MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024 – Technology and Digitization for Transport Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance

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.

Department of Built Environment, Faculty of Technology, Art and Design 

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.  

Call for Expression of Interest for a joint application under the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme – Call: MSCA-PF-2024

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. 

Area of research

Today’s transport systems are under pressure due to aging infrastructure, increased climate change concerns, and increased transport demand. As technology advances, new possibilities exist to improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of the transport system and related infrastructure during all stages of its lifecycle, particularly within operations and maintenance. Developments in sensor technology, increased computing power, and new analysis methods such as machine learning allow for cheaper and faster data collection, possibilities for data fusion, and opportunities to exploit data to understand our transport systems better. At the same time, developments in vehicle technology require infrastructure owners (i.e., road authorities) to consider the needs and impact of advanced driver assistance and automation related to planning, design, and maintenance of both today’s current infrastructure as well as infrastructure of the future.  

The project aims to address knowledge gaps and development needs within the use of technology and digitization within transport infrastructure operations and maintenance, including but not limited to:   

•  the needs and impact of automated vehicle technologies, particularly in Nordic (winter) conditions  
• development and utilization of digital twins 
• big data and machine learning applications 
• smart infrastructures and systems 

The applications are numerous and consider an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach combining traditional civil engineering with computer and/or data science. 

Successful candidates will be supervised by Professor Kelly Pitera, whose research includes studying the needs and effects of automated vehicles within road design and maintenance, digitalization within the transport system, and the development of digital twins for sustainable transport planning.  

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 in getting their proposals funded by the EU, must relocate to work at the Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology, at OsloMet main campus, in the centre of Oslo. 

Starting Date 

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. 

Main duties of the position

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. 

Expected qualification of applicants 

Candidates must have a PhD in civil, mechanical, structural, earthquake, offshore, transportation or computational engineering. 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.

We are looking for applicants who have

• A good track record in research and publications
• Knowledge of transport infrastructure systems and skills related torelevant digital tools and methods, such as sensor technology, machine learning, and digital twins 
• 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

Assessment and selection of candidates

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 Kelly Pitera 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.

The postdoctoral position

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.

We offer:

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 
• 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).

Remuneration:

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 

Contact

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

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

Last day of application

Call closes on 31st January 2024

Reference number: 23/08722 

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.
Visit OsloMet at LinkedIn , Facebook , Instagram
 

Type of employment:

Temporary employment for a period of 2 years with a view to an extension of the temporary employment

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:

23/08722

Contact:

—

Published:

12/12/2023

Last application date:

31/01/2024, 23:59