Postdoctoral Opportunities

For my successful Marie Curie EU Individual Fellowship application, my Introduction in the Excellence section on the first page of B1 follows a sort of formula that I developed personally after examining other successful proposals, and which can be adapted for other proposals. My formula is outlined here with comments.

This is a successful Marie Curie EU Individual Fellowship Proposal Application that I submitted in 2018, the official MC evaluation, and some prefatory comments. I was lucky to have expert training support when I was preparing my IF (Individual Fellowship) proposal, from a workshop led by former Marie Curie grant evaluators and experts. Thus my proposal follows a certain recommended format in terms of total pages and the length of each section and subsection, which can be easily adapted for other proposals. As I've heard from peers across Humanities fields that cases of projects in the Humanities winning the MC are relatively rare (I don't know if this is in fact statistically true), I decided to make accessible my application, because reading other successful proposals was very helpful for me in preparing my own. Please see attached additional comments in this file and keep in mind that my "Introduction" in the "Excellence" section on the first page of B1 follows a sort of formula I developed by examining other successful proposals. I detail the formula in the attached outline in the file posted above, "Marie Curie Successful Proposal B1 Excellence Introduction First Page Formula." Something else to keep in mind: the MC app format undergoes changes from time to time, so the precise details of my own application may no longer be relevant.
I’m happy to be contacted with comments or questions about the MC proposal preparation process by email: ruth.sargent.noyes@natmus.dk

Applications are invited for a fully funded, two-year postdoc position within the research project "Mortuary Archaeology of the Roman East-MARE", financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and led by dr. Lidewijde de Jong.
Link: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/work-with-us/job-opportunities/?details=00347-02S0008WRP&cat=wp

This is a successful application I submitted in 2018 for the Novo Nordisk Fonden Mads Øvlisen Art History Postdoctoral Grant for approximately 1,500,000 DKK. I've included here my project proposal and budget as submitted, and the current 2019 applications guidelines from Novo Nordisk. I'm happy to be contacted with questions regarding my experience preparing the Novo application: rno@natmus.dk

This project will focus on investigating the behaviour of fire in informal settlements, to understand the problem and develop better solutions. This will involve full-scale testing of individual shacks, multiple shacks and large-scale tests of up to 60-70 shacks, which will be burnt down in single experiments. The applicant will also be involved in overseeing a series of surveys done in informal settlements to understand the fire loads and fire risks in such areas. The research team will be developing models to understand and predict fire spread through such settlements. 
The postdoctoral candidate will have the opportunity to work on individual research as well as to work within a team (doctoral, masters and Hons level students), and in addition, to gain experience in supervision of MEng and Honours students where possible. Two additional postdoctoral team members will be based at the University of Edinburgh and will work in close collaboration with the local team. The applicant will be required to travel to Edinburgh to engage with the team there for short periods.

Host: This will be a collaborative project between the University of Stellenbosch, University of Edinburgh and Western Cape Disaster Management, Fire & Rescue Services. The postdoctoral position is based within the Fire Engineering Research Unit at the department of Civil Engineering at Stellenbosch University.

Requirements:
• PhD with a background in engineering sciences, from fields such as civil, mechanical or chemical engineering. (Strong applicants with no PhD will be considered if sufficient experience in the field of fire engineering can be demonstrated, but should contact rwalls(AT)sun.ac.za to discuss).
• Understanding of fire / heat transfer / thermodynamics / temperature behaviour preferable.
• Understanding of informal settlements and associated problems beneficial.
• Research and publication record. We hope to publish much from this research.
• Good management skills as significant local management of big test setups will be required.
• Driving license to be able to visit test sites preferable.
• Willingness to learn new skills in an exciting new research field.
• Ability to speak other local languages such as Afrikaans or Xhosa beneficial, although not compulsory.

Commencement of duties: As soon as possible
Bursary: £1,500 per month (+-R25,000. Amount is fixed in pounds). Please note that postdoctoral fellows are not appointed as employees and their fellowships are awarded tax free. They are therefore not eligible for employee benefits. 
Closing date: 24 May 2017 at 12h00.
Enquiries: Send a letter of application, accompanied by a comprehensive curriculum vitae, including list of publications and the names and contact details of at least two referees, to Dr Richard Walls at rwalls(AT)sun.ac.za.

