MasterNanosciences, nanotechnologies

The Soft Nanoscience program of the UGA Graduate School implements research training throughout the master's degree, based on a 15 weeks minimum research internship in M1 (part time + full time) and 5 months minimum in M2. 
In M1 the research is evaluated and credited 6 ECTS in the 1st semester and 12 ECTS in the 2nd semester, therefore students have less academic courses than in the standard master curriculum and have time to devote to their research.
In M2 the whole 2nd semester is devoted to the internship. 
It is preferable, but not compulsory, that students pursue a research project in the same team during the 2 years of the master degree. 

Master degrees covered by the program:  M1 Nanochemistry, M1 Soft Matter and Biophysics, M1 Applied Mechanics, Phelma Biomedical Engineering, and associated M2.
See below the conditions and organization of the 2-year research project.

Submitting a 2-year master's research project

Upload the template here, and return the proposal to the program coordinator. Your offer will be posted on the page "Graduate School Soft Nano internship".

Student Selection

Candidates to the thematic program apply to a M1 program listed above. They are first selected and interviewed by the program and the master’s coordinators to assert their academic level and ability to carry out a research project alongside their study program.

Potentially admitted students are directed toward the list of internship offers. They return their wishes and interests to the program coordinator, and we put them in contact with you. You have then to set up your own interview and recruitment procedure  ; we will provide you with academic informations on the applicant.

It is your acceptance of the student as intern which decides his/her final admission to the program.

Schedule of the internship

In M1 the internship is performed in parallel to the courses from September to April 10th, and at full time after the Spring vacations.
During the courses period, the time devoted to the research activity is 1 day +1/2 per week except for exams weeks. Together with the full-time period this represents around 16 weeks real time. The actual days are not fixed ahead and depend on the time-table to be finalized in September, with significant possible adaptation (students will have more free time than 1 day 1/2 in their schedule).

In M2, the student can continue his/her internship if both parties agree (see below). The M2 internship is a full-time research starting from the beginning of February, a defense takes place at the end of June.  In addition, the student keeps contact with his/her project during the 1st semester, devoting to this activity half a day per week, up to the Winter break.  

Internship Agreement - Convention de Stage

As required by law, the student’s presence in the laboratories must be covered by an internship agreement (convention de stage).
An internship agreement can cover only one school-year, and it is limited by law to 6 months-equivalent-full time. There is no legal commitment over the two years of the master (see "Interrupting the internship after the M1").
The first-year internship agreement should be established and signed at the latest for the 1st of October, if not the student quits the thematic program and joins the standard program.
It is usual to make an amendment to the agreement at the end of the 1st semester,  to precise the actual days of presence of the student in the laboratory during the 2nd semester (January to April), when the course schedule of the student is known. Any other change can also be formalized by an amendment in the Convention.

Bibliographic review

In September of the M1 year while the Internship Agreement is finalized, the M1 students performs a bibliograpy/state-of-the-art review of his/her subject based on the bibliography that we ask you to provide to him/her. This review will be a part of the short Research Proposal that the student has to write for the 1st semester evaluation of the internship. Also prior to the signing of the Agreement, we ask the student to schedule a meeting with you to discuss his/her research project and the bibliography he/she has to review.

Gratification

• If the student is a laureate of a Graduate School scholarhip (reserved to international students) the Graduate School UGA will pay the internship gratification for a maximum of 2000€ in M1 and 3000€ in M2.
•  For the other students, there is no Graduate School funding for gratification.
•   French students can receive an «outgoing scholarship» if they perform (part of) their internship abroad, see paragraph «International collaboration and outgoing Mobility».

The amount of the bonus can be calculated using the official simulator of internship gratification. It depends on the actual time of presence of the student in the lab. The legal amount of January 2024 is 4,35€/hour, that is 2283€ for a 15 weeks internship in M1, and 3273€ for a 5 months internship in M2.

If you need the internship bonus to be paid by the Graduate School to actually take a student as intern, we will refer to you only students who are laureate of a Graduate School scholarship.
We will ask in particular to teams and advisors  who receive an intern financially covered by the Graduate School UGA, to participate in the jury and the evaluation of the whole class.

Evaluation

A first evaluation is conducted in January of the M1 year  for 6 Credits. It is based on:
i) the writing of a “Research Proposal”  of 12-15 pages without references,  including the Bibliographic review performed in September on the state-of-the-art, the objectives of the research, the description of the specific methods/approach to be developed, the main steps required for implementing the research, eventually first results or state of implementation, an expected schedule of realization.
ii) the oral defense of this proposal, and
 iii) your appreciation.
We recommend to student to submit to you their written part in due time,  so that you can implement corrections.

A second evaluation is conducted at the end of June (12 ECTS) based on an internship report, defense, and your appreciation.

A third evaluation is conducted at the end of August during the ESONN school, based on the poster that the students have to present to the school, and its presentation to other participants to the school. This evaluation correspond to 6 Credits in the M2 scolarity.

The M2 internship is evaluated according to the M2’s rules.

Continuation in M2

At the end of the 1st year both the host team or the student can decide not to continue the internship in the 2nd year.
If the internship is not continued in the 2nd year, the student has to find a usual M2 internship.

International collaboration and Outgoing Mobility Scholarship of the Graduate School.

The Graduate School of UGA offers to fund international research internships of French students (i.e. student having a French Baccalaureat) in the limit of 2000€ for an internship abroad of more than 2 months, and 3000€ for more than 4 months.

In the program Soft Nano we intend to implement this possibility in collaboration with research teams who have an international collaboration and are interested to use it to build an attractive international research program for a Master student.
There are 2 schemes:
    -    the student makes the part-time M1 internship with you in Grenoble, he goes in your partner team for 2 months at the end of his M1, and he commits to make his/her M2 internship with you. He receives 2000€ for his/her internship abroad, and you do not have gratification to pay in M1
    -    the student makes all his/her M1 internship with you in Grenoble, and make his/her M2 internship with your international partner. He reveices a funding of 3000€ for this. It is up to you to have him/her back for a PhD…..

If you are interested by this GS possibility, please take contact with us.