2026 FIRE Application

2026 FIRE Doctoral School Application
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Welcome to the 2026 FIRE PhD Program Application!

The FIRE Doctoral School hosts unconventional and interdisciplinary PhD projects that do not fit within standard doctoral schools. It offers doctoral training and a range of diverse pedagogical activities to the FIRE PhD student community in Paris, and aims to build a wider, international community of PhD students committed to research projects tackling planetary challenges – the Planetary PhD community – across universities and countries.

This wider Planetary PhD community aims to bring together PhD candidates who pursue scientific excellence while explicitly situating their research within long-term planetary challenges and taking responsibility for the impacts of the knowledge produced through their doctoral work in a fragile and interconnected world. A dedicated part of the application form will allow you to share and discuss how you envision engaging with this wider Planetary PhD community.

Please fill out this application carefully and completely, trying to avoid the use of AI. We value human-written responses. All responses should be in English. Required fields are denoted by *.

The application is separated into several sections:

Personal Information
PhD Project
Funding
Primary PhD Supervisor
Secondary PhD Supervisor
Educational Background
Language Proficiency
Previous Experience
Publications and Other Communications
Planetary PhD Community
Questions with the PhD Supervisors
Upload Documents

All required fields must be completed before the form is submitted. We recommend that you first download the PDF of the application so that you can prepare your responses and documents ahead of time. Then you may enter the system to submit your application after you have collected all information.

Download Application Questions

Your form is automatically saved to the local storage of your browser every 30 seconds. If you accidentally close the browser, your responses will thus be recovered and you will be able continue where you left off.

After submission, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to edit your submission. You may edit your responses until the deadline of April 3rd 2026 at 23:59 (UTC+1 hour). Only your last submission will be considered and we will not merge information from multiple submissions.

If you have questions about the application, please contact the scientific manager of the program, Camille Gaulon at camille.gaulon@learningplanetinstitute.org or team.phd@learningplanetinstitute.org.
Sender name
Sender email
Ecole Doctorale Frontières de l'Innovation en Recherche et Éducation (ED 474) - Programme Bettencourt
Learning Planet Institute

Bureau 3.08, 8bis rue Charles V - 75004 Paris

Phone : + 33 1 84 25 67 98 - email : team.phd@learningplanetinstitute.org - website https://phd.learningplanetinstitute.org/en

1 - Personal Information
Full Name*

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Birth date*

DayMonthYear
Birth place*
Nationality*
Multiple selections allowed
Gender*
E-mail*
Phone Number*
Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Country*
LinkedIn Profile Link
ResearchGate Profile Link

3 - Funding
The FIRE Doctoral School will provide a limited number of fellowships to the highest ranked candidates. Therefore we strongly advise you to seek alternative funding opportunities to secure final admission if your application is declared eligible by our international scientific committee.

Please indicate below if you already have some funding to cover your salary for 3 years (from your own lab, some foundations, ENS, Polytechnique, Institut Curie, Institut Pasteur, ANR, ERC, etc.). This salary must be at least 2300€ gross per month.
Do you have secured funding?*
If yes, please specify your source of funding
What funding source have you identified but not yet secured?

4 - Primary PhD Supervisor
Please enter below the information about your primary PhD supervisor, who must hold an "Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches" (HDR).
Supervisor Details
PhD Supervisor*

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Gender*
Email*
Phone number*
Name of the usual doctoral school?*
Date of HDR*

DayMonthYear
List five most relevant publications to the proposed PhD work
Publication 1
Publication 2
Publication 3
Publication 4
Publication 5
How many FIRE PhD students will this supervisor have as of December 1st 2025? What are their names?*
How many non-FIRE PhD students will this supervisor have as of December 1st 2025?*
How many FIRE PhD students will have graduated by December 1st 2025? What are their names?*
The FIRE Doctoral School accepts a maximum of 4 PhD students per supervisor regardless of whether they are registered at FIRE or at a different Doctoral School.

