Air Quality Student Master Thesis Contest Design

¡The call for project for the 𝟑𝐒𝐐’𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 has opened!

Applications can be submitted until 𝟏 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 via the following link:
enquetes.univ-tlse3.fr/944557?lang=en

Result on 31 March! The winners will be invited to a ceremony in one of the partner countries of the consortium

*see the conditions of participation

Description and submission instructions

Description of the Contest and the Prize

The principal thematic of the contest concerns master thesis project related to air quality problems falling in one of bellow the listed topics.

The Prize consists of a certificate and a plate. The winner will be invited to a ceremony (The date and place of the award ceremony will be announced latter) to receive the prize. Travel and sojourn fees will be covered up to €600 per winner. Academic advisors are welcome to participate in the ceremony, but fees are not covered.

The winners, and their respective institutions, will enjoy promotion trough 3SqAir web page and social media.

Special Topic Categories

The Contest gives out special awards for each of the following categories:

  • Air Pollution monitoring and control technology (indoor or outdoor)
  • Indoor Air-quality management systems
  • Air quality Impacts on human health
  • The Science and Technology associated to air quality systems
  • Artist’s views of air pollution and its consequences

Eligibility

  • The Contest is open to all master students in SUDDOE area (south France, Spain and Portugal).
  • Students must be registered in a public university during the last year of master covering the project execution period.
  • Projects finalized in 2021-22 academic year are eligible, even if the student has been graduated.
  • Projects can be executed either in academic laboratories or in industrial environment.

Submission

  • The candidatures will all be submitted through an on-line registration form.
  • The candidatures can be turned in at any time, but are due by, February 1st, 2023.
  • The submission shall be formally approved by the academic advisor. In the case of project executed in industrial environment, the academic advisor shall verify beforehand any potential IP conflict.

Step One: Choose a topic among the above sited categories
Step Two: Choose what type of project you are going to submit:
Project Types:

  • Academic laboratory project
  • Project executed in industrial environment
  • Artistic inspiration project

Step Three: Contact your academic project advisor to obtain his agreement
Step Four: Prepare the materials to be submitted

  1. A report limited to 15 A4 double-sided pages (annexes may added if justified). The document shall be single-spaced and using font size no smaller than 11 points. A single PDF-format file is accepted.
    The report shall indicate

a. For technical projects: the problem and the associated context, the methodology chosen to solve the problem, the obtained results and the associated discussion. Literature references shall be part of the report 15-pages volume. Potential annexes (not compulsory): 1 page description of the environment that the project has been executed; 1 page concerning the project management (time and resources management, Gantt…) If necessary: blue-prints; data (numerical or in graphical form); original numerical algorithms… Note that, annexes that may be considered as useless by the committee may imply loss of points for the candidate. The report can be inspired by the MSc thesis of the student.

b. For artistic projects: the artefact in numerical format (600 ppp resolution, or higher, is advised for scans) and a free wiring describing the origin of your idea, list any specific method used to create your artefact, comment your vision; illustrations are allowed in the report corps (same size restrictions as for technical reports applies). Potential annexes (not compulsory): 1 page description of the environment that the project has been executed; any bibliographic reference necessary to document your story.

2. A 180 seconds video teaser to promote your work for non-specialists. The file shall be preferably in MP4 format, but either MOV or AVI are acceptable.
Advice: the objective of this video clip is to communicate about your research work effectively and raise awareness of the audience on the treated topic. You must muster cunning and cleverness to sum up in simple words the result of several years of research. Be simple, sober-minded and concise. The most difficult part is to speak to both a wide audience and the contest jury members from both academia and industry. Be inspired by looking “My thesis in 180 seconds” examples in youtube channels.

3. A maximum 2-page CV with photo (head and shoulders). The document shall be single-spaced and using font size no smaller than 11 points. A single PDF-format file is accepted.
Advice: the CV shall indicate your academic cursus and degrees (give dates and the name of the institutions); any remarkable actions, distinction, fellowship, awards; participations in summer schools; list your publications with special mention to any of those issued directly from the work executed in the frame of the project (for artist, list any expo, participation in expo, numerical artefact collection or similar action).

4. A signed recommendation letter from your academic advisor (or equivalent for artists). A single PDF-format file is accepted. The letter concerns mainly the project execution period and shall precise clearly the candidate’s technical contribution and human qualities. The name, quality and contact coordinates (mail, telephone…) shall always include in the letter. Electronic certified signature is recommended, but scan is also accepted.

Step Five: Submit your materials
Fill the fields with the use the on-line submission form

You will be requested to give various standard information’s (name, coordinates, school, advisor ID) as well as a short title of your project (limited to 50 words) and an abstract (limited to 1000 characters) indicating the addressed problem and the main project’s outcomes.

  • Upload all materials listed in step four.
  • Submit your candidature.

Warnings:

  • Respect deadlines – candidatures may be turned in at any time, but they are due by, February 1st, 2023, 230:00 CET time.
  • Videos or any other submitted materials should not include copyrighted images, unless you obtained an authorization, and, you site the original sources. If other persons are present in your videos, be sure having the authorization for using their image.
  • All materials have to be sublated at once, it is not possible to save and come back later.
  • When you finalize your candidature, you can’t any more modify it. However, it is possible to cancel and resubmit passing though the procedure described in the submission page.

