Early Stage Researcher (Doctoral Student) positions in the Doctoral Programme in Molecular Medicine
14.4.2020The University of Eastern Finland, UEF, is one of the largest multidisciplinary universities in Finland. We offer education in nearly one hundred major subjects, and are home to approximately 15,500 students and 2,500 members of staff. We operate in Joensuu and Kuopio. In international rankings, we are ranked among the leading universities in the world.
The Faculty of Health Sciences operates at the Kuopio Campus of the University of Eastern Finland. The Faculty offers education in medicine, dentistry, nutrition and pharmacy, as well as in some other central fields of the health care sector. The Faculty is research-intensive, and its internationally recognised research activities are closely linked to the strategic research areas of the University. There are approximately 2 500 degree students and about 450 PhD students in the Faculty. The faculty has 700 staff members. http://www.uef.fi/en/ttdk/etusivu
24 Doctoral Student (Early Stage Researcher) Positions in UEF Doctoral Programmes in Faculty of Health Sciences
The Faculty of Health Sciences offers doctoral training in four doctoral programmes:
- Doctoral Programme of Clinical Research
- Doctoral Programme in Drug Research
- Doctoral Programme in Molecular Medicine
- Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences
in which 24 doctoral student (early stage researcher) positions are now open for application. Via this call for applications, you can apply for a position in the Doctoral Programme in Molecular Medicine (http://www.uef.fi/en/web/dpmm).
The persons selected to the doctoral student positions will be hired as early stage researchers by the UEF academic departments and schools. A person to be appointed as an early stage researcher shall be qualified to pursue postgraduate studies, i.e. he or she is required to have completed a suitable higher university degree or an equivalent education abroad which in the country in question would qualify the person for similar academic studies. Positions of early stage researchers shall always be filled for a fixed term. (UEF Regulations, Section 31).
The main duty of the doctoral students is to complete their doctoral dissertation in accordance with their approved research proposal. A fluent English language proficiency is required of applicants performing their research in English.
The doctoral student positions may be applied for by persons already enrolled as doctoral students at the UEF and by persons planning to do their doctoral studies at the UEF. Persons finalizing their higher university degree may also apply (degree must be finished by 31 August), but are required to submit their degree certificate and transcript of records to the Faculty of Health Sciences by 30 September 2020.
The doctoral student positions will be filled as from 1 January 2021, or as agreed in 2021.It is possibly to apply for a doctoral student position on a full-time or a part-time basis. Part-time positions must be co-financed with another funding source (eg. a foundation or another organization) so that the total amount of funding makes it possible to on the doctoral dissertation full-time.
The maximum duration of the doctoral student position is four years. Previously granted UEF doctoral student position will be considered in the selection process. It is also possible to apply for researcher months. In addition, the total time (as full time equivalent) used for PhD studies by 1 January 2021 will be taken into account (four years is the recommended time for PhD degree studies).
The salary of the early stage researcher is based on levels 2–4 of the job requirement level chart for teaching and research staff in the Salary System for Finnish Universities (i.e. the job requirement component amounts to €2,033.29 – 2,535.20/month). In addition to the job requirement component, the salary includes a personal performance component, which may be up to 50% of the job requirement component. The salary is determined on the basis of the phase of the doctoral dissertation and the person’s personal performance.
A probationary period will be applied to new members of the university staff.
For further information on the application procedure, please contact: Hanna Ollikainen-Richards (hanna.ollikainen-richards@uef.fi, +358 29 445 8251)
The application should contain the following appendices:
- A curriculum vitae (CV) https://www.tenk.fi/en/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae
- A research proposal including financial plan, describing resources required by the research project, and a short description of the relevance of research
- The maximum length of the research proposal is three pages, including references. N.B.! If the length of the research proposal exceeds the three-page limit, only the first three pages will be sent for evaluation.
- Structure of research proposal: Background, Methods, Results, Funding plan/ resources, Relevance
- Layout: Font ARIAL, size 10. Row min 1,0. Margins MODERATE, Top and bottom 2,54, sides 1,91.
- Students already enrolled at the university are required to submit an updated research proposal
- A motivation letter in which the applicant describes his or her motivation to pursue postgraduate studies and to conduct research
- A copy of degree certificate if a person does not have an existing right to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of Eastern Finland
- A list of publications, in which publications to be included in the thesis are specified.
Applications will be evaluated by evaluation panels external to UEF. Applicants may be invited to an interview. Following criteria are used in the evaluation of applications:
Eligibility
A. Higher University degree
Only persons who have completed by 31.8.2020 a suitable higher university degree or an equivalent education abroad, which in the country in question would qualify the person for similar academic studies, can be hired as early stage researchers. Only applications filling this requirement will be evaluated.
B. Full-time used for PhD studies
Four years is the recommended time for PhD degree studies. If the full time used for PhD studies by 1 January 2021 exceeds four years, applications will not be evaluated. There is a separate question concerning the used time in the electronic application form.
C. Length of the research plan
The maximum length of the research proposal is three pages. In case of exceeding three pages, only the first three pages will be evaluated.
Evaluation of application
1. Quality and innovativeness of the research plan (0–6 points)
Excellent 6-5 p, Good 4-3p, Satisfactory 2-1p, Poor 0p
2. Feasibility of the research plan as a PhD degree project
Very feasible 2p, feasible 1p, not feasible 0p
3. Previous research experience (0 – 1 points)
One published article 0,5p, 2 or more published articles 1p. Points are also given on articles that will not be included in the thesis. No points are granted for manuscripts or submitted articles. Applicants have been asked to state which articles will be included in the thesis, so that the stage of PhD studies could be evaluated.
4. Motivation based on the motivation letter (0 – 1 points)
A general letter or no letter 0p, fair description of willingness for post graduate training 0,5p, good justification for PhD studies and a clear career plan 1p
Maximum number of points is 10p.
Applications are submitted in the electronic recruitment system Saima. The application deadline is 6 May 2020 (by 24.00 hours Finnish time).