"Maria Alessandra Bilotta, ricercatrice dell'Instituto de Estudos Medievais della Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas - Universidade Nova de Lisboa, è stata una delle persone intervistate nel programma Fahrenheit, della Radio 3 Rai.
Questo programma ha dedicato uno spazio ai lavori svolti nell'ambito culturale da cittadini italiani che abitano in diversi paesi d' Europa.
Lisboa è stata la città scelta da questo programma per la trasmissione del 17 luglio e Maria Alessandra Bilotta è stata una degli invitati per presentare la ricerca che ha svolto in Portogallo"
http://www.radio3.rai.it/dl/portaleRadio/media/ContentItem-8b3a1b73-ea6a-41b3-a447-3ec92244ef0f.html

[T]his brief contribution will trace the history of the fellowship from its origins to the present, including remarks on some reactions to the program over the years and a brief characterization of the program as it welcomes its twelfth cohort in the 2015- 16 academic year.

בית הספר להיסטוריה והפקולטה למדעי הרוח באוניברסיטת חיפה יעניקו מלגת בתר-דוקטורט אחת למועמד/ת בעל/ת תואר דוקטור המבקשים להשתלם בשנת הלימודים תשפ"ב (2021 -2022)  במחקר בתר-דוקטורט באוניברסיטת חיפה בתחום ההיסטוריה הכללית. המלגה מיועדת לאפשר לזוכה להתמסר להשתלמות בתר-הדוקטורט באוניברסיטה בתחום התעניינותו/ה המחקרית.
בית הספר להיסטוריה קורא בזאת להשתתפות בתחרות לקבלת מלגת בתר-דוקטורט אחת על סך  100,000 ₪. בנוסף לכך, לרשות המלגאי/ת יועמד תקציב מחקר על סך 5000 ₪ למימון הוצאות הנוגעות לפרסום המחקר האקדמי במהלך שנת המלגה ובכפוף לאישורו של ראש בית הספר להיסטוריה. 
שאר הפרטים במסמך.

Navigating the job search process: A timeline for doctoral candidates in education. The Researcher, 26(2), 6-12. Leah Wood and Julie Thompson recently earned their Ph.D.'s in Special Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Leah is now an Assistant Professor in the Abstract: Procuring a job in higher education requires endurance, determination, and a great deal of preparation. The following article suggests a timeline for doctoral candidates in education who are seeking a post-doctoral or tenure-track position in higher education. Recommendations are organized by job-search benchmarks, including preparing in the summer, applying in the fall, interviewing by phone, the Internet, or in person in winter, and negotiating contracts in late winter or early spring. As candidates in a special education doctoral program, we learned early in our coursework about the Special Education Faculty Needs Assessment report (SEFNA, 2011), a document based on a 4-year research ...

I invite applications from scholars with a PhD in geography, urban studies, sociology, or a related field, with interested and background in critical (urban) food studies. The postdoctoral associate (PDA) will engage in research full time and demonstrate a high degree of self-direction. Duration: 1 year. Start date: Fall 2019 or earlier
See pdf for full details and how-to-apply-guide.
Application will be reviewed as they arrive (starting on March 15th 2019) and accepted until position is filled.

The "Careers Forum" is intended for all EuroMAC 9 participants interested in professional and career development in the field of music analysis and theory. In the context of an academic research that operates today increasingly across international borders, the main aim of the forum is to provide support to young researchers (doctoral researchers, post-doctoral researchers, early-career professionals) in music analysis and theory to improve their career prospects, including those who are just starting with an academic (or even non-academic) professional activity. The "Careers Forum" would like to offer a platform for dialogue between young and experienced researchers, covering topics such as the international job market and the different types of recruitment processes, as well as the organisation of the different national systems in the field of higher education and research - including conservatoires, music academies, music colleges, etc.

This discussion explore the job crisis in archaeology (within the South African setting, but globally relevant). The experience of most postdoctoral researchers is often one of limbo; the article poses some suggestions to alleviate the financial uncertainty inherent in postdoctoral positions.

Procuring a job in higher education requires endurance, determination, and a great deal of preparation. The following article suggests a timeline for doctoral candidates in education who are seeking a post-doctoral or tenure-track position in higher education.  Recommendations  are  organized  by  job- search benchmarks, including preparing in the summer, applying in the fall, interviewing by phone, the Internet, or in person in winter, and negotiating contracts in late winter or early spring.