Contacts:

If you have questions, please contact:
For questions concerning submission:
-Marion Claustre, claustre@univ-tlse3.fr
For eligible scientific topics:
– Georges Zissis, zissis@univ-tlse3.fr
– Jocelyne Napoli, napoli@univ-tlse3.fr

Provisional Time schedule

  • Call for projects opens October 1st, 2022
  • Submission deadline (firm): February 1th, 2023 23:00 CET
  • Announce of results: March 15st, 2022
  • Award ceremony: During the final 3SQAir consortium meeting time and place to be defined (April 2023)

[1]

Contest bylaws

  • Candidate’s Solicitation and contest publicity

    1. Open call will be diffused as wide as possible through various communication channels of 3SqAir project and partner institutions.

  • Candidate’s Nomination

    2. Candidates can be nominated either by their master thesis advisors, or any person from the institution where the project was carried out (academic or industrial). Individuals serving on the 3SqAir prize committee cannot act as nominators for that contest.

    3. Self-nominations are accepted, provide that there are endorsed by the academic master thesis advisor. Individuals serving on the 3SqAir prize committee can endorse a candidate for that contest. But then she’ll withdraw from the committee as defined in Conflict-of-interest section of the bylaws.

  • Candidate’s Eligibility

    4. Master students or equivalent EQF level 7 (graduated in 2021-22 or during their last year of studies in 2022-23) registered during their master thesis period exclusively from public accredited higher education institutions.

    5. Only SUDOE areas academic institutions are eligible: all the Spanish Autonomous Communities (except Canary Islands), the six Southwestern regions of France (Poitou-Charentes, Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Limousin, Auvergne, Languedoc-Roussillon, all continental regions of Portugal, Gibraltar and the Principality of Andorra.

  • 3SqAir Prize Committee constitution and conflict of interest

    6. The committee is constituted by a member from each 3SqAir partner institution. This person is nominated by the institutional 3SqAir project coordinator. Equity and diversity principles have to be respected at best for the constitution of the committee.

    7. The committee members have to have at least EQF level 7 degree of equivalent professional experience.

    8. The names and the affiliations of the 3SqAir Prize Committee will be listed and publicly available.

    9. In case of conflict of interest (e.g. that a designated member of the award selection committee would be the supervisor of a candidate nominated for the scholarship or have common recent publications) he/she will not become member of the selection committee. The chairperson of selection committee will appoint a substitute instead in agreement with the concerned partner’s institution 3SqAir coordinator. If the conflict of interest concerns the chairperson, he/she must resign and substituted. The committee will design a new chair person.

    10. Individuals serving on the 3SqAir prize committee cannot act as nominators for that contest

  • 3SqAir Prize Committee chairperson and associated duties

    11. The committee is chaired by a person nominated by the 3SqAir project coordinator.

    12. The designation for the chairperson shall be effective at least one month before the candidature submission deadline.

    13. The chairperson organizes and overlooks the full selection process.

    14. He/she guarantees the respect of equity treatment for all candidates.

    15. He/she is the interface with the candidates.

    16. He/she must convene a first committee meeting (virtual mode) to agree about selection criteria and notation system.

    17. The chairperson collects the candidatures and checks the eligibility. It can be assisted to that task by an administrative staff member. He/she notifies ineligible candidates about the rejection decision as soon as possible without waiting for the termination of the full process.

    18. He/she shall make available all candidatures to all committee members.

    19. For each eligible case, the chairperson nominates 2 referees per candidate. Referees are selected among 3SqAir Prize Committee members. He/she forwards the demand to the selected referees to start the selection process.

    20. He/she collects feedbacks from referees and prepares a document summarizing the scores and potential comments from referees.

    21. He/she convenes a committee plenary meeting (virtual or hybrid mode) to discuss the candidatures and finalize the selection. All committee members shall be present in this meeting, especially if

    22. He/she notifies the candidates about the selection process outcome and sign, with the 3SqAir project coordinator, the award certificates.

  • The referees

    23. Each committee member, but the chairperson, can act as referee for one or more candidates.

    24. A referee is neither a lawyer nor a prosecutor. He/she shall treat all candidates with equity. For this reason, he/she base its decision to only the provided documents.

    25. In case of doubt, he/she can seek external help provide that absolute confidentiality is guaranteed. In that case he/she is not authorized to transmit nor any of the submitted documents, neither divulgate candidate’s name and institution. The referee’s responsibility is engaged.

    26. A referee can refuse to report in candidate. In that case he/she must notify and justify the decision to the committee chairperson within a week from its nomination as referee. Eventually, he/she may suggest an alternative referee among the committee members.

    27. Referees shall adress their scores and comments to the committee chairperson within a period of 1 month from the reception of the request. The transmission of these elements shall follow a standard procedure agreed beforehand by the committee members.

  • The selection procedure

    28. The details of the selection procedure shall be fixed by the committee chairperson in agreement with the committee members. This has to be decided during the 1st committee meeting convened by the chairperson.

    29. Decisions have to be validated by formal vote by the committee members.

    30. Each committee member, but the chairperson, has one voice.

    31. The committee chairperson is not participating to the vote, unless to break a tie.

    32. Voting process can run, either be by raising hands, or, in the case of request by any committee member, with secret ballot.

    33. A decision is adopted, either in the first ballot round if 2/3 majority rule is reached, or, in a second ballot round if simple majority (50%+1) is reached. Abstention or white ballots are not counting for defining the 2/3 and single majority levels.

  • General rules

    34. Confidentiality of the debates shall be absolute. All committee members engaged themselves to not divulgate and information or documents in their possession.

    35. Only the chairperson is entitled to interact with the candidates. Any other committee member solicited by a candidate shall address the request to the committee chairperson and inform the candidate about that action.

    36, In case of contestations, all requests shall be addressed to the committee chairperson who will decide on the follow-up actions.

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