Closed call 2024-03-26: Up to eight postdoc fellows in technologies for digital transformation
Digital Futures postdoc fellowships aim to support talented early-career international researchers in pursuing their research ideas in a new research group and institution. As this is a mobility programme, the emphasis is on early career researchers moving to a new institution to continue their research. The funding programme aims to provide networking opportunities and career development to boost successful postdoc fellows’ future careers.
Important dates
Call announced: 15 February 2024
Project proposal registration opens: 12 March 2024
Proposal submission deadline: 26 March 2024
Nomination opens: 9 April 2024
Nomination deadline: 29 April 2024
Expected funding decision: June 2024
For this mobility programme, we highly welcome international applicants from institutions based anywhere in the world who have recently completed or will soon complete their doctorate.
Digital Futures is a cross-disciplinary research centre that explores and develops digital technologies. We bring solutions to great societal challenges in Sweden and globally. We generate knowledge, innovations, and future leaders of high industrial relevance and strategic importance. Digital Futures is jointly established by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. Digital Futures awards funding to strategic research projects and individuals to support a specific action or project that furthers the vision of Digital Futures. Find out more about Digital Futures here.
The core research themes in Digital Futures are “Trust”, “Learn”, and “Cooperate”, cutting across four prioritized societal contexts — “Smart Society”, “Digitalized Industry”, “Rich and Healthy Life”, and “Educational Transformation”.
Digital Futures Strategic Research Programme
Digital Futures consists of researchers from all schools at KTH, Stockholm University, RISE, and external partners. Digital Futures’ physical location is in the award-winning building of the Architecture School at KTH Campus, and Professor Karl H Johansson leads the centre.
What the call offers
- Funding to pursue research ideas and conduct research in a new research group at a leading university or institute within the Digital Futures environment that creates knowledge and expertise for a sustainable future. The funding includes salary costs for two years for each employed postdoc fellow.
- An international workplace and environment.
- Access to Digital Futures’ resources, its network of academic and industrial partners, infrastructure and testbeds, events, and happenings.
- Mentorship and support in career development and research leadership education.
- Help to relocate and get settled in Sweden.
How to Apply
The last day for submission is 26 March 2024. The application should include the following:
- Abstract , which provides a brief overview suitable for the general public and includes a description of the proposed research activities, objectives, methods, and potential results (less than 300 words).
- Proposal of research activities that should include research question/s and objectives, details of what you plan to do, how you plan to do it, and what is significant about this proposed research for your field and Digital Futures. More information about the Digital Futures research matrix can be found here. Please use clear wording to ensure that reviewers from other specialisations understand your proposal. (max 1 page).
- CV including relevant professional experience, knowledge, and publications (max 2 pages).
- Research statement describing past and current research (max 1 page).
- Copy of diplomas and transcripts from doctoral studies. If a candidate is yet to obtain a doctoral degree, include diplomas and transcripts from Master’s studies. Translations into English or Swedish if the original documents have not been issued in any of these languages.
Link to the submission site: https://crp.dsv.su.se/df-postdoc-march-24/
The last day for submission is 26 March 2024.
Eligibility
A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree. Please indicate in your CV if you had periods of leave due to illness or parental leave. The doctoral degree must have been received before commencing the proposed postdoc fellowship, and all proposed fellowships in this round are expected to commence between January 2025 and April 2025.
Nomination and Review Process
Applications are evaluated based on the merits of the applicant and their international research experience, the scientific quality of the proposed research, its feasibility and alignment with the Digital Futures research programme, so it is important to emphasise this across the application materials.
Evaluation guiding questions can be found here: Evaluation guiding questions
The evaluation process has three stages, which are detailed below.
- Stage 1 – Nomination
After submission, KTH, SU, and RISE researchers will be invited to view and nominate applications. When a researcher nominates an application, they are willing to supervise the postdoc fellow should the postdoc application be successful. A postdoc applicant must have been nominated by two researchers within the Digital Futures environment (working at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, or RISE) in order for the application to be reviewed.
For this call, only KTH and Stockholm University faculty can act as main supervisors. Faculty members at KTH, Stockholm University, or RISE Digital Systems division, and Digital Futures Affiliated Scholars can be postdoc co-supervisors.
Important: The main supervisors of postdocs who were successful in the last round (Autumn 2023) cannot nominate applications as main supervisors in this round.
Any researcher nominating postdoc fellows should either already be a Digital Futures faculty member or meet the eligibility criteria to become one. Digital Futures faculty members can only nominate one postdoc applicant as the main supervisor and one postdoc applicant as a co-supervisor, or they can nominate two postdocs as co-supervisor.
Postdoc applicants can contact and discuss their applications with potential supervisors. A potential list of supervisors can be found here. https://www.digitalfutures.kth.se/about/governance/digital-futures-faculty/.
Researchers who are not part of Digital Futures should contact postdoc-call@digitalfutures.kth.se to make sure they have an opportunity to nominate applicants.
Only the nominated postdoc candidates and their projects will continue to Stage 2.
- Stage 2 – Review and Ranking
The nominated candidates and their respective projects will be evaluated by a committee comprised of KTH, Stockholm University faculty, and RISE Digital Systems Division researchers. The evaluation process will adhere to and follow national and international standards based on the candidate’s skills and merits, the strength, relevance, and likely significance of the proposed project, and the added value of the project to Digital Futures.
When the submissions are ranked, those approved for funding will be transferred to the final stage. We expect to inform all candidates about the outcome of Stage 2 in late May 2024.
- Stage 3 – Employment
We expect to communicate the outcome of this call by June 2024. After this, the employment process will begin.
Striving towards gender equality, diversity, and equal conditions is a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.
Information
All submitted proposals, including documents and personal data, will be handled in accordance with national and international regulations regarding such data and will only be shared within a limited circle. Information will be made accessible for appointed employees at KTH, RISE, and Stockholm University who participate in the nomination (Stage 1) or evaluation (Stage 2) of the postdoc fellowship submissions. The processing of your personal data is necessary for Digital Futures to be able to evaluate your submission.
Stockholm University will store the submitted proposal, documents and personal data for no longer than 6 months from the submission deadline date. At any point, the candidate has the right to withdraw from the application procedure and all data submitted upon request.
For further questions, please get in touch with Vendela Hasselberg (Operations team, Digital Futures) or Sandra Pauletto (Associate Director Mobility, Digital Futures) by mail: postdoc-call@digitalfutures.kth.se
Information for KTH, RISE and SU researchers who would like to nominate candidates and their project
If you are interested in supervising a postdoctoral fellow but are not yet a Digital Futures faculty member, please contact postdoc-call@digitalfutures.kth.se to ensure you are notified when the application reaches Stage 1 of the review process.