Integration of experimental and population biology using new methods in interdisciplinary practice – path to excellence with young scientists, (reg. number: CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0048)

Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in cooperation with project partners has started realization of project on the 1st Dec 2012. Project is co-financed from European Social Fund (ESF) and national budget of the Czech Republic and supported by OP Education for Competitiveness (OPEC). Project will end by 30th June 2015. Total budget of the project is 36.620.798,50 CZK. All eligible costs of the project are funded up to 100% by the grant.

Project partners:
The Institute of Experimental Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IEB)
The Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IVB)

Brief summary of the project

The objective of this project is, above all, to facilitate rapid development of doctoral students and young researchers towards methodically and scholarly enriched and generally more perspective research by means of interdisciplinary cooperation and topics of interdisciplinary research in the fields of population, reproduction, developmental and molecular biology. These topics will be prepared by interdisciplinary consortia of mentors, who will prepare postdoctoral students for researching the topics. During the scientific growth of postdocs and with the creation of first research results, postdocs as mediators will positively (i.e. according to the proposed scheme) influence the focus of research of doctoral students and other scientific workers the institutions involved. One separate key advantage of the connections between applicants and its partners within the project is the unique opportunity for mentor-postdoc cross-relationships across fields of research. All these objectives lead towards the main goal of the project – the exploitation of these findings by the target group thanks to seminars, courses and conferences (altogether 40 over the course of the project). Ten postdocs and eight mentors will take part in the project by researching two topics.

Goals of the project

There are several critical periods in the process of training a scientific worker whose overcoming does not depend only on the worker him- or herself. The praeceptor or mentor and his or her team primarily determine the ‘viability’ of the topic of a doctoral thesis, i.e. an underpinning topic that facilitates further personal advancement of the future scientist. Publications and other results of researching this topic are only the first step following the defense of the doctoral thesis. This brings the worker to another critical point of his or her scientific growth: the postdoctoral period. This is a period of 2–5 years, in which a fresh doctor is given the opportunity to start off towards further scientific achievements, primarily in the team of the mentor within the scope of a more broadly defined concept and also within the scopes of topics and projects developed by the postdoc. The criticality of this period resides, firstly, in a lack of opportunities for all suitably equipped workers (a large reduction in numbers at the doctoral student / postdoc transition), secondly, in the influence of external socioeconomic pressures (starting of families, job offers from outside the academic sector etc.) and, thirdly, in the so-called ‘crisis of independent direction’, which is a term for difficulties concerning both factual and conceptual process of becoming independent. The goal of this project is therefore, above all, to aid the development of doctoral students and young scientific workers towards methodically and scholarly enriched and generally more perspective research. This will be ensured by interdisciplinary cooperation and topics of interdisciplinary and inter-hierarchical research in the fields of population, reproductive, developmental and molecular biology. During the scientific growth of postdocs and with the creation of the first notable results of thus focused research, postdocs as mediators will positively influence the focus of research carried out by doctoral students and other scientific workers of the participating institutions. Another goal is to increase the effectiveness of scientific education so that the mentioned three to four critical stages limit the rise of new top young scientists as little as possible. All the goals mentioned above will be exploitable, through the outputs of the project achieved within compulsory activities, by the target group (university students and young scientific workers).

Monitoring indicators

• Number of supported persons – workers in further education, target value: 651 persons.
• Number of supported persons in initial education – total number of students, target value: 475 persons.
• Number of successfully supported persons in initial education – students, target value: 48 persons.

Project target groups

• Young scientists (45y and below, primary target group)
• Doctoral students (primary target group)
• Other universities students (secondary target group)
• Other scientific workers (secondary target group)

The research centers, where the outputs of all activities will be realized (all in Czech Republic, excl. capital city).

• Průhonice
• Třeboň
• Brno
• Olomouc
• Studenec

Contacts

Project coordinator
Dr. Jiří Doležal
Institute of Botany ASCR
E-mail: dolezal@butbn.cas.cz

Project manager
Jiří Kahl
Institute of Botany ASCR
E-mail: jiri.kahl@ibot.cas.cz