France-Quebec Internship Grant
The aim of this program is to support doctoral or post-doctoral students who wish to immerse themselves in a Quebec laboratory to further their training in end-of-life and palliative care research and thus enrich their background (techniques, analysis and recruitment methods, protocol writing, development of new collaborations, etc.). Candidates must demonstrate the benefits of this internship.
Program specifications
- The maximum budget is €4,000 for French doctoral or post-doctoral students per fiscal year (April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026)
- Only one internship in Quebec can be carried out annually.
- A doctoral or post-doctoral student can benefit from this program only once.
- It is a research internship and not a clinical training internship. In other words, the host team must be made up of researchers. An end-of-internship report will be required.
- Financial arrangements with other sources of financial support are authorized and even encouraged.
- The minimum duration of the internship is 4 weeks. Eligible expenses must comply with the regulatory framework imposed by the financial support repayment agreement for doctoral or post-doctoral students from France.
- The internship must be carried out within one year of receiving notification of the favorable decision.
Eligibility criteria
- PhD students must have been enrolled in a post-graduate program (doctorate) at a French university for at least one year in relation to the planned start date of the internship in Quebec. For post-doctoral fellows, have defended their thesis for less than 5 years.
- Be listed in the national directory of researchers of the French National Platform for End-of-Life Research.
- Be affiliated with a research laboratory where at least one researcher is listed in the national directory of researchers of the French National Platform for End-of-Life Research.
- The internship research activities must relate to end-of-life issues (see, for example, the themes listed in the Platform’s 2025 research overview).
- All disciplines are welcome (see the disciplines listed in the Platform’s 2025 research overview).
- The host team must be made up of researchers, at least one of whom is a regular member of the RQSPAL.
- The internship must last at least 4 weeks.
- Not have already benefited from this program during their current academic training period.
Definition of palliative and end-of-life care
"Palliative care is active, comprehensive care for people of all ages in severe suffering as a result of their state of health affected by one or more serious illnesses, and in particular people nearing the end of their lives. It aims to improve the quality of life of individuals, their families, loved ones and caregivers.
Among other things, palliative care:
- includes prevention, early identification, comprehensive assessment and management of physical problems, including pain and other distressing symptoms, psychological and spiritual distress, and social needs.
- can be provided throughout the course of the disease and in conjunction with treatments, in all care settings (home, residence and institutions) and by any type of caregiver with basic palliative care training.
- provide support to help those affected to live as fully as possible until they die, and to families, loved ones and significant others caring for them during the affected person's illness, and their own bereavement."
Radbruch et al. (2020). Redefining palliative care-a new consensus-based definition. Journal of pain and symptom management, 60(4), 754-764.
How to apply
Applications can be submitted continuously until March 31, 2027, but the call will be closed as soon as the budget dedicated to this program is exhausted.
The complete application file must imperatively contain the following elements:
- The form (to be downloaded above) duly completed
- The description of the research project to be carried out during the internship (1 page maximum) including the following elements:
- Introduction.
- Realistic objectives to be carried out during the internship.
- Methods and expertise to be acquired.
- Expected results and possible spin-offs.
- The relevance of the internship (1 page maximum):
- Description of the knowledge and expertise to be acquired.
- Explanation of the interest of acquiring them within the envisaged research team.
- Expectations faced with this internship.
- Benefits expected by the candidate.e on his/her academic training, current research project and future career.
- Detailed budget and justification in the form of a Word table or Excel file (1 page maximum)
- Detailed and justified description of projected expenses, bearing in mind that eligible expenses are those related to mobility only (transport, accommodation, installation expenses).
- If applicable, indicate other sources of financial support (financial package).
- A letter of support from the internship team's RQSPAL regular member director
- A letter of support from the researcher listed in the Plateforme's national directory, affiliated with the student's research team
- The student's up-to-date CV (any accepted format)
- The internship team director's up-to-date CV (any accepted format)
Please note: all these documents must be grouped together in a single PDF format document.
Application files must be sent as a single pdf file by e-mail, with the subject line "candidature / Stage France-Québec" to the following address: plateforme.recherche.findevie@univ-fcomte.fr
Incomplete applications will be rejected and the applicants concerned will be informed by e-mail.
Application validation and assessment process
Once your application has been submitted:
- An acknowledgement of receipt is sent by email.
- The eligibility of the application is reviewed for validation (applications not meeting the submission guidelines, eligibility criteria or being incomplete will be rejected)
- Eligible applications will be submitted for assessment to the French National Platform for End-of-Life Research operational team.
- If the application meets all the criteria, if the Platform's operational team validates the dossier and if funds are still available, the application will be accepted.
Notice of decision
After the application has been submitted, the notice of decision may take one to six weeks. In the event of an unfavorable decision, an explanatory e-mail is sent. It is nevertheless possible to modify the application to meet the eligibility criteria, and submit a new application.
In the event of a favorable decision, you will be informed by email.
The internship must be carried out within one year of the favorable decision (see "Commitments" section, below)
Payment terms
Financial support takes the form of a grant. This is paid to the student's laboratory in a single instalment. For a repayment agreement to be drawn up between this laboratory and the French National Platform for End-of-Life Research (via Université Marie et Louis Pasteur), it will be necessary to provide:
- Proof of registration at a French university
- The SIRET number of this university
- A bank statement from this university
Sophie Aupet,
Chargée de mission Observatoire, réseau national et appels à projets
sophie.aupet[at]univ-fcomte.fr
Commitments
The candidate.e undertakes to:
- Mention the affiliation to the Platform and his/her financial support from the Platform for any publication, poster or PowerPoint Presentation related to the internship and, if possible, include his/her logo (available on this page) .
- Authorize the Platform and RQSPAL to publish any presentations or posters arising from this workshop on their respective websites (provided the results are not confidential). The Platform supports the open science movement.
- Produce within three months of the end of the internship a short report (one page maximum) on the skills and knowledge acquired, on the achievement of the targeted objectives and on the impact on your academic training, your current research project and your future career. This report must be sent to plateforme.recherche.findevie@univ-fcomte.fr and confirm the template provided (download the report template here).
- Participate in an episode of the RQSPAL Student Committee podcast "The humans behind palliative care research" as a guest∙e to share experience and skills gained.
- Participate in the young.researchers.day.s organized by the of the French National Platform for End-of-Life Research, either in the year of the internship or the following one.
- Value this action through a written and/or oral communication (short description on the internship and its spin-offs) to be published on the Platforme's website and its social networks.