INSPIRE Potentials

NCCR SPIN Master’s Fellowship

Candidates

 

The fellowship is designed for excellent female Master students pursuing a Master’s degree at their home institution who would like to conduct their Master's thesis research project in one of the research teams of NCCR SPIN. They additionally:

  • demonstrate excellence, potential and motivation to conduct their Master research project in a laboratory of a principal investigator from NCCR SPIN

  • meet the scientific visitor requirements for the corresponding NCCR SPIN university/institution.

Candidates are expected to apply in preparation of their Master’s thesis research project.

Award

 

  • up to 9 monthly payments of CHF 1’200, paid directly to the awardee, starting as early as the month of the deadline.

  • For awardees whose home institution is outside of Switzerland: travel expenditures to the NCCR SPIN institution and back are reimbursed on actual expense basis not exceeding CHF 2'000 (economy fare). In exceptional cases, additional financement can be attributed to complete the monthly payment of 1’200 CHF/month.

  • Supervision in a stimulating research environment.

  • Social and networking events with students and researchers from the NCCR SPIN.

Note: Accommodation, visa and other fees, etc. are to be paid by the awardee. Candidates are required to declare all the scholarships they will receive during their master's and cases will be evaluated one by one.

Application procedure

 

Application deadlines: May 1, December 1

Applications are to be submitted via academicjobsonline.org

Required documents:

  • CV (curriculum vitae)

  • Motivation letter (please declare in your motivation letter if you are or will be receiving another scholarship during your Master’s studies)

  • Letter of acceptance from the host laboratory (Consult the list of laboratories below to determine which groups interests you, and contact the associated principle investigator directly to discuss your potential Master’s thesis). The Master’s thesis project must be NCCR SPIN-related.

  • 1-2 recommendation letters

  • Copy of your University degree(s) / transcripts from all grades

  • Copy of identity card or passport (+ residence permit for foreigners who live in Switzerland)

  • Optional: Documents such as TOEFL or GRE scores

All documents should be in English. Diplomas in French, German or Italian will be accepted, too.

Step by step procedure:

  1. Consult the list of NCCR SPIN teams (see last section of this page) and select teams whose research area is close to your research interest and/or background.

  2. Directly contact the corresponding Principal Investigator (PI) of the team to ask if they would be interested in having you for your Master’s thesis. If yes, the PI will engage a normal hiring procedure with you (interviews, etc.).

  3. After the PI accepted you in their team, they will write a letter of acceptance for you, that you have to submit with your application. If for any reason, you cannot reach the PI that you are interested in working with, write a letter listing the teams you are interested in working with and submit it with your application instead of the letter of acceptance.

  4. Gather all the documents required for your application. Beware that some documents can take time for you to collect (recommendation letters from your colleagues or professors, for example).

  5. Submit your application before December 1st, 2024 to academicjobsonline.org

Selection

 

Selection is done on a competitive basis by members from the NCCR SPIN Scientific Committee. The selected candidates are asked to confirm their venue within 2 weeks after being informed that they were selected to receive the award. Otherwise, the award may be attributed to another candidate.

The award is granted only to selected applicants who have completed enrolment at their home university. Selected candidates are asked to start their Master thesis research in the host laboratory within 8 months. Payment of the award money is subject to ongoing activity of the Master research project.

Please be aware that if you are coming from a non-EU country, the procedure to get a Visa for Switzerland can take up to three months.

This award was initiated in close collaboration with the NCCR QSIT and NCCR MARVEL.

List of NCCR SPIN research teams and their Principal Investigators

 

University of Basel 

Quantum Electron Devices - Prof. Andrea Hofmann (Andrea.hofmann@unibas.ch)

Condensed Matter Theory and Quantum Computing - Prof. Jelena Klinovaja (jelena.klinovaja@unibas.ch) and Prof. Daniel Loss (Daniel.loss@unibas.ch)

Nanolino Lab (nanowires for quantum computation, structure of insulating surfaces, molecular layers on surfaces, nanotribology, and instrumental development of force microscopy) - Prof. Ernst Meyer (Ernst.meyer@unibas.ch)

Poggio Lab (Nano-mechanics, Nano-magnetism, nano-imaging) - Prof. Martino Poggio (martino.poggio@unibas.ch)

Nanoelectronics Lab - Prof. Christian Schönenberger (christian.schoenenberger@unibas.ch)

Nanophotonics Lab - Prof. Richard Warburton (richard.warburton@unibas.ch) and Dr. Andreas Kuhlmann (Andreas.kuhlmann@unibas.ch)

Nanophononics Lab - Prof. Ilaria Zardo (Ilaria.zardo@unibas.ch)

Quantum Coherence Lab - Prof. Dominik Zumbühl (Dominik.zumbuhl@unibas.ch)

IBM Research Zurich

Quantum Technology and Computing - Dr. Andreas Fuhrer (AFU@zurich.ibm.com), Dr. Gian Salis (GSA@zurich.ibm.com), Dr. James Wootton (JWO@zurich.ibm.com) and Dr. Patrik Harvey-Collard (PHC@zurich.ibm.com)

IBM Research Zurich - Dr. Heike Riel (hei@zurich.ibm.com) and Dr. Cezar Zota (ZOT@zurich.ibm.com) (Cryogenic electronics, Quantum computing technologies, 3D integration technology, Novel devices based on III-V as well as Weyl materials, Design, fabrication and analysis of RF-transistors)

Physics of Nanoscale Systems - Dr. Ralph Allenspach (ral@zurich.ibm.com)

Advanced Algorithms for Quantum Simulations - Dr. Ivano Tavernelli (ITA@zurich.ibm.com)

EPF Lausanne

Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials - Prof. Anna Fontcuberta I Morral (Anna.fontcuberta-morral@epfl.ch)

Nanoelectronics Device Laboratory - Prof. Adrian Ionescu (adrian.ionescu@epfl.ch)

Integrated Nanoscale Photonics and Optoelectronics Laboratory - Prof. Kirsten Moselund (Kirsten.moselund@epfl.ch)

Hybrid Quantum Circuits Laboratory - Prof. Pasquale Scarlino (pasquale.scarlino@epfl.ch)

Laboratory for Quantum Architecture - Prof. Edoardo Charbon (Edoardo.charbon@epfl.ch)

Laboratory of Theoretical Physics of Nanosystems - Prof. Vincenzo Savona (vincenzo.savona@epfl.ch)

Laboratory of Quantum Information and Computation - Prof. Zoë Holmes (Zoe.holmes@epfl.ch)

Computational Quantum Science Laboratory - Prof. Giuseppe Carleo (Giuseppe.carleo@epfl.ch)

ETH Zürich

Laboratory for Solid-State Physics - Prof. Klaus Ensslin (ensslin@phys.ethz.ch) and Prof. Thomas Ihn (ihn@phys.ethz.ch)

Integrated Systems Laboratory - Prof. Mathieu Luisier (mluisier@iis.ee.ethz.ch), Prof. Andreas Schenk (schenk@iis.ee.ethz.ch)

Quantum Device Lab - Prof. Andreas Wallraff (andreas.wallraff@phys.ethz.ch)

Institute for Theoretical Physics - Prof. Eugene Demler (demlere@phys.ethz.ch)

University of Konstanz

Condensed Matter Theory and Quantum Information - Prof. Guido Burkhard (guido.burkard@uni-konstanz.de)

Quantum Engineered Systems Theory - Prof. Oded Zilberberg (oded.zilberberg@uni-konstanz.de)

Contact

 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via info@nccr-spin.ch or Marie Le Dantec, our NCCR SPIN Communication and Outreach Officer (Marie.ledantec@unibas.ch).