The Officers and Directors of the International Catacomb Society are pleased to announce the Shohet Scholars for 2020-2021:
Davide Tanasi (Associate Professor, University of South Florida, Department of History)
Title: The Digital afterlife of the Catacombs of Abbatija tad-Dejr at Rabat (Malta)
Abstract: The research aims at the reappraisal through the application of 3-D Scanning, Remote Sensing and 3-D Visualization of the multifaceted Maltese catacomb complex of Abbatija tad-Dejr, whose occupation phases range from Late Roman to Late Medieval period. The site is currently inaccessible and in derelict state and has not been subject to any excavation or new interpretative study since the 30s. The production of a 3D model combined with a spatial analysis will produce an updated technical documentation necessary to characterize it. An interactive virtual replica of the complex and all it iconographic features will be made accessible on a web platform for public enjoyment.

Joan Connelly (Professor, Classics, New York University) and Monika Więch (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Classical Mediterranean Cultures)
Title: Yeronisos–Meletis Necropolis Project, Peyia, Paphos District, Cyprus
Abstract: The dozen spectacular rock-cut chamber tombs of the small cemetery of Meletis at Agios Georgios tis Pegeias near Paphos in Cyprus had been thought to be fully looted long ago. But the discovery in 2018 of a thirteenth tomb will forever change our understanding of burial practices within a wealthy sector of the local community during late Hellenistic through Roman times. This project calls for excavation, documentation, preservation, and publication of a family tomb established in the 1st century B.C.E. under Ptolemaic Egyptian influence and continuing in use until the 5–6th century C.E. Investigation of this unique sepulcher provides a rare opportunity for us to understand better the social and cultural history of rock-cut tombs in Cyprus and across the Mediterranean world.

Title: Which changes are needed in the hiring objectives, the hiring-decision-making-process and criteria for determining the most qualified candidate so that more disabled applicants can get hired despite lacking essential job functions while improving the employer's economic and commercial productivity, profitability and competitiveness by reassigning job tasks to more suited employees; thus, reflecting the changes in their job-skill ranking? Project goal: Increase the number of disabled and handicapped lacking essential job functions to get hired by replacing the currently used job-description-based hiring criteria for making hiring decisions with new task-based employee-centered hiring criteria because they are based on the whole company's performance; thus, causing the employer's productivity, profitability and competitiveness to improve much more compared to current common hiring decision making practices. Abstract: Hiring decisions can be risky. How much can employers save by better understanding the motivations and objectives of each applicant? How much time and expertise should be invested in getting to know each applicant? Will such efforts raise the return on investment? What are the shortcomings and deficits of the criteria to evaluate, compare and rank applicants? How do they need to get changed to reflect the shift in the relative order of job skills between employees when the composition of the team (total of all employees) changes by hiring, firing or replacing? A job description combines tasks and steps to a random set of job responsibilities. But could their be better ways to bundle tasks together and to look for the most qualified applicant for this particular arbitrarily defined task bundle? Could the employer benefit from regrouping all small tasks, which a company must perform, by changing which and how many small job tasks will be bundled together in different job descriptions? And if so, how can reassigning each little tasks from different jobs to the most suitable employee (task-centered approach) instead of looking for the most qualified applicant for a particular job (job-centered approach) help in improving productivity and profitability? How and why will the new task-centered approach help to increase the workforce diversity more than the job-centered approach? How can reassigning tasks help disabled and handicapped lacking essential job functions to get hired anyways? How can employers benefit from not only looking for the most qualified applicant for any particular job (i.e. arbitrarily bundle of tasks and steps) Why does the task-centered based hiring decision benefit employees, employees, applicants and disabled job-seekers more than job-centered based hiring decisions? What are the benefits to seek the best employee for each task (task-centered) instead of the most qualified applicant for a particular jobs? How can employers benefit from a paradigm shift replacing the job-centered with the task-centered hiring

Amid increasing demands from students and the public, universities have recently reinvigorated their efforts to increase the number of faculty from underrepresented populations. Although a myriad of piecemeal programs targeting individual recruitment and development have been piloted at several institutions, overall growth in faculty diversity remains almost negligible and highly localized. To bring about genuine change, we hypothesize a consortