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NURC Visiting Researcher Programme
The NURC Visiting Researcher Programme (VRP) offers the best and brightest students and university researchers from NATO nations the opportunity to participate in a dynamic laboratory on the beautiful west coast of Italy, conducting research on subjects of interest to both the researcher and to NATO. Visiting Researchers will have access to NURC equipment, facilities, and data, and will gain practical experience through collaboration with NURC scientists and engineers.
Visiting Researchers fall into two categories: Research Interns/Fellows and Visiting Scientists.
Research Interns/Fellows (RI/RF)
- Research Interns (RI) must be full time undergraduate/graduate students or recent graduates (undergraduate degree obtained less than 12 months prior to the start of the research programme).
- Research Fellows (RF) must hold a University degree and be full time graduate students or recent graduates (graduate degree obtained less than 12 months prior to the start of the research programme).
RI/RF may propose projects of 3-4 month duration. Residence at NURC typically occurs between April and October. In addition to the monthly stipend ( € 600 for Research Interns and € 1800 for Research Fellows), RI/RF will receive paid travel to and from their place of residence to NURC, in accordance with NATO travel rules. Research Interns/Fellows are responsible to arrange their own health and accident insurance.
Visiting Scientists
- Visiting Scientists (VS) must hold a PhD degree for more than 12 months or possess commensurate experience.
Visiting scientists may propose projects of minimum 3 months duration, to be completed by the end of 2012. Visiting scientists will receive paid travel to and from their place of residence to the NURC. They will be paid a monthly stipend equivalent to NATO Grade B1 Step 1 (currently set at € 2579,56). The stipend is not exempted from taxation therefore visiting scientist is responsible to declare the stipend received from NURC to the appropriate Fiscal Authorities, as required by legistation. In addition to the monthly stipend, visiting scientists will also receive an amount corresponding to 12% of their monthly stipend, as NURC's liability in respect of their social benefits (pension). Visiting Researchers are not automatically insured for accidents (to include accidents on duty), health problema or other risks, therefore, insurance coverage is mandatory. They can opt to be affiliated to the Centre's medical insurance scheme for basic medical insurance and accidents on duty. The payment for the contribution to the Centre's Group Insurance Policy, currenlty set at 2.57% of the monthly stipend, is shared between the Organisation (2/3) and the visiting scientist (1/3). In case they choose not to be affiliated to the Centre's medical insurance, they need to provide evidence of insurance coverage for illness, accidents and accidents on duty, for the whole period at NURC. In this case the Organisation will pay its share for the Centre's Group Insurance Policy to the visiting scientist.
Proposed projects should relate and contribute to NURC's core competencies or integrated projects. NURC's core competencies include underwater acoustics, sensors and signal processing, ocean prediction, operations research of complex systems, remote sensing and adaptive sampling, communication engineering, information theory and cognitive science, autonomy and collective intelligence. Integrated projects based on these competencies include autonomous mine countermeasures, cooperative anti-submarine warfare, environmental knowledge and operational effectiveness, marine mammal risk mitigation, maritime situational awareness, and port protection.
Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the technical content of the Centre's current research efforts (http://www.nurc.nato.int/research), and focus their proposals on innovations related to those efforts. Accepted projects will be integrated into existing projects and the successful candidate will be a member of a research team. Project results are expected to be published in a journal paper or technical report. Typical efforts involve investigations of cross-disciplinary methodologies, systems studies, trade-space analyses, feasibility tests, new software applications, modeling parameterizations, simulations and autonomous vehicle design and sensor development.
Application Procedure
To apply for the Visiting Research Programme, please submit the proposed project together with the completed VRP Application form and updated CV to recruitment@nurc.nato.int.
Application is limited to nationals of NATO member states: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom and UNited States. Candidates must be at least 21 years old to enter the Visiting Researcher Programme. On a case by case basis, participation to the VRP may require the researcher to obtain a NATO Secret security clearance certificate or interim clearance issued by the researcher's country of origin prior to arrival.
The researcher will be required to sign a statement understanding that all proprietary rights in any work carried out under VRP shall be vested in the organisation. They qill also be required to participate in a security briefing upon arrival.
Selection of Visiting Researchers is done on an annual cycle: applications for 2012 must be received at the Centre by 1700 (CET), 30 November 2011. Applications received after 30 November 2011 will not be considered. Notification of selection will be made presumably by 31 January 2012 .