SysSec Scholarhips Selection Procedure

Review procedure

SysSec scholarhips are awarded to the strongest and most deserving candidates in an open competition. The scholar program is open to researchers at any European university or research institute and, rather than working with fixed deadlines, accepts applications all year round.

All applications are reviewed on a bi-monthly basis by the SysSec Scholarship Committee which consists of representatives of three core academic partners in the SysSec Network of Excellence. The curren Scholarship Committee consists of:

  • Herbert Bos, VU University Amsterdam (chair)
  • Magnus Almgren, Chalmers
  • Davide Balzarotti, Eurecom

Selection criteria

The committee reviews the applications and makes a selection of the winners on a number of criteria, such as:

  • Suitability and strength of the candidate: The  candidate's CV and publication list represent an important criterion  in the application selection procedure. Good CVs and publication  lists are more likely to lead to successful exchanges, with  high-impact research. The committee values the importance of the  publications more so than the number of publications.
  • Quality and nature of the research proposal: The SysSec  scholarship is intended for high-quality research in system    security. In general, applications that do not fit this field  (even if security related) will not be encouraged and are unlikely  to be accepted. In addition, each committee member forms a  subjective opinion about the quality and importance of the proposed  research. With two equally strong candidates, this opinion helps to  decide the most deserving candidate.
  • Match between candidate and host institute: The better  the candidate and the proposed research match the interests and  expertise of the host, the more likely the chances of a successful  project. Again, we do not require candidate and host to have the  same background and encourage cross-overs, but try to filter  lukewarm interest by the host in the proposed research project. In  case the candidate's background deviates strongly from the host's,  the chair contacts the host to ask about his/her interest in the  project.

In general, the committee looks favourable at cross-over research,where both the visiting scholar and the host gain additional expertise in new subdomains.  Finally, to widen the System network, the committee has a preference for proposals originating in organisations that are not already in the consortium.