MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024 – Structural Engineering

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with almost 22,000 students and over 2,500 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

The Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD) offers higher education and research and development (R&D) activities within technical subjects, arts and design. The Faculty has approximately 4.000 students and 400 staff members and is situated at Pilestredet Campus in downtown Oslo and at Kjeller Campus in Viken.

The Department of Built Environment offers bachelors and master’s degree programs in engineering, in addition to research and development activities. The department has approximately 60 staff members and 850 students.

The department conducts high-impact research on a broad range of topics within national, European, and international projects. Activities cover various R&D areas of major interest in Civil, Structural, and Transportation Engineering and rely heavily on an integrated use of experimental testing, analytical methods and numerical simulation and modelling with a modern holistic approach to research.  

We hereby invite interested experienced researchers of any nationality, who have a PhD degree and maximum eight years of research experience after having obtained their PhD degree, to apply for the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship (call HORIZON-MSCA-PF-2024) to conduct research at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University for a period of two years. 

The applications can cover a broad field of engineering branches including civil, mechanical, naval, electrical, aerospace, material, biomolecular, among others. Computational structural engineering has evolved as an insightful blend combining structural analysis and computer science. The project should aim to bridge the gap between numerical methods and computational mechanics in the broader field of civil and structural engineering with applications in various fields, including but not limited to: 

• Advanced FEM modelling and simulation of buildings, structures, and/or materials 
• Artificial Intelligence and its application in structural engineering 
• Structural vibrations and dynamics 
• Impact engineering and protective structures 
• Material modelling of the mechanical behaviour (including formability, fracture and/or fatigue) of aluminium, steel, cellular/foam materials, 3D printed structures, and architected materials 
• Optimum design of structures and materials 
• Floating structures 
• Smart transportation, materials, systems, structures, and infrastructures 
• Road and railway structures 

Successful candidates will be supervised by Professor Aase Reyesand/or Associate Professor Jian Dai, depending on the selected topic and expertise. For more information about Professors Dai and Reyes, see e.g. their profiles on Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&user=Z251egEAAAAJ and https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&user=HQ1kJ4gAAAAJ ).  

With this call for Expression of Interest, we invite researchers to submit their application accompanied by CV (including publication list) and a one-page project description, that will be the basis for selecting a maximum of two candidates with whom we will collaborate for developing competitive MSCA-PF proposals. The cooperation for the proposal development will be carried out remotely, with regular online communication via email and virtual meeting platforms. Applicants who are successful ingetting their proposals funded by the EU, must relocateto work atthe Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology, at OsloMet main campus, in the centre of Oslo. 

The EU shall inform the results on the MSCA-PF-2024 applications in February 2025. Successful applicants are expected to be available to start the fellowship project from within the two months following the announcement of results and no later than September 2025. 

The successful candidate will primarily work on the MSCA fellowship funded project, but will be integrated in the Department, taking part in regular meetings and discussion groups. The candidate will specifically be introduced with the supervisor’s national and international network of researchers. In agreement with the candidate, he/she would be included in other ongoing projects and/or in the development of grant applications processes. 

Candidates must have a PhD in Engineering/Science as the minimum requirement. We are primarily looking for experienced researchers who wish to use this period as an opportunity to further develop their research, and to develop longer term research collaborations with OsloMet and other organisations conducting research in the field. The candidates must be eligible for a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship: have a PhD successfully defended by the deadline (11 September 2024), a maximum of eight (8) years research experience after PhD, and not having worked/studied in Norway for more than 12 months in the last three years.

• A good track record in research and publications
• Knowledge and skills in modelling and simulation of civil, structural and transportation systems with computational methods and relevant tools.
• Commitment to develop a competitive MSCA-PF grant application
• An open and cooperation-oriented nature, with strong abilities for independent academic work
• Excellent command / highly proficient spoken and written English

Evaluation will be based on the qualification and project idea. Interested candidates must submit with their application the following documents:

• CV (including research track record and list of publications)
• A one-page description of the project idea for which a MSCA-PF grant will be applied (no predefined structure, excluding references)

Short-listed candidates will be invited for a virtual interview to select candidates that will be invited to develop the full MSCA-PF application with deadline on 11 September 2024 under the supervision of Professor Aase Reyesand/orAssociate Professor Jian Dai, with the support of the research administration staff at OsloMet.  

Under this call announcement a maximum of five candidates will be interviewed and two candidates will be invited to write applications with the endorsement of OsloMet. Candidates will be informed of the results of the internal pre-selection to apply by mid of March 2024. 

Original documents about your qualification must be presented if you are invited for an interview. OsloMet performs document inspections in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and to ensure a fair competition. Proposals will be pre-selected based on internal evaluation and the availability of suitable supervision. All documents that you hand in to OsloMet, including your proposal idea, will be handled in full confidentiality, and strictly following  GDPR regulations.

Selected candidates must participate in the virtual masterclass on MSCA-PF, a two-day workshop organised by OsloMet on 26-27 March 2024 to provide applicants with detailed information and explanation of the application template to complete their proposal in compliance with the EU Commission requirements.

Successful applicants who obtain a MSCA-PF grant will be offered a position at OsloMet to be hired as postdoctoral researchers to implement their proposed research projects, in conditions as explained below.

Successful applicants who obtain a MSCA-PF grant will be offered a position at OsloMet as postdoctoral fellows, with conditions as explained below.

OsloMet will assist in developing competitive Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship proposals. Then, successful applicants who are awarded the MSC-PF grant, we offer:

• Flexible working conditions
• An inclusive and friendly work environment
• Unique academic network with the possibility for the right candidate(s) to pursue his/her academic goals under the auspices of Professor Aase Reyes or Associate Professor Jian Dai
• Norwegian language classes
• Onboarding assistance for relocation and other services

The position adheres to the Norwegian Government’s policy that the national labour force. It is important for OsloMet to reflect the population diversity, all qualified candidates from any nationality are welcomed to apply. OsloMet is an IA (Inclusive Workplace) organisation and operates in compliance with the Norwegian IA agreement. We make our active endeavour to further develop OsloMet as an inclusive workplace and to adapt the workplace if required. If there are periods in your career when you have not been working, under education or training, you are also eligible to apply. Questions may be directed to the contact persons (per below).

The competitive fellowship opportunities are 100% funded and include living and mobility allowances. 

• Type of employment: Temporary position
• Contract type: Full time
• Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 70,000 (plus additional fellowship applicable allocations)
• Earliest expected starting date 1 April 2025 and no later than 1 September 2025
• Number of positions: 1 – 2 
• Working hours: 37.5 hours/week 

Aase Reyes, Professor, [email protected]

Jian Dai, Associate Professor, [email protected]

Yonas Zewdu Ayele, Head of Department, [email protected] 

If you have administrative questions to your application, please contact [email protected] . 

Call closes on 31st January 2024

Reference number: 23/08745

OsloMet is a Charter & Code certified institution by the EU Commisson holding the right to use the logo HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R). OsloMet is a member of the EURAXESS network supporting a positive work environment for researchers in motion.

OsloMet has signed The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) . DORA recognizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who are seen to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter law will not be considered for the position.

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Type of employment:

Temporary position (shorter than 10 days)

Contract type:

Full time

First day of employment:

Per agreement

Salary:

Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 70,000

Number of positions:

1

Working hours:

100%

City:

Oslo

County:

Oslo

Country:

Norway

Reference number:

23/08745

Contact:

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Published:

12/12/2023

Last application date:

31/01/2024, 23:59