Data4Healthcare

Event: Info session concerning the second call of the Data4Healthcare programme

To whom: University of Oulu research groups and research group leaders who are interested in participating in the programme

Time: October 14th, 14:00

Place: University of Oulu, Kontinkangas Campus, Lecture Hall F202, Aapistie 5B

The Data4Healthcare info session (Oct 14th) slides can be downloaded from this link: MSCA_presentation_call2_2025.pdf

The research topic description template is available from this link: Research Description template - Call2.docx

Successful applicants will be offered a 3-year (36 months) employment contract at UOULU and enjoy the benefits of:

• Competitive monthly salary: The COFUND allowance of the selected researchers will be 4000 € per month (gross salary before taxes) for full-time employment, in accordance with the guidelines of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND action. In addition, the researchers are also entitled to travel expenses up to 1200 € per year
• Top class equipment: UOULU will also ensure that throughout the Postdoctoral researcher’s project, it provides the means, including the infrastructure, equipment and products, for implementing the project in the scientific and technical fields concerned, and makes these available to Postdoctoral researchers as necessary. This will include royalty-free access rights to background, foreground and any pre-background information required by the training activities of Postdoctoral researchers.
• Supervision and training: to strengthen the postdoctoral researcher’s scientific, technical and professional skills: Each researcher in the Programme is entitled to receive expert guidance from at least two supervisors. For postdoctoral researchers, tailored training to meet their specific needs is available, which they can leverage to enhance their employability and career development.
• Flexible and family-friendly working environment: The employment contracts are based on a total working time of 1612 hours per year, which gives the researchers freedom to plan their working hours. UOULU also offers possibilities via well-established practices and/or agreements for flexible working hours, part-time working, tele-working and sabbatical leave, as well as the necessary financial and administrative provisions governing such arrangements. UOULU offers newly established services also for the families by Spouse network and Buddy to take care of the critical time of adaptation in a new country.
• Occupational health services: Postdoctoral researchers in the Programme will be covered under the social security legislation that applies to employees in Finland, i.e. the Postdoctoral researchers will enjoy the same occupational health services, general medical care, maternity or parental leave options, children day-care services and standards of safety as those applicable to researchers holding a similar position, and will receive annual and sickness leave according to Finnish law and internal rules of UOULU.
• Working with field experts and gaining chances to broaden their professional connections. During possible secondments, researchers are UOULU employees, and Associated partners will ensure similar level working conditions and Postdoctoral researchers have a full access to the research support services and other university services via extranet or virtual private network (VPN). All the Partners have been preselected so that they have the necessary capacity and support structures in place to allow for smooth and effective hosting for the seconded Data4Healthcare fellows.
• An active community of multidisciplinary researchers. UOULU researchers produce nearly 3000 scientific publications each year, and several new research-driven startups arise yearly.
• Benefits to which University of Oulu staff is entitled: https://www.oulu.fi/en/university/careers/staff-benefits

Oulu has it all. University life with a tight-knit, supportive community. Work life with innovation, talented colleagues, and top-level research. A safe life in a lively Nordic country. An affordable life in a beautiful sea-side city with nature and activities.

https://www.oulu.fi/en/university/careers

Guide for Applicants is intended to provide information on how to apply and assist applicants throughout the submission phase. This guide is recommended to be read carefully together with the Data4Healthcare's call text. Download the Guide for Applicants from the link below >>>>

Guide for Applicants

Doctoral degree: Applicants must be in possession of a doctoral degree at the deadline of the programme’s call. In addition, researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will be considered eligible to apply according to MSCA COFUND guidelines for postdoctoral programmes. They must hold a doctoral degree on the time of the recruitment to the programme.

Mobility rule: Recruited postdoctoral researchers can be of any nationality and are required to fulfil the EU MSCA mobility rule, thus eligible applicants should not have resided in Finland for more than 12 months in the three years leading up to the application deadline. Career breaks due to parental leave or other justified reasons such as national military service, sick leave or medical specialisation will not be a disadvantage in the application process.

i.e. researchers coming to Finland should not have resided or carried activity in Finland for more than 12 months in the 36 month period before the end of the call 15.3.2024.

