TIAS New Call for Applications 2011
This year the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies invites applications for
10 Postdoctoral Researcher / Collegium Researcher positions
The term of office for successful applicants will begin on the 1st of January 2012. The term of the appointments will be for a term of 3 years.
Applicants who meet the requirements of the post will have a doctoral degree, previous research experience in the area, and demonstrated ability for scientific work at an international level. The working language of the TIAS is English.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICANTS
Download these instructions as a PDF-file from here.
TIAS in brief: principles and goals
The purpose of the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies is to advance cutting-edge university research in the humanities and social sciences. This includes arts and literature, cultural studies, history, languages, linguistics, logopedics, business studies, education, human geography, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, social policy, social work, sociology and research methodology, and their equivalents.
The TIAS selects researchers through an international competition. The competition is open to all researchers in the respective fields. However, tenured professors are not eligible. Successful candidates will be appointed for fixed-term positions at the University of Turku.
Successful candidates must provide evidence of their ability to work in a research environment of a high international standard. The doctoral degree must be completed by the end of application period (the 30th of April 2011) and the applicants are expected to have other academic achievements. The goal is to appoint researchers from junior Postdoctoral Researchers to senior Collegium Researchers (equivalent to Academy of Finland’s Postdoctoral and Academy Research Fellow levels).
The applicants are requested to demonstrate a close linkage with the research activities of University of Turku. For this purpose the applications should be supported with a letter of commitment from one of the departments of the University of Turku stating that it undertakes to serve as the site of the research and provides the researcher with necessary basic facilities and services. The letter should be signed by a person entitled to do so on behalf of the department:
School of History, Culture and Arts Studies (Faculty of Humanities):
Kari Teräs, kari.teras@utu.fi, +358 2 333 6237
School of Language and Translation Studies (Faculty of Humanities):
Sirkka Saarinen, sirkka.saarinen@utu.fi, +358 2 333 6372
Faculty of Law:
Jukka Mähönen, jukka.mahonen@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5526
Department of Education (Faculty of Education):
Risto Rinne, risto.rinne@utu.fi, +358 2 333 8818
Department of Teacher Education (Faculty of Education):
Soili Keskinen, soili.keskinen@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5708
Department of Geography and Geology (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences):
Jussi S. Jauhiainen, jussi.jauhiainene@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5581
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Philosophy (Faculty of Social Sciences):
Heikki Hämäläinen, heikki.hamalainen@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5428
Department of Political Science and Contemporary History (Faculty of Social Sciences):
Kimmo Rentola, kimmo.rentola@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5365
Department of Social Research (Faculty of Social Sciences):
Pekka Räsänen, pekka.rasanen@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5340
Department of Management (Turku School of Economics):
Juha Laurila, juha.laurila@tse.fi, +358 2 333 9253
Department of Accounting and Finance (Turku School of Economics):
Kari Lukka, kari.lukka@tse.fi, +358 2 333 9315
Department of Marketing (Turku School of Economics):
Rami Olkkonen, rami.olkkonen@tse.fi, +358 2 333 9240
Department of Economics (Turku School of Economics):
Heikki Kauppi, heikki.kauppi@tse.fi, +358 2 333 5396
Business and Innovation Development BID:
Antti Paasio, antti.paasio@tse.fi, +358 2 333 9574
Centre for Research and Education CRE:
Jarna Heinonen, jarna.heinonen@tse.fi, +358 2 333 9577
Finland Futures Research Centre, FFRC:
Juha Kaskinen, juha.kaskinen@tse.fi, +358 2 333 9528
Research Unit for the Sociology of Education, RUSE:
Osmo Kivinen, osmo.kivinen@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5878.
Researchers at the TIAS are expected to contribute to teaching activities at the University of Turku. This will make up 5% of their annual work load of 1600 hours.
The research appointments will begin on 1st of January 2012. The appointment may not be postponed.
Different researcher positions available at the TIAS
During the second application round, the TIAS invites applications for research positions for the period of three years starting from the 1st of January 2012. The Board will select applicants on the basis of an evaluation of external experts. In the selection process, particular attention will be paid to the quality of the candidates’ research proposal. The appointed researchers will include both Postdoctoral Researchers and Collegium Researchers.
Postdoctoral Researchers: The purpose is to advance professional competence of researchers who have recently gained their doctorate. The applicant must have gained his/her doctoral degree maximum of five years before the expiry of the application deadline (that is between 1st of May 2006 and 30th of April 2011). Only for special reasons, such as maternity, paternity or parental leave, military service or non-military service, or a long illness may more than five years have passed since the completion of the degree. If the applicant pleads these special reasons, they must be justified in the curriculum vitae. The successful candidates are envisaged to be appointed for the level 5 in the university salary system. The task-specific salary component at level five is 2682,35 €/month. In addition, there is a share increase based on personal performance, up to 46.3 % of the basic salary.
