Art. 1
The number of positions

The Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa announces a public competition, based on work to date and exams, for 7 four-year postgraduate fellowships in partnership with the Italian Institute of Technology Foundation (IIT) for the 2009/2010 academic year.
For the first three years of the fellowship the winners will be enrolled in the perfezionamento (PhD) program in Molecular Biophysics of the IIT-Scuola Normale Superiore, established on 10 November 2004 by resolution of the Board of Directors
The locations, the research and the teaching activities of the program are indicated in Attachment B.

Art. 2
Admission requirements

Candidates who have the following requisites may be admitted to the competition, irrespective of their citizenship:

1. completed a 2nd-cycle university degree or equivalent in the sciences by the application deadline, or who will complete a 2nd-cycle university degree or equivalent in the sciences within the dates listed below,
2. born after 31 December 1979,
3. have not been the object of the disciplinary measure of “expulsion” from the Scuola Normale Superiore provided for by the Internal and Academic Regulations;

Evaluation of the equivalency of the degree is entrusted, for the purposes of this competition only, to the Selection Committee as described in art. 5 below.

Art. 3
Application and deadline

Application for admission to a perfezionamento (PhD) competition for the Faculty of Sciences may not be presented more than twice; it should be prepared following the facsimile attached to this announcement (Attachment A), addressed to the President of the Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7 - 56126 PISA, and it must arrive to the Scuola Normale within the following deadlines:

1. 1st session of the competition: by Friday, 24 July 2009;
   
2. 2nd session of the competition: by Friday, 30 October 2009.

Please note that this second session will be held only if there are fellowships which remain unassigned at the end of the first session in July 2009.

Candidates who will complete their 2nd-cycle university degrees or equivalent by 5 September 2009 may also compete in the first session of competition. In this case, the candidates must send the declaration of attainment of the degree by email to the head of the procedure g.dalterio@sns.it by midnight of 5 September 2009.
Candidates who will complete their 2nd-cycle university degrees or equivalent by 10 November 2009 may also compete in the second session of competition, if it is held. In this case, the candidates must send the declaration of attainment of the degree by email to the head of the procedure g.dalterio@sns.it by midnight of 10 November 2009.

On the application the candidate must state (in accordance with arts. 46 and 47 of Italian Presidential Decree 445 of 28 December 2000):
a)      surname, name, place and date of birth;
b)     citizenship;
c)      place of residence and address (if different), telephone number and email address at which s/he would like to receive all communication related to the competition;
d) to have no prior criminal convictions and no legal proceedings for intentional crime underway against him/her;
e)     to be immunized against (or immune to) diseases incompatible with community life;
f) not to have been the object of the disciplinary measure of expulsion from the Scuola Normale Superiore;
g) not to have been the object of the disciplinary measure whose effects will continue beyond the final deadline for enrolment at the University of Pisa;
h) to have read the announcement of the competition and to accept, without reservation or exception, everything requested and declared in it;
i)      to have never, or no more than once, applied for admission to a competition for the perfezionamento (PhD) program in the Faculty of Sciences;
j) in accordance with art. 20 of law 104/92, candidates with handicaps may request assistance and additional time as needed to complete the exams;
k) to prefer to carry out the exams (and indicate which) in English (only if applicable);
l) the 1st-cycle and 2nd-cycle university degrees (or equivalent) and the university where they were attained (or will be completed, in the case of the 2nd-cycle degree or equivalent), indicating the year of enrollment, a list of all exams/courses taken and marks received, the overall degree results and the date attained (or to be attained).

The declaration indicated in l) above can be replaced by certification, which must be translated into Italian in the case of degrees attained abroad, with the exception of documents in French, English, German or Spanish.

All candidates are admitted conditionally, and may be excluded from the competition for lack of requirements at any moment of the competition procedure.
Candidates will be notified of exclusion by letter at the address indicated on their application.
The application for participation in the competition must be duly signed by the candidate.

Art. 4
Documents to be attached to the application

The application must also be accompanied by:
1) a photocopy of a valid form of identification;
2) two printed copies of the 2nd-cycle degree thesis, which must also be presented by those who have yet to receive their degree, and of any qualifications the candidate feels it is opportune to present;
3) two copies of a proposed research project to complete point 2) above;

Candidates are also invited to present two or more letters from faculty who have supervised the candidate’s previous work.
The Scuola Normale is not responsible for returning the documents attached to the application.
Candidates may request return of the documents for up to four months after the competition deadline. After that date the Scuola Normale will no longer consider itself responsible to retain them.

