Ambitious training to future proof researchers

The University of Essex is delighted to announce it is part of the ambitious YUFE4Postdocs (Y4P) training programme to future proof researchers.

As part of the YUFE (Young Universities for the Future of Europe) alliance, YUFE4Postdocs aims to build bridges between academia and society.

There are two calls for postdoctoral research positions in all disciplines, with a project addressing one or more urban opportunities and challenges. Postdocs will carry out their projects anchored in a YUFE host university of their choice. They will define and develop their projects within YUFE focus areas: sustainability, digital society, citizens wellbeing and European identity.

Career opportunities

A total of 51 positions are being offered for researchers across YUFE’s nine research-intensive partner universities. Selected YUFE postdocs can conduct a research training project in a broad range of disciplines and the scheme is open to promising researchers that have obtained their PhD a maximum of six years before the call deadline.

Yufe4Postdocs - co-funded by Horizon Europe’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie programme - features a novel evaluation procedure based primarily on qualitative judgement and offers an attractive training programme including interactive stakeholder engagement seminars and a variety of joint transferable skills training sessions.

The programme offers a number of benefits for postdoctoral researchers. These include:

• Attractive employment conditions, including 36-month appointments
• A three-pillar training programme on community engagement, stakeholder interaction, open science and open innovation
• Personalised supervision and career guidance
• Support from stakeholder organisations involved as Associated Partners. Six business organisations and ten city and regional councils will contribute to the training programme
• Implementation by an EU-wide, experienced consortium

As architects of YUFE’s research ecosystem, the successful applicants will also foster research collaboration with a co-host in a partner YUFE university.

Anne Adams, from the University of Antwerp said: “YUFE4Postdoc intends to set a new standard for research training within the alliance and even beyond.

“It will deliver impact for cities, regions, communities and people by producing high qualitative science with societal relevance on short or longer term. And, of course, it will also have an impact on the lives of the appointed researchers.

“With YUFE4Postdocs, the YUFE universities and their partners in cities and regions want to train ‘future-proof’ researchers. These are open-minded knowledge workers, who can build careers inside and outside the university.”

Applications

The two calls for postdoctoral research positions are open for all disciplines, under the overarching theme of ‘urban opportunities and challenges’.

A new YUFE4Postdocs website has been launched and will be regularly updated with further information about the project. The first call will be open from 1 March to 7 May 2023 and will focus on sustainability and digital societies. The second call will be open from 1 October 2023 and will focus on citizens’ wellbeing and European identity.

Information on potential host research groups can be found using the Y4P Expertise Webtool.

For any queries email yufe4postdocs@uantwerpen.be