After a three-year contract as a doctoral researcher, it will be possible to apply for two-year, transitional postdoc funding.
The University of Eastern Finland is reforming its career models in research training. From the beginning of 2025, doctoral researchers will, as a rule, be hired on a three-year contract. Those aiming for an academic career after completing their dissertation will have the opportunity to apply for a two-year, transitional postdoc position.
If a doctoral researcher is unable to complete their dissertation in three years, the university also offers the opportunity to apply for one-year funding for finalising the dissertation.
Academic Rector Tapio Määttä emphasises that in future, the transitional postdoc phase will be part of research training.
“We support our doctoral graduates’ transition to the postdoc phase through guidance and mentoring. The idea is for researchers who are preparing to defend, or have just defended, their dissertation to receive support for international networking and funding acquisition for the next stages of their career path during this transitional phase,” Määttä says.
The new two-year transitional funding for the postdoc phase is only available to doctoral graduates of the University of Eastern Finland, and it can be applied for already when submitting the dissertation for preliminary examination.
“The first postdoc positions will open for applications this August. The application deadline will be at the end of September, with contracts of employment starting from the beginning of 2025. Doctoral graduates of 2023 and 2024, and those who have submitted their doctoral dissertation for preliminary examination no later than by the end of September, are eligible to apply in this first call for applications,” Määttä says.
Next year, the University of Eastern Finland will allocate a minimum of 5.6 million euros of its strategic development funding to hire doctoral researchers and transitional-phase postdoc researchers.
“We are developing our doctoral education so that it will be possible to submit a doctoral dissertation for preliminary examination in three years of full-time study, and full-time three-year funding for doctoral researchers is a key means to achieve this. Achieving the goal also requires that we develop our supervision, career planning, community engagement and administrative processes,” Määttä says.
For further information, please contact:
Academic Rector Tapio Määttä, University of Eastern Finland, tapio.maatta(a) uef.fi, tel. +358 50 575 1589