MSCA COFUND – EU-DOCS
for SmUCS cotutelle thesis programme led by LR UNIV 

The MSCA COFUND (Horizon Europe) project “EU-DOCS for SmUCS”, led by La Rochelle Université, will recruit 17 PhD students over a 5-year period, with the aim of training the next generation of researchers specializing in Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (SmUCS). The project is co-financed by ExcelLR and EU-CONEXUS Plus. 

Key elements of the EU-DOCS for SmUCS program 

The program is designed to provide interdisciplinary training for doctoral students, based on the combined strengths of its European and international partners, and involves the joint supervision of theses by La Rochelle Université and its academic partners. Each doctoral student will benefit from double supervision and a diploma awarded by two universities, reinforcing scientific cooperation and the international skills of students.  

This program is based on three fundamental principles: 

Timeline of the first call 

This program is being launched in two stages: 

  • In the first phase, thesis topics are to be submitted by the research teams. 
  • In a second phase, the eligible thesis offers will be circulated so that candidates can apply.   
Call for subjects  Launch of the call Closing of the call 
October 8, 2024 November 30, 2024 
Eligibility check of the thesis subjects   December 2024 
Call for candidates  Launch of the call Closing of the call 
January 2025 March 2025 
Evaluation and selection of applicants  March to June 2025 
Beginning of the theses From September 2025 

Call for thesis subjects: Open 

The aim of this first call for proposals is to identify thesis topics that could be co-supervised by a researcher from La Rochelle University and a researcher from an EU-CONEXUS or international partner institution. Each thesis is funded for a period of 36 months. It has to be a “cotutelle” between La Rochelle Université and one of its 20 partners (cf. list below). You can use the RIIS platform to help you identify EU-CONEXUS researchers with whom you can propose a thesis subject or contact the Project Development Support Office of EU-CONEXUS (projects@eu-conexus.eu).. 

An information and matchmaking session, will be held on November 4 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm (Paris time) to help you find a co-supervisor. If you want to pitch your thesis project during this session, please send an e-mail to projects@eu-conexus.eu or the research units of La Rochelle Université .

List of partners 

EU-CONEXUS partners 
University of Zadar Croatia 
Frederick University Cyprus 
University of Rostock Germany 
Agricultural University of Athens Greece 
South East Technlogical University Ireland 
Klaipeda University Lithuania  
Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest Romania 
Catholic University of Valencia Spain 
International partners 
Deakin University Australia 
University of Calgary Canada 
University of Sherbrooke Canada 
University of Helsinki Finland 
University of Cape Coast Ghana 
Universita Degli Studi Dell’Aquila  Italy 
Sapienza University of Rome Italy 
University of Barcelona Spain 
Universidad Compultense de Madrid Spain 
Universidad de Sevilla Spain 
Case Western Reserve University USA 
University of Science & Technology of Hanoi Vietnam 

Eligibility criteria of the subject 

EU-DOCS for SmUCS aims at recruiting the best PhD candidates in all disciplinary fields contributing to addressing the challenge of sustainability in coastal environments and societies. All the subjects deemed eligible will be published. The eligibility check is based on:  

  • Alignment of the subject with the objectives of the programme: quality of the subject, addressing SmUCS challenges 
  •  Quality of the supervision provided by the co-supervisors (approval from the Doctoral schools and research laboratories).  
  • Compliance with the EU rules regarding ethics for research and address SmUCS challenges  
  • Identification of a non-academic partner or specific business/ professional area for the secondment.
  • Co-supervisors should be part of the EU-DOCS for SmUCS academic partners. 

Secondment 

Each thesis needs to include a three months secondment with a non-academic parter, during which the PhD student will be able 1/ to experience SmUCS challenges with a hands on perspective in a work environment related to his or her sector of activity, 2/ present his/her research activity to the host structure thus sharing potential solutions and getting the opportunity to debate with stakeholders on how this can meet their future needs (impact and dissemination activities) and 3/ contribute to any reflection going on within the structure in relation to his or her research domain. 

Non-academic partners may be chosen among the list of partners in EU-DOCs for SmUCS (cf. 12 partners below). This list can be extended depending on the relevance of the secondment for the PhD student in relation with the subject of the thesis. If you need help identifying a non-academic partner, please contact: eudocs_cofund@univ-lr.fr or campusinnov@univ-lr.fr 

Non-Academic partner (non-exhaustive list) 

Port Atlantique La Rochelle France 
Alstom France 
Plateforme TIPEE France 
District 2, Municipality of Bucharest (PS2) Romania 
Platforma 22 Croatia 
ISOTECH Cyprus 
Southern Regional Assembly Ireland 
Port of Waterford Ireland 
ProtoQSAR Spain 
MATCH Biosystems Spain 
MOLDRUG Spain 
PHARMAQUA Greece 

For any question about the programme you can contact the project team: eudocs_cofund@univ-lr.fr

“This work has benefited from State aid managed by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche under the Plan France 2030, bearing the reference ANR-21-EXES-0010 and ANR-19-GURE-0007 EU-CONEXUS Plus and is co-funded by the European Union as part of the Horizon Europe programme, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions call COFUND 2023 and under the Grant Agreement N°101179124.