The ELLIS PhD & Postdoc program is a meta program on top of existing graduate programs. It is designed to connect excellent young scientists with ELLIS' network of leading machine learning researchers and promote collaboration: between researchers, between institutions, between academia and industry, and between nations. The program strives to be a lightweight layer that enriches a PhD student or postdoc's experience by broadening their opportunities to connect and collaborate with other outstanding researchers without piling on excessive obligations and requirements. There are two areas in which the program focuses on adding value to junior researchers:

The industry track aims to facilitate collaboration between European academic institutions and industry with the understanding that a vibrant and interactive ecosystem is key to stimulating innovation. Within the industry track, PhD students and postdocs conduct their research in collaboration with an academic institution and an industry partner. They are co-supervised by two advisors, one from each of the partners, and split their time conducting research and working between the two.

Read more about the industry track and requirements for nomination.

Activities

ELLIS PhD students and postdoc's primary focus is on conducting high-quality fundamental research in machine learning and related fields. Additionally, both tracks include a type of collaboration: either between international universities, or between academia and industry. Not only does this help enrich the PhD student or postdoc's own experience, but it also encourages the development of the overall machine learning ecosystem in Europe.

Beyond their research, ELLIS PhDs and postdocs gain access to the program's full roster of events and activities aimed at encouraging collaboration, networking, brainstorming, and educational training. Activities are held throughout the year, and include certain touchstone events such as the kickoff bootcamp, summer / winter schools, well-being meetings, and program workshops. The program also gives participants early access to ELLIS' society events, as well as access to ELLIS' growing network of over 250 leading scientific researchers in machine learning.

Requirements

During the program, participants are expected to maintain their status as excellent researchers. To keep the program as lightweight as possible in terms of overhead, there are only two requirements participants must meet in order to receive the ELLIS certification and be listed on the Alumni page as ELLIS graduates at the end of their PhD or postdoc. Participants must have (1) published the results of their research in top-tier venues in machine learning-driven fields, and (2) have completed the exchange requirement within their track:

For the academic track, the exchange requirement is at least 6 months spent internationally at the secondary institution. This can be split into multiple visits, but the total amount of time must be at least 6 months.

For the industry track, the exchange requirements are more flexible: at least 6 months working with / at the industry partner. This can be an internship, time spent collaborating on a project, working 1-2 days a week for industry, or other work-split configurations. For the industry track, the partners may be located in the same country, so no international exchange is required. In the case that there is already an extensive collaboration between the partners at one site (e.g., a jointly funded and run research lab), the PhD and Postdoc Committee determines the time-split requirements and approves the collaboration when the participant submits their Letter of Intent (LoI) during application to the program. Similar to the academic track, the cumulative amount of time spent with / at the industry player must be at least 6 months, however this time may not exceed 50% of the participant's PhD or postdoc appointment--the majority of time must still be spent working at / for the hosting university.

Certification

During the program, the participant will be listed on the website as an 'ELLIS PhD Student' or 'ELLIS Postdoc'. After obtaining their PhD or completing their postdoc appointment, participants who have fulfilled the requirements of the program will receive an ELLIS certificate and be listed on the Alumni page as ELLIS graduates.