Art. 5
Selection Committee and admission to oral exams

The Selection Committee and its President are nominated by the President of the Scuola Normale.
Each Committee member can express a score from one to ten in evaluation of the documents and exams.
The Committee begins with an examination of the candidate's degrees, work to date and research proposal, on the basis of which admission to the exams is obtained. To that end, the Commission will evaluate scholarly work and publications, the research proposal and interests of the candidate in relation to the 9 research areas indicated in Attachment B.
Candidates who achieve a score of at least seven tenths on the overall evaluation of their qualifications will be admitted to the exams. Scores will be made public by posting on the Official Notice Board of the Scuola Normale.
Dates and times of the exams, along with the list of admitted candidates, will be posted three days before the beginning of the exams on the Official Notice Board of the Scuola Normale and published in the appropriate area of the www.sns.it web site.
Inclusion in the list of admitted candidates is equivalent to notification and candidates are expected to participate in the oral exams on the day and at the time indicated, without further notification.
Any variations will be made public in the same way.
The Scuola Normale in any event reserves the right to use other means of communication for the procedures in this announcement.
Candidates must present a valid identification document at the exams.
Lack of participation in the exams, for whatever reason, automatically disqualifies the candidate from the competition.

Art. 6
Exam times and locations, and final ranking of candidates

Admitted candidates must sit the following exams: a written exam and an interview.
First session of competition:
For the candidates admitted to the exam, the written exam is scheduled for 10 September 2009 at 10:00 AM.
For the candidates admitted to the oral exam, it will begin 15 September 2009 at 10:00 AM.

Second session of competition:
For the candidates admitted to the exam, the written exam is scheduled for 13 November 2009 at 10:00 AM.
For the candidates admitted to the oral exam, it will begin 27 November 2009 at 10:00 AM.
Candidates will have four hours for the written exam.

The candidates mentioned above will be admitted to the oral exam if they receive a score of at least seven tenths on the written exam.
The oral exam will focus on the research proposal, on any scientific work to date and on topics in molecular biophysics. Candidates’ basic knowledge of English will also be verified during the oral exam.
Candidates who receive a score of at least seven tenths will be considered as passing the exam.

Exams will be held at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7 – Pisa.
At the conclusion of the exams the score awarded each candidate both for written qualifications and for the oral exams, as well as the average score, will be posted e on the Official Notice Board of the Scuola Normale.
Candidates who pass all exams will be considered as qualified.
The Selection Committee will compile the ranking of qualified candidates in order of average final scores and post it on the Official Notice Board of the Scuola Normale.
The Scuola Normale will communicate the results of the competition to the winners only.

Art. 7
Announcement of winners

The President will approve the final ranking of the competition and name the winners of the positions open to competition.
The PhD programs of the Faculty of Sciences last three years. The legal and financial start dates are

1. Thursday, 1 October 2009 (for winners of the first session of competition);
2. Friday, 1 January 2010 (for winners of the second session of competition).

Winners must submit all documents required under Art. 8 below within the period prescribed.
If one or more winners renounce their position within thirty days of the announcement in the Gazzette Ufficiale of the publishing of the competition results on the Official Notice Board of the Scuola Normale, the position will be awarded to the next qualified candidate according to the ranking of candidates qualified for admittance.
For each winner, the joint Operative Committee will not only define the research program but will also nominate a tutor who will follow the studies of the student and will coordinate her/his research activities.