Co-supervised students count as 1.
Where will you work?

Please enter the address of your primary work location, this could be your lab, bench, desk, office, etc.
Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Country*
Research group affiliations

Please specify the research team, lab, and institute and university to which you will be affiliated. If the questions below are not relevant regarding your affiliations, please enter “n/a” in the required field (see examples below).

Example 1: Research group at Institut Pasteur

Team: Synthetic Biology (Leader: David Bikard)
Department: Department of Microbiology (Director: Hilde De Reuse)
Institute: Institut Pasteur

Example 2: Research group at Institut Curie

Group: Systems Cell Biology of Cell polarity and Cell division (Leader: Matthieu Piel)
Lab: Subcellular Structure and Cellular Dynamics (Director: Bruno Goud)
Institute: Institut Curie

Example 3: Research group at Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris

Team: Membrane Traffic in Healthy & Diseased Brain (Leader: Thierry Galli)
Lab: n/a (Director: n/a)
Institute: Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris

Example 4: Research group at CNRS/Université Paris Cité

Team: n/a
Lab: Laboratoire de Linguistique Formelle (Director: Anne Abeillé)
Institute: n/a

Example 5: Research group at IRCAM

Team: Espaces Acoustiques et Cognitifs (Leader: Olivier Warusfel)
Department: n/a
Institute: IRCAM
Team/Group Information
Team name*
Research Unit ID of Team
Attachments of Team (multiple attachments are possible)
Team website
Team leader name*

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Team leader gender*
Team leader email*
Lab/Department Information
Lab name*
Research Unit ID of Lab
RNSR Number (Répertoire National des Structures de Recherche)*
Attachments of Lab (multiple attachments are possible)
Lab website
Lab director name*

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Lab director Gender*
Lab director Email*
Institute Information
Institute name*
Research Unit ID of Institute
Attachments of Institute (multiple attachments are possible)
Institute website

5 - Secondary PhD Supervisor
Please enter below the information about your secondary PhD supervisor.

Specify if this second supervisor is a "co-directeur" (with HDR) or a "co-encadrant" (without HDR).
Your second supervisor is*

Co-directeurCo-encadrant
Supervisor Details
PhD Supervisor*

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Gender*
Email*
Phone number*
Name of the usual Doctoral School?
If co-director, date of HDR

DayMonthYear
List five most relevant publications or communications to the proposed PhD work
Publication or communication 1
Publication or communication 2
Publication or communication 3
Publication or communication 4
Publication or communication 5
How many FIRE PhD students will this supervisor have as of December 1st 2025? What are their names?
How many non-FIRE PhD students will this supervisor have as of December 1st 2025?
How many FIRE PhD students will have graduated by December 1st 2025? What are their names?
The FIRE Doctoral School accepts a maximum of 4 PhD students per supervisor regardless of whether they are registered at FIRE or at a different Doctoral School.

Co-supervised students count as 1.
Where will you work?

Please enter the address of your secondary work location (if any), this could be your lab, bench, desk, office, etc.
Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Country
Team/Group Information
Team name*
Research Unit ID of Team
Attachments of Team (multiple attachments are possible)
Team website
Team leader name*

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Team leader gender*
Team leader email*
exemple@exemple.com
Lab/Department Information
Lab name*
Research Unit ID of Lab
RNSR Number (Répertoire National des Structures de Recherche)
Attachments of Lab (multiple attachments are possible)
Lab website
Lab director name*

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Lab director Gender*
Lab director Email*
exemple@exemple.com
Institute/Organisation Information
Institute name*
Research Unit ID of Institute
Attachments of Institute (multiple attachments are possible)
Institute website

6 - Educational Background
Add up to five previous degrees, starting with the most recent.
Current or Most Recent Degree
Type of degree*
Title of Degree*
Completed?*
Name of University*
Country*
Major field*
Minor field
Entry date*

