Recruitment
Details of the recruitment policies to be followed by the programs participating in NEIDOS can be found in the shared Code of Practice, as well as in the appropriate section of each participating Program's description. A rigorous and unbiased selection of candidates is key to the success of a graduate program. Given the heterogeneous profile of individuals applying to the Program for a three-year fellowship, some general guidelines should be considered when evaluating candidates during the selection process. Ideally, successful candidates should be young graduates with an excellent education track, a strong commitment to develop as independent investigators and good knowledge of the English language. One or more publications on high quality international journals, with a demonstrated active involvement in the work, would be appreciated but not strictly required. Students enrolled in the Program are expected to spend in the assigned lab the vast majority of the time required to complete their thesis work.

Students will be selected by most Programs based on a two-tier process. Candidates applying to the Program should submit a complete curriculum vitae, a short description of their current research activities, a statement describing their broad research interests and two reference letters by academic referees, which should contain an evaluation of the candidate conforming to appropriate guidelines reported in the web site of the Program. The entire application procedure will be handled through appropriate on-line forms with automatic feedbacks.

On the basis of the submitted material, the Board of Teachers selects a number of applications exceeding by approximately two fold the number of students to be enrolled. The selected candidates are invited for an interview (at the Program's expenses save special cases) by several members of the Board of Teachers as well as by expert scientists from outside the Board of Teachers chosen by the Scientific Coordinator of the Program. The following aspects of the candidate's profile will be assessed during the interviews: a) Background knowledge: Interviewers should assess the broad knowledge level of the candidate in the specific area of interest; b) Attitude: Interviewers should assess the attitude of the candidate to cope with the methodological, technological and cultural aspects of experimental research with both a rigorous and an imaginative approach. Candidates are expected to possess at least a basic knowledge of spoken and written English and some degree of confidence with informatics and bioinformatics; c) Commitment: Interviewers should assess the commitment of the candidate to develop a career in research and whether the candidate is likely to succeed when facing the inherent difficulties of such a career. At the end of the process, successful candidates are short-listed and will be accepted in the program based on the number of fellowships planned on a given year.