder, and the VIPS manager, Gabriele Permoser.
What does VIPS offer?
We provide a three-year postdoctoral fellowship with full access to the social security system and a research budget of €14.000 per year and travel money at free disposal. Additional benefits are a mentoring programme, family and grant writing support and career development seminars. Towards the end of the three years the best will apply for independent funding, so that they can pursue their own projects within the secure environment of their group. They will publish as last author and can take the project with them when they go.
Other organisations also offer opportunities for early independence. For example, the Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships in the UK, the Otto Hahn Groups of the German Max Planck Society or Fellow groups at the Institute of Molecular Pathology nearby. What is so special about VIPS?
The key difference is that VIPS is not a funding agency but a programme within a research institution. VIPS fellows will develop research ideas mentored by the MFPL faculty. They grow up in a group and then become independent within it. VIPS will not only help them to establish their first own project that they will take with them when they leave the MFPL but also will provide support when they write their first grant as a principal investigator. Thereby, they will already have a good project when they apply for academic jobs. Depending where they move to, they can take the grants with them.
What are key features of your mentoring programme?
Mentors will be those PIs that are willing to help to develop the independent interests of carefully selected postdocs. In addition to their PI, the VIPS postdocs will have a mentor, who provides additional advice and career support. Mentors will be members of the MFPL faculty. The postdocs benefit by becoming independent within a secure environment. Senior author papers and demonstrated skills in raising money will put them at a considerable advantage in job interviews.
How many postdocs are accepted in the first round and how do you evaluate the applications?
In the first round, six postdocs will be accepted and directly financed by VIPS. Each PI at the MFPL may recruit additional postdocs via the VIPS call and finance them by his own resources. These postdocs will have the same rights as VIPS postdocs. Moreover, within the next years, we would like all postdocs at MFPL to benefit from this new programme. We expect about 100 applications in the first call, which will be reviewed by a selection committee. Applied criteria will be the quality of the doctoral thesis, references and the ability of the applicants to discuss their scientific interests in an interview.
Do postdocs have to apply for a specific research group with an outline of their future research project?
No, they can indicate a preference but the choice is made only after the selection. The VIPS postdocs will establish their own research project during their stay at MFPL. They do not have to apply with their future research project, although they have to indicate their research interests.
How is VIPS financed and how long is the financing secured?
VIPS is financed by the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research and the City of Vienna. The financing of VIPS is secured for five years. Within the first three years, 18 postdocs will be accepted.
How do you monitor the success of the VIPS postdoctoral fellows?
The VIPS postdocs will be accompanied by a postdoc committee, which will survey the scientific progress of the projects. Constant monitoring will ensure that those who do meet the standard for academic excellence are guided into equally rewarding alternative careers. The aim of VIPS is that the postdocs will get international academic positions, for example, assistant professor positions at top universities. VIPS itself will be monitored and evaluated through the success of its fellows.
Is a VIPS member senior and last author on publications? What do you expect to be the relationships between ordinary postdocs and VIPS postdocs?
In a later phase of their fellowship, after obtaining their own funding, it is guaranteed that they will be senior author and, preferably, that the PI will not be a co-author. Other postdocs will be able to participate in some aspects of VIPS, but the details will need to be worked out together with them.
Interview: Ralf Schreck