Job: Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (Huddersfield, UK)
The School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Huddersfield invites expressions of interest from researchers seeking to apply for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 hosted by Huddersfield.
The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest to the University is 22nd May 2023.
THE FELLOWSHIP
The goal of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and who wish to acquire new skills through advanced training, international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships will be open to excellent researchers of any nationality. Through the implementation of an original and personalised research project, the fellowships aim to equip researchers with new skills and competences to enable them to identify solutions to current and future challenges. Fellows are encouraged to reach out to society at large to make the results of their research visible to citizens.
The proposal is built around a concrete plan for training-through-research at a host organisation. In addition to research objectives and a plan to conduct the programme research, the proposal should include details of the researcher’s training requirements and career development needs (for example, training in transferable skills, secondments, industry placements, planning for publications, and participation in conferences and other networking events). The fellowships offers a highly competitive salary, family allowance (where applicable), as well as research and training expenses.
Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality, including researchers wishing to reintegrate in Europe, researchers who are displaced by conflict as well as researchers with high potential aiming for a career restart in research.
THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT
Please note that an important element of the proposal is the research environment of the host. Applicants need to make a strong case for the suitability of the opportunities for mentoring, training and networking that can be provided to them by the School of Arts and Humanities at Huddersfield.
Details of the research areas within the school can be found via the ‘Research’ link here.
Information on research groups within the school and individual staff profiles can be found via the University’s research portal here.
CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
At the call deadline, supported researchers must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date that the researcher was in a possession of a doctoral degree and certified by appropriate documents. Years of experience outside research and career breaks (e.g. due to parental leave), will not be taken into account. For nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who wish to reintegrate to pursue their research career in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, years of experience in research in third countries will not be considered in the above maximum.
Supported fellows must be postdoctoral researchers at the date of the call deadline, i.e. in a possession of a doctoral degree, defined as a successfully defended doctoral thesis, even if the doctoral degree has yet to be awarded.
Recruited researchers must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline. For researchers wishing to reintegrate from a third country, there must be a direct mobility to an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
Supported researchers can be of any nationality. However, candidates to the Global Postdoctoral Fellowship or researchers who wish to reintegrate to Europe, must be nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Details of the call and several useful documents can be found under the ‘Postdoctoral Fellowships – call 2023’ section of the ‘Horizon Europe MSCA - How to apply’ page. All potential candidates are encouraged to check the full eligibility criteria in the ‘Postdoctoral Fellowships Guide for Applicants 2023’ document.
THE TWO FELLOWSHIP SCHEMES (EUROPEAN AND GLOBAL)
Two schemes are available under the call. Fellowships either can take place in Europe (i.e. in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country) or in a Third Country (not an EU Member State or Associated Country):
European Postdoctoral Fellowships
Held in EU Member States or Associated Countries and open to researchers either coming to Europe or an Associated Country from any country in the world or moving within Europe (including to/from an Associated Country). Applicants cannot have resided or carried out the main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host country for more than 12 months in the last 36 months before the call deadline. Fellowships last for a duration of 12-24 months.
Global Postdoctoral Fellowships
Composed of an outgoing phase during which the researcher first undertakes mobility to a partner organisation in a Third Country (not an EU Member State or Associated Country) for a period of between 12 and 24 months, followed by a mandatory 12-month return period to the single beneficiary located in a Member State or Associated Country (in this case the University of Huddersfield). Applicants must be a national or long-term resident of a Member State or Associated Country. Long-term residence means a period of legal and continuous residence within EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries of at least five consecutive years. The applicants must not have resided or carried out the main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the Third Country where the initial outgoing phase takes place for more than 12 months in the last 36 months immediately before the call deadline. Candidates should name the third country partner organisation in their expression of interest.
FINANCIAL DETAILS
The salary and expense allocations for the fellowships can be found in the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 here (please note that the salary rate below is for the UK, during the outgoing phase of the Global Fellowship the salary rate is dependent on the particular rate applicable to the hosting Third Country):
THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST PROCESS
Expressions of interest should be sent to SAH.Research[at]hud.ac[dot]uk
To be received by 22nd May 2023 and should consist of two pdf documents:
A two-page CV covering education, any relevant employment, publications, any awards, exhibitions etc.
A two-page statement covering:
Details of the proposed research project including an outline of the methodology
The suitability of the research to the research environment within the School of Arts and Humanities at Huddersfield.
Opportunities for training and networking activities that the fellowship will provide.
Secondments at other organisations, both inside and outside of academia, should be considered where they add value to the fellowship. The scheme also offers an optional period of up to six months at the end of the fellowship (in addition to its standard maximum duration) to support researchers seeking a placement in the non-academic sector in an organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, this is something else that candidates may consider wish to within their expression of interest.
A selection process within the School of Arts and Humanities will determine which proposals go forward to a full application and a programme of mentoring and application development will be offered to the selected candidates in the lead up to the call deadline (13th September 2023). Please note that the assessment by the school will be based both on the strength of the research proposed and on how well the fellowship as a whole fits with the research environment at Huddersfield and the training, mentoring and networking opportunities that can be offered. The school will endeavor to provide all candidates with a decision on their expression by 9thJune.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THOUGH THE UK’S PARTICIPATION IN HORIZON EUROPE (THE PROGRAMME UNDER WHICH THE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS ARE FUNDED) HAS NOT BEEN FORMALLY AGREED, THE EXPECTATION IS THAT THE UK WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE PART AS IF IT WERE AN ASSOCIATED COUNTRY AND THAT UK INSTITUTIONS WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT CANDIDATES TO THE 2023 CALL.