CompSci – Call 2 – Marie Sklodowska-Curie PhD Fellowships in Natural Sciences – 17 positions

CompSci is a Doctoral Programme launched and managed by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo (UiO). CompSci combines a disciplinary doctoral programme with intensive training in computational and data science. It is partly funded by the EU Horizon 2020 under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) – Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes (COFUND).

The CompSci Doctoral Programme will recruit 32 PhDs in two calls. In this Call, we open for applications to the 2nd cohort of 17 PhD fellowship positions, that will join our PhD programme starting autumn 2022 at UiO.

The CompSci doctoral programme will train a new generation of natural science researchers with a foundation in computational methods – providing them with the knowledge, skills and vision to digitally transform the European education, research, government and industry sectors.

The target groups of the programme are highly talented aspiring researchers with backgrounds in physics, chemistry, bioscience, materials science, mathematics, astronomy or geoscience, who are finishing or have just finished their master degree or have less than four years of full-time equivalent (FTE) research experience.

As a CompSci fellow, you will go through a three-month intensive training in computational and data science with a team of doctoral candidates from across the natural sciences. You will then apply and develop those skills in a research project in your discipline of choice in an internationally leading research group. All CompSci fellows will be enrolled as PhD candidates in one of the departments at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

More details are available at the CompSci website (https://www.mn.uio.no/compsci/english).

The duration of CompSci doctoral fellowships is 3 years. No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship at UiO.

Detailed descriptions of the projects offered in the CompSci programme can be found under Projects, sorted by the following categories of Astronomy, Biosciences, Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematics and Physics. Please consult this page to read the descriptions of all applicable research projects that will be offered as part of CompSci in Call 2 as well as their requirements.

Each project will require slightly different expertise and experience, but all require a combination of disciplinary skills and computational skills acquired through the programme. We seek motivated and independent candidates from a wide range of disciplines with an interest in developing their skills in computational science and using these skills to impact research in their discipline.

• Excellent research environments with highly competent and motivated researchers
• International collaboration and networking
• Cross sectoral opportunities
• Good working conditions
• High standard facilities and offices
• Access to research and transferable skills training
• Access to special career development programmes, and research schools.
• Salary NOK 491 200 – 534 400 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as PhD Research fellow (position code 1017).
• Career development programmes
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s unique character of being both small and family friendly, but also urban and metropolitan with rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities.

Call publication date: 1. November 2021

Application deadline: 1. February 2022

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition is to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials. Applicants from all nationalities who satisfy the following requirements can apply:

Qualification requirements

• Have a master’s degree  or equivalent with a specialization as described for each particular research project
• A foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system

Candidates without a Master’s degree have until 30 June, 2022 to complete the final exam.

Desirable qualifications

• Good knowledge of the scientific field addressed by the project(s) of interest is desirable
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills are an advantage
• Good communication and interpersonal skills are necessary

Grade requirements:

The norm is as follows:

• the average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
• the average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• the Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system

Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/ EEA countries and exemptions from the requirements:

http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/application/application.html

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The fellowship requires admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The application to the PhD programme must be submitted to the department no later than two months after taking up the position. For more information see:

http://www.uio.no/english/research/phd/

http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

1) Research experience: The candidate must at the date of the program call deadline be within the first four years (FTE-equivalent) of their research careers and cannot also have started on a doctoral degree.

2) Mobility requirement: The candidate may not have resided and/or carried out their main activity in Norway for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the program’s first possible recruitment date (1 August 2022).

Researchers with refugee status, as defined by the Geneva Convention, benefit from a less restrictive mobility rule: the refugee procedure (i.e. before refugee status is conferred) will not be counted as a period of residence/activity in Norway.

For all details about the programme and eligibility, project areas and application process, please see the CompSci home page and the Guide for Applicants.

For an application to be valid, the applicant must submit a complete set of documents via the recruiting portal, consisting of:

• Att. 1: CV (use supplied template (https://www.mn.uio.no/compsci/english/application/compsci-cv-template.docx) (word)). Applicants must clearly explain any research career gaps and/or unconventional paths. If you have been living in Norway sometime during the last 3 years, please specify the exact duration and motives.
• Att.2: Motivational letter with a prioritization of up to 3 research projects (use supplied template (https://mn.uio.no/compsci/english/application/compsci-letter-template.docx) (word)). Applicants must apply for a specific research project listed under “Research projects” for Call 2 (https://www.mn.uio.no/compsci/english/phd_programme/projects/). It is only the projects listed under Call 2 that are open for applicants in this Call. You must prioritize up to three research projects from the same research field that you are motivated and qualified for.
• Att. 3: Letter of recommendation (with ranking). In Norway it is customary that the applicants receive the recommendation letters and upload them in the portal themselves. If this is not possible, please tell your referees to send their reference letters by e-mail to our CompSci coordinator Marta Gómez Muñoz ([email protected]) and she will upload them to your application. In the subject of the email, your referee must indicate the reference number (JobbNorge ID) for the position and your name. This has to be done by the application deadline for the position, February 1. It is sufficient to provide one letter of recommendation (from your professor/ master’s degree supervisor). As for the ranking, we would like your reference to make a judgement on how you place in relation to the other students having done the same Master programme. E.g. are you in the top 10% or top 25 % etc. This is just indicative, and the admissions committee will focus mostly on the text of your motivation letter and CV rather than the % ranking.
• Att. 4: Bachelor’s and master’s grade transcripts with official translations. Candidates without a Master’s degree have until 30 June, 2022 to complete the final exam.
• Att. 5: Documentation of English proficiency
• Att. 6: Eligibility checklist (use supplied document (https://www.mn.uio.no/compsci/english/application/compsci-eligibility-checklist.pdf) (pdf))

Please save and upload all attachments with your surname in the file name, e.g. SURNAME-Att-1. Please note that only documents submitted through the portal will be considered (with the exception of Att. 3: Letter of recommendation). Do not send any documents by email and do not upload any extra attachments (e.g. articles, thesis).

The application portal “JobbNorge” has a field for “application text” and a standard CV that is entered in the portal. Please do not use these online forms, but instead use the CV template and the Motivational letter template. It is only these attachments that will form the basis for the evaluation.

You can submit the application at any date until the Call closes at 23:59, Central European Time, on the deadline date. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

These are the important dates:

• Call open for applications: November 1, 2021 – February 1, 2022
• Final list of eligible/non-eligible candidates: February 28, 2022
• Evaluation of written applications from eligible candidates: March 1, 2022 – March 31, 2022
• Interviews with selected candidates: April 18, 2022 – April 29, 2022
• Final ranking of candidates: May 31, 2022
• Contract signing: June 2022
• Transfer to Oslo: August – September 2022
• Beginning of fellowship: No later than October 1, 2022

For all questions on the CompSci programme: [email protected].

For technical questions regarding the recruitment system, please contact HR Adviser Torunn Standal Guttormsen, [email protected]