DayMonthYear
Exit date*

DayMonthYear
Degree 2
Type of degree
Title of Degree
Completed?
Name of University
Country
Major field
Minor field
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Degree 3
Title of Degree
Completed?
Name of University
Country
Major field
Minor field
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Degree 4
Title of Degree
Completed?
Name of University
Country
Major field
Minor field
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Degree 5
Title of Degree
Completed?
Name of University
Country
Major field
Minor field
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear

7 - Language Proficiency
English*
French*
Other languages
Language 3
Level
Language 4
Level
Language 5
Level

8 - Previous Experience
Add up to five previous experiences that are relevant to the proposed PhD project (research internship, association, non-governmental organization, company, part-time employment, entrepreneurial endeavour, personal project, etc.) starting with the most recent.
Previous experience 1
Position and Duties
Institution/ Organisation
Country
Subdivision (Department, Laboratory, Team, Project, etc.)
Supervisor

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Write a few words describing this experience: activity (internship, full-time job, part-time job, volunteering, civic engagment, freelancing, entrepreneurship, etc.); field; techniques; skills and competencies you learned; missions you carried out; results; etc.
Previous experience 2
Position and Duties
Institution/ Organisation
Country
Subdivision (Department, Laboratory, Team, Project, etc.)
Supervisor

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Write a few words describing this experience: activity (internship, full-time job, part-time job, volunteering, civic engagment, freelancing, entrepreneurship, etc.); field; techniques; skills and competencies you learned; missions you carried out; results; etc.
Previous experience 3
Position and Duties
Institution/ Organisation
Country
Subdivision (Department, Laboratory, Team, Project, etc.)
Supervisor

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Write a few words describing this experience: activity (internship, full-time job, part-time job, volunteering, civic engagment, freelancing, entrepreneurship, etc.); field; techniques; skills and competencies you learned; missions you carried out; results; etc.
Previous experience 4
Position and Duties
Institution/ Organisation
Country
Subdivision (Department, Laboratory, Team, Project, etc.)
Supervisor

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Write a few words describing this experience: activity (internship, full-time job, part-time job, volunteering, civic engagment, freelancing, entrepreneurship, etc.); field; techniques; skills and competencies you learned; missions you carried out; results; etc.
Previous experience 5
Position and Duties
Institution/ Organisation
Country
Subdivision (Department, Laboratory, Team, Project, etc.)
Supervisor

First (Given) NameLast (Family) Name
Entry date

DayMonthYear
Exit date

DayMonthYear
Write a few words describing this experience: activity (internship, full-time job, part-time job, volunteering, civic engagment, freelancing, entrepreneurship, etc.); field; techniques; skills and competencies you learned; missions you carried out; results; etc.

9 - Publications and Other Communications
Enter your peer-reviewed publications, up to 3
Enter your conference presentations/abstracts, up to 3
Enter your other communications (e.g. books, apps, public debates, course development, blog, etc.), up to 3

10 - Planetary PhD Community
The Planetary PhD community connects candidates who pursue scientific excellence while addressing long-term planetary challenges. This section invites you to share how you would contribute to and engage with this community.
Planetary Challenge Alignment Statement (300 words max) *
Describe the planetary challenge(s) your project intersects with and why this matters now.

Please address:
- Which planetary challenge(s) your research engages and at what scale(s) (local, regional, global; short-term, long-term) ;
- What is at stake (health, education, habitability, justice, resilience, governance, commons, etc.) ;
- What new understanding your research could generate, including fundamental knowledge ;
- Concrete mechanisms, pathways, or examples illustrating this intersection, including how your work could contribute to planetary commons (natural, intellectual, or digital), for example through open data, open methods, educational resources, tools, public protocols, governance templates, or capacity building.
If contributing to planetary commons is not applicable, explain why and describe how your work will nonetheless contribute to shared scientific or societal value beyond academic publications.
Consequences, Limits & Misuse Reflection (300 words max) *
Research reshapes what becomes possible, often for the better, but sometimes with unintended consequences.