Collegium Researchers: The purpose is to offer researchers an opportunity to gain competence for the most demanding research posts or other expert positions after the postdoctoral research stage. Successful publishing and other scientific work after gaining the doctorate are requirements for appointment to a Collegium Researcher post. It is envisaged that the successful candidates have ambitious research plans that aim at new scientific breakthroughs. The successful candidates are envisaged to be appointed for the level 7 in the university salary system. At level seven the task-specific salary component is 3618,82 €/month. In addition, there is a share increase based on personal performance, up to 46.3 % of the basic salary.
In the selection process, the TIAS follows ethics and equality principles of the University of Turku (http://www.utu.fi/en/staff/policy.html).
Application documents
The application must contain the following documents:
- Application form (filled and sent online, link further below in these instructions)
- Research plan abstract (1 page)
- Research plan (max 10 pages)
- Curriculum vitae (1-2 pages)
- Motivation letter
- List of publications
- Copy of the doctoral certificate (scanned as a pdf or sent separately by mail)
- Letter of commitment from the site of research (scanned as a pdf or sent separately by mail)
The documents must be written in English. The documents should be written with Times 12-point or equivalent and sent as pdf-documents. The documents should be saved by using the last name of the applicant and the document title (as an example: Smith_application, Smith_abstract, Smith_research plan, Smith_CV, etc.) Incomplete applications will not be processed.
The application deadline is the 30th of April 2011 at 4.15 p.m. (local Turku time i.e. GMT +2). The applications together with the appendices are to be sent by e-mail before the deadline. Late applications cannot be submitted and applications cannot be completed. However, the copy of the doctoral certificate and letter of commitment from the site of research can also be sent separately by mail within a week from the application deadline. The goal is to announce decisions by the end of September 2011.
For further information, please contact the TIAS Coordinator, Phil. Lic. Kimi Kärki by e-mail: kimi.karki(at)utu.fi or by tel. +358 2 333 5890.
Application attachments are to be sent by e-mail to kimi.karki(at)utu.fi. Certain appendices as specified in the instructions can be sent by mail (TIAS-Coordinator Kimi Kärki, General History, 20014 University of Turku, Finland).
Application form
The application form is available online here.
The applicant should indicate which department at the University of Turku has agreed to act as the research site and to provide the necessary research facilities. He or she should also state in which category (Postdoctoral Researcher or Collegium Researcher) the application is to be assessed. A maximum of three fields of relevant research in terms of the research proposal should be specified, numbered in order of importance (1=primary field, 2=secondary field, etc). The reviewers will be selected according to this specification.
Research Plan Abstract (max 2,500 characters)
The one-page abstract must contain:
- the applicant’s name and academic degree
- the title of the research
- a summary of the research plan (aims, research material and methods)
- key words (max. 8-10)
Curriculum vitae
The curriculum vitae should be no more than two pages in length and should include the following information:
- personal data: name and year of birth
- academic education: degrees, dates and places, major subject, topic of doctoral dissertation
- posts and positions of primary importance
- research allocations and grants during the last five years
- most important expert assignments
- most important scientific acknowledgements and awards
Motivation letter
The applicants are expected to explain:
- why the research should be conducted at TIAS
- how will your research, contacts, supervising and teaching experience benefit TIAS and University of Turku?
- what do you expect to gain from your three-year research period
List of publications
The maximum length of the list of publications is not limited. Candidates are requested to clearly indicate the 5 most important publications in relation to the research plan. The non-English titles need to be translated into English.
Research plan (max 25,000 characters)
The research plan must indicate the following:
1. Name of the researcher, title and site of the research
2. Background and signifigance of the research
3. Research objectives and methods
4. The current state and schedule of the applicant’s research
5. National and international collaboration, including connections with the research site
6. Implementation: Timetable and publication plan
7. Issues concerning research ethics. It is recommended that the applicants follow the Academy of Finland guidelines: http://www.aka.fi/en-GB/A/For-researchers/Use-of-funding/Ethical-guidelines/
Processing and reviewing of applications
Applications received by the deadline and fulfilling the formal requirements are first preliminarily assessed by the Board for the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies. Qualified applications meeting the formal instructions will be sent for a scientific evaluation by at least two international external reviewers. On the basis of these evaluations the Board will select the appointees. The successful candidates will be informed directly and the names of the appointees will be announced on the website of the University of Turku and the TIAS. See http://www.utu.fi/sivustot/collegia/tias/.
For further information, please contact the TIAS Coordinator, Phil. Lic. Kimi Kärki by e-mail: kimi.karki(at)utu.fi or by tel. +358 2 333 5890.