Cofund SEED
SEED, which stands for Societal, Energy, Environmental, industrial and Digital transitions, is a 60-month interdisciplinary, international and intersectoral doctoral training programme offered by IMT Atlantique and co-funded by the European Union. The programme itself is designed to nurture four key dimensions: thesis interdisciplinarity, internationality, cross-sector experience, and promotion of innovation. It offers 40 fully funded early-stage researcher (ESR) positions within three different tracks. Each track builds on the same fundamental excellence trainings implementing a 4i approach (Interdisciplinarity, Internationality, Intersectorial, Innovation), while providing a different degree of mobility and focus:
Doctoral training
The SEED programme aims to equip its early stage researchers (ESRs) with the best skills to help them in developing their ability to support the changes in society. To achieve this vision, SEED provides a comprehensive doctoral training programme, which does not only deliver the required scientific training, but also provides a thorough education in soft skills that are increasingly important for all scientists and technologists. This is complemented by a carefully designed career development programme, which equips the ESRs with the skills required in the modern workplace to become innovators and future leaders in academia, industry, or their own start-ups.
The SEED programme has therefore fixed itself three objectives:
1. Provide scientific knowledge beyond the SOTA to strengthen career perspectives and to develop science-based applications.
2. Provide the knowledge, ability and confidence to undertake broad interdisciplinary research by maximising exposure to different environments.
3. Provide professional, communication and management skills enabling to succeed in any sector.
Coordinator, partners and actors
IMT Atlantique: is the main actor involved in the programme. As the coordinating institution, it coordinates and implements the doctoral programme for the entirety of its duration. It is the main point of contact for any questions related to the programme, the application process, participation.
European Union: SEED is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action COFUND programme, which means that the European Union is involved inasmuch as it has evaluated and approved this programme following a call for proposals and is now co-funding the programme.
Industrial and academic partners: IMT Atlantique is joined by numerous industrial and academic partners co-submitting thesis topics, to host the ESRs during their various mobility phases, and who commit themselves financially to the programme. However, due to the two-stage nature of the programme, with the second cohort starting in 2025, the possibility remains open for more partners to join and participate!
The SEED program currently unites associated partners, mobility partners and public organizations all around the world.
PhD Applicants: as the programme aims to recruit 40 PhD students, IMT Atlantique and its partners are naturally interested in finding candidates interested in applying to and participating in this doctoral training programme. English-speaking candidates of all nationalities may apply, provided that they have not resided in France for more than 12 months in the last 36 months. See more information on application requirements and the selection process