Language proficiency: Applicants must be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of English. For this, the applicant must provide official document(s) demonstrating one of the options listed in University of Oulu Graduate School website: https://www.oulu.fi/en/research/graduate-school/admissions#accordion-control-language-skills

Documentation: All the required documents must be submitted on time

The applications will be submitted through the online recruitment system (Varbi). The online application form in Varbi should be written in English and must be supplemented with the following mandatory attachments:

1. Applicant’s Curriculum Vitae (max two pages), Applicant’s Curriculum vitae (max two pages) and a list of peer-reviewed scientific publications (with full reference details). CV should follow the guidelines of Research Council of Finland. CV template (word) can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.aka.fi/globalassets/10rahoitus/2024-liitteet/cv-template_word.dotx

2. Research Plan of one page (max 5000 characters with spaces). For preparing the research plan, applicants are recommended to familiarize themselves with the topics of the research groups and themes available for Data4Healthcare. The applicant should select at least one research group, which they would like to join and should then prepare a research plan relevant to the field of work of the research group they wish to join. The list of the research groups with contact details is provided in Appendices in the Guide for Applicants and on this website.

   The applicant may also freely plan and propose a research project, indicating an additional potential research site in UOULU. In that case a commitment letter from the additional research group has to be attached to the application (see section 7 below).

   The Research Plan is expected to contain the title of the planned research project and a brief description of the research objectives and methods. The applicant should also address the aspects listed in the Evaluation Criteria Table 1 and indicate the research group they wish to join. If the research plan exceeds the maximum length, only the first 5000 characters will be considered.

3. A motivation letter of two pages (max. 10 000 characters with spaces) with applicant´s background and putative research interests in the Data4Healthcare programme must be included.

   The Motivation Letter is an open-format document where applicants are expected to describe their motivation for conducting the suggested research and provide information regarding the aspects mentioned in the Evaluation Criteria Table 1. If the motivation letter exceeds the maximum length, only the first 10 000 characters will be considered.

4. Certificates/Diplomas. Scanned copy of the original PhD and other relevant degree(s) certificate(s) and, when necessary, official translations to English
5. Valid certificate of language proficiency. The applicant must provide official document(s) demonstrating one of the options listed in University of Oulu Graduate School website: https://www.oulu.fi/en/research/graduate-school/admissions#accordion-control-language-skills

6. Ethics self-assessment form (please download the template from this link: Data4Healthcare_EthicsSelfAssessment.docx). University of Oulu and the Data4Healthcare programme are committed follow to the ethical principles and relevant Union, national and international law, including the Charter and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its Supplementary Protocols.

   Every applicant is required to include an Ethics Self-Assessment Form in the application. If any ethics issues are raised by the self-assessment, applicants can contact their potential supervisor. The supervisor will be responsible for giving guidance to the candidates on how to describe the ethics issues and on handling the ethics issues, as well as making sure all the required authorisations, licenses, informed consents and notifications are in place and the proposed research activities comply with local law and EU directives.

7. Only if applicable: Signed letter of commitment from the head of the proposed new additional participating research group (see the section 2 above). Please request the formal template from the data4healthcare@oulu.fi. This document is not needed if the research group or associated partner is listed on the Data4Healthcare website.

Application, together with all relevant enclosures, must be submitted using the University of Oulu’s electronic application form (Varbi) by March 15th, 2024, at 23:59 (UTC +2/Helsinki). Ensure that you have included all the required attachments with your application. Only applications containing all relevant appendices and submitted through the online Varbi-recruitment system will be considered.

Please note that it's possible to edit and supplement your application until the end of the application period. If the appendices exceed the required number of pages, only the pages specified in the instructions are taken into account in the assessment. After submitting the application, you will receive a reply message with a link to your application form. However, we recommend completing your application as early as possible.

Applications received after the deadline or incomplete applications will not be considered. For any inquiries regarding the submission of the application, it is recommended to contact Data4Healthcare info desk (data4healthcare@oulu.fi) as soon as possible and at least a week before submitting the application.

SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION >>>>

• MedENGINE, Finland
• Polar Electro Oy, Finland
• THL Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
• City of Oulu, Finland
• Topcon Healthcare Solutions, Finland
• ESKO Systems, Finland
• NE Device SW, Finland
• KEiNO Wallasvaara Engage, Finland
• NTNU University of Trondheim, Norway
• Oulu University Hospital and Pohde, Finland
  

After the submission deadline, the Recruitment Committee consisting of members with no conflict of interest, will perform a formal eligibility check of the applications. An application is deemed ineligible and will not be assessed if any of the following occurs: 1) the applicant does not have a doctoral degree. Exception: Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered as postdoctoral researchers and will be considered eligible to apply, 2) the applicant does not fulfil the EU MSCA mobility rule, 3) the application is incomplete or 4) it was received in the online system after the closing date.

Those applicants deemed ineligible will not be considered in the main evaluation process and will be promptly informed of the fact. After receiving a notification of ineligibility, the applicant has one week to submit a written request for a re-evaluation of their eligibility or to supplement their application with any of the missing obligatory documents as defined in the call. The Recruitment Committee will address these requests and re-evaluate the applicant’s eligibility.

The main evaluation process of the candidates will consist of an evaluation of the applications, and the top ranked applicants will be asked for an interview. The timetable and steps of the selection process are described in more detail below and in Figure 2.

An independent evaluation is performed by the External Evaluation Panel outside the University of Oulu and with no conflict of interest. The panel will consist of such evaluators that have the relevant expertise in the field. Each of the applications will be assessed by three evaluators of the External Evaluation Panel. The evaluators will score the applications and write short evaluation reports. If there is a significant discrepancy in the scores given by the evaluators, they will be asked to discuss the application in question and agree on a new score in a consensus panel meeting on a preliminary ranking of applications. The applications will be ranked based on a score calculated as the average of the score given by the external experts.

The applications are evaluated according to three main criteria: 1) the quality of the applicant, 2) the content of the Motivation letter and 3) the Research plan, details shown in Table 1. All three main criteria will first be given a score between 1-10 by the external evaluators and the application’s final score will be calculated as a weighted average of the three main criteria, as shown in Table 1. The final score will be an unrounded number between 1 and 10. A minimum threshold score of 6 is set for the applications that can be chosen for Data4Healthcare.

The external evaluators make the preliminary ranking of the applicants, and the 30 highest ranked applicants will be shortlisted for an interview. The shortlisted applicants will be contacted to arrange a suitable time for an online interview with the External Evaluation Panel. Interviews are used to complete the final ranking of the candidates. The online interviews of applicants by the external evaluation panel will be conducted with scored sections for evaluation of candidate’s motivation, scientific competence, networking capabilities, acquired funding and intended societal impact. In addition, the interview will include a scientific presentation by the applicant. The interview will contribute 0-1.5 points and the presentation 0-1.5 points towards final interview score. These 0-3 points are added to the initial score determined by the application documents above. All the applicants will be informed of the outcome of the evaluation by email as soon as possible after the ranking has been made.

Table 1. Evaluation criteria

The top 15 candidates will be offered fellowship positions in this call. The selected candidates are requested to confirm their acceptance within 2 weeks. The research groups/units the applicants have listed will be contacted. If the offer is rejected or left unresponded to for three weeks, positions will then be offered to the top ranked applicant on the reserve list.

The remaining candidates on the shortlist will be informed that they form a reserve list of candidates to whom the positions can be offered in case any of the higher ranked candidates being unable to accept the position offered.

The candidates who comply in the best and most appropriate manner with the requirements concerning education, competence and suitability are selected. As a measure to promote equality, if applicants are equal in terms of their competence and suitability a representative of a minority gender is favored.

All applicants will receive a short feedback report summarising the evaluations and will thereafter have one week to file a complaint. The External Evaluation Panel will consider any complaints. If the External Evaluation Panel upholds the complaint, a re-evaluation of the proposal involving experts not involved in the original evaluation, will be arranged and the outcome of this communicated to the applicant. In case a miss judgement has been made extra funding is negotiated with the Beneficiary.

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