Please reflect on:
- Best-case pathway: the positive futures your work might enable ;
- Worst-case pathway: potential unintended harms, misuse, inequities, or risks ;
- Key uncertainties and blind spots that matter most ;
- Boundaries and safeguards you would propose (what you would refuse to do, or under what conditions) ;
- Where you believe your responsibility begins and ends, and where it may re-emerge over time (e.g., after the work is published or used).
SDG Mapping & Post-2030 Agenda Proposal (300 words max) *
The SDGs are a shared reference framework until 2030, but planetary challenges extend beyond any time-bound agenda.

Please address:
- How does your project go beyond the SDG framing?
- Which issues, dynamics, or long-term challenges in your project are not adequately captured by the SDGs?
- Does your research involve conflicts between different SDGs? If so, explain what they are and how you will address them ;
- Propose one way to improve or rethink global frameworks after 2030 that is relevant to your research. For example, you may suggest new goals, clearer ways to show conflicts between goals and their long-term effects, different indicators, new governance approaches, or alternatives to SDG-based thinking in your field.
Community contribution (300 words max) *
The Planetary PhD community aims to foster an interdisciplinary, transnational community of practice addressing planetary challenges.

Please address:
- How would you contribute to this community (skills, methods, facilitation, care practices, systems thinking, public engagement, open-source tools) ?
- What do you hope to learn from this community ?
- How do you engage constructively with differing perspectives in interdisciplinary contexts ?

11 - Questions to be answered with the PhD Supervisors
Summary of primary supervisor's work*

500 words max0/500
Disciplines of primary supervisor*
Select up to 5
Summary of secondary supervisor's work*

500 words max0/500
Disciplines of secondary supervisor*
Select up to 5
Justification for co-supervision (300 words max)*

300 words max0/300
The 2 supervisors must have complementary expertise and should ideally work in different labs. Justify your choice of co-supervision and outline the roles played by each supervisor. Projects involving new collaborations are especially welcome.
Preparation of the project (300 words max)*

300 words max0/300
How did you co-construct this project with your supervisors?

Please describe:
- How the research question evolved ;
- Which trade-offs were made (scope, methods, feasibility) ;
- What alternatives were rejected and why ;
- How planetary implications or downstream risks were considered during the design.
PhD supervision plan and principles (300 words max)*

300 words max0/300
For the supervisors, please describe how you will supervise this project, including:
- Support for interdisciplinary integration ;
- Management of ethical, societal, or political sensitivities ;
- How planetary challenges and responsibility will be addressed ;
- How planetary implications will be revisited at key milestones ;
- Conditions that would trigger pausing, redesign, or re-scoping;
- Support for the candidate’s wellbeing, inclusion, and professional development.
Why FIRE rather than the usual Doctoral School? (300 words max)*

300 words max0/300
For the supervisors, please explain:
- What makes this project scientifically unconventional and interdisciplinary ;
- How this project differs from the research typically conducted in your team (e.g., new questions and/or methodologies) ;
- What new collaborations or interfaces it creates ;
- Why FIRE/LPI is uniquely suited to support it.
By applying to FIRE instead of the usual Doctoral School of the lab, the tacit agreement is that our Doctoral School has priority over the other School for final registration if the candidate or his/her lab secure source of funding for the PhD salary.
I understand and I agree*

YesNo

12 - Upload Documents
The following documents are required to complete the submission of your application to the FIRE Doctoral School. All documents must be in pdf format except for the photo, which can be pdf, jpg, jpeg, png, or gif. Each file must be at most 1MB (1024KB).

The FIRE Doctoral School enthusiastically welcomes ambitious students addressing the challenges of our time from a fresh perspective and having a scientific background or a different area of expertise. Please use the statement below to present your curriculum and your motivation for doing a PhD with us.