Art. 8
Documents for admission to the Scuola Normale

The research and study program mentioned in Art. 7 above will be communicated along with the notification of admittance.
The winners of the competition must take their places in the Scuola Normale starting from the date indicated on the notification, and within ten days of taking their place must present a statement of acceptance of the fellowship and their commitment to follow the study and research program assigned to them in its entirety. Failure to do so will be considered forfeiture of their right of admission.
Moreover, within one month of the receipt of the notification, the winners of the competition must present the following documents to the Scuola Normale, on penalty of forfeiture of admission:

a) certificate issued by the Health Department of their city of residence stating that the holder has been immunized against (or is immune to) diseases incompatible with community life, dated no more than six months prior to submission (only if the candidate intends to utilize lodgings provided by the Scuola Normale);
b)   declaration of acceptance of the rules in the Statute and Regulations and exoneration of the Scuola Normale for consequences deriving from failure to observe said rules;
c)    two passport photos;
d)  for diplomas earned abroad a certificate issued by the Institution or University which awarded it must be presented, translated in Italian, with the exception of diplomas in French, English, Spanish, or German.
In accordance with art. 3, paragraph 1 of law no. 127, dated May 15 1997, information such as surname, name, place and date of birth, citizenship and residency will be taken from a valid form of identification.
The Scuola Normale reserves the right to verify the validity of information contained on identification documents and relative to the diplomas listed.
In addition, the Scuola Normale reserves the right to request the certificate of the student’s legal record from the competent judicial authority.

Art. 9
Academic obligations of the students in the PhD program

PhD students must attend to their studies according to a plan approved by the Faculty Council. Fulfillment of such obligations will be ascertained periodically by the student's internal faculty advisor.
Admission to each successive year is subject to the favorable evaluation of a Committee nominated by the Faculty Council.
At the conclusion of their PhD studies, students must sit a final exam for their diploma.
The final exam of the PhD program consists in the discussion of a written dissertation before a Committee of specialists named by the President of the Scuola Normale.
In accordance with law no. 308 of June 18 1986, the “IIT-Scuola Normale Superiore Perfezionamento” diploma in Molecular Biophysics is equivalent in every respect to a research doctorate (PhD).

At the end of the PhD program the IIT Foundation reserves the right to propose new positions in its research groups to the students.

Art. 10
General Rules

The Department Council can authorize a student to defer or suspend academic pursuits for up to a year and for one time only for serious reasons.
Official provisions allow, upon request of the interested party, deferral or suspension of academic pursuits for maternity leave and/or required military service.
Students in the PhD course cannot undertake commitments incompatible with their duties. The incompatibilities foreseen by Italian law for participation in research doctorates are applicable to the programs of the Scuola Normale as well.

Art. 11
Students' rights

Winners of the first session of competition have the right, for the period from 1 October to 31 September of each year of the fellowship, to a contribution for off-campus housing and to free meals (valued at approximately €7,700.00/year), except during the vacation periods indicated on the academic calendar established by the Board of Directors. Winners of the second session of competition have the same rights for the period from 1 January to 31 December of every year of the fellowship.

Winners will receive payment for the same periods indicated above, the amount of which is determined annually by the Board of Directors. For the first year the payment will be € 13,300.00 gross/year (fellowship of €9,200.00 + contribution for off-campus housing of €3,800.00). The distribution of the amount in 12 end-of-month payments, is dependent on the fulfillment of academic obligations by the students. These monies are subject to the Italian fiscal regulations in force concerning university fellowships.
In case of need, it is possible to request an advance of the first installment only.

Every fellowship holder will also have an annual total of up to €7,000.00 as funds to reimburse expenses for participation in Meetings, Seminars, etc. These activities, proposed by the tutor, will be approved by the Scuola Normale.

Art. 12
Head of competition procedure

In accordance with law 241 of August 7, 1990, and related Scuola Normale Regulation, Presidential Decree 331 of 22 July, 2004, subsequently modified with Presidential Decrees 376 of 3 September 2004 and 580 of 9 November 2005, the head of the competition procedure described in this announcement is Giuseppe D’Alterio – Scuola Normale Superiore – Piazza dei Cavalieri 7 – 56126 Pisa – (tel. +39 050 509236 - +39 050 509237 – + 39 050 509026; email: g.dalterio@sns.it; m.landucci@sns.it; a.vettori@sns.it).

Art. 13
Use of personal data

Personal data will be entered into the databases of the Scuola Normale and will be treated in accordance with legislative decree no. 196 of 30 June 2003 “Protection of Personal Data”.

Art. 14
Attachments

Attachments A) and B) constitute integral parts of the present announcement.

Art. 15
Final rules

The rules in this competition have precedence over Scuola Normale Academic Regulations in case of incompatibility.

Pisa, 25 May 2009

President
[signed] Prof. Salvatore Settis