Motivation statement (2 pages maximum)

Describe your trajectory and research posture, including :
- The origin of your motivation for interdisciplinary research and planetary challenges ;
- One intellectual turning point ;
- One ethical or systemic turning point ;
- An example of responsibility you have practiced;
- Why the research project you propose matters now, why FIRE/LPI is the right environment, and what kind of researcher you aim to become.
Research Proposal (5 pages maximum, including references)

Proposals must not exceed the page limit and should include the following headings:
- Research Question & State of Knowledge ;
- Methods & Workplan ;
- Specific Aims ;
- Interdisciplinary Integration ;
- Planetary Challenge Context ;
- Impacts, Limitations & Responsible Research Pathways ;
- Contribution to the Scientific and Public Commons ;
- Timeline ;
- Ethical, Data and Open Science Considerations (if applicable).
4 Letters of recommendation (no page limit, pdf)
A letter of recommendation from each PhD supervisor and two from scientists of your choosing.

Curriculum Vitae (2 pages max, pdf)
Your updated CV

Photo (jpg, jpeg, png, or gif)
Recent headshot

Proof of funding (no page limit, pdf) if you already have a secured funding covering 3-year salary (at least 2300€ gross per month).

All written documents should be in English. The files are reviewed by an international scientific committee, thus documents in any language but English will not be considered.
Motivation statement (in English)*

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2 pages max Cancelof
PhD proposal (in English)*

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5 pages max Cancelof
Letter of recommendation from your primary PhD supervisor (in English)*

Upload a File

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Letter of recommendation from your secondary PhD supervisor (in English)*

Upload a File

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Letter of recommendation from a scientist of your choosing (in English)*

Upload a File

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Letter of recommendation from a scientist of your choosing (in English)*

Upload a File

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Curriculum Vitae (in English)*

Upload a File

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Photo*

Upload a File
current picture (headshot) of yourself Cancelof
If you already have secured funding, proof of funding covering 3-year salary

Upload a File

Cancelof

13 - Submit Application
Please review your responses and make sure you have answered to all required questions.

After submitting your application you will receive an email with a link to your submission that you may edit at any time before the deadline of April 3rd 2026 at 23:59 (UTC+1, Paris time). Only your last submission will be considered.

WARNING MESSAGE

Please make sure that you receive this automatic email of submission from Jotform (check your spam folder). If not, this may mean that your form was not properly submitted even though you saw a webpage with an ID of submission. In case of doubt, please contact us.
How did you hear about FIRE? Select all that apply.*

From an LPI studentFrom an LPI alumniFrom an LPI staff or teacherFrom my universityFrom my internship labFrom my PhD supervisorOn social mediaOnline, where? (please detail below)Autre
Enter the message as it's shown*
Submission Date and Time - Do not edit
In accordance with the law n°78-17 of January 6th 1978 on information technology, data files and civil liberties, the personal data you transmit will be used exclusively for the processing and management of your application by the LPI.

All users have the right of access, rectification, opposition, limitation to processing, erasure and portability of personal data about them. You may exercise these rights by contacting us at the following adress: firephd@cri-paris.org.
Ecole Doctorale Frontières de l'Innovation en Recherche et Éducation (ED 474) - Programme Bettencourt
Learning Planet Institute

Bureau 3.08, 8bis rue Charles V - 75004 Paris

Phone : + 33 1 84 25 67 98 - email : team.phd@learningplanetinstitute.org - website https://phd.learningplanetinstitute.org/en
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2026 FIRE Doctoral School Application

1 - Personal Information

2 - PhD Project

3 - Funding

4 - Primary PhD Supervisor

5 - Secondary PhD Supervisor

6 - Educational Background

7 - Language Proficiency

8 - Previous Experience

9 - Publications and Other Communications

10 - Planetary PhD Community

11 - Questions to be answered with the PhD Supervisors

12 - Upload Documents

13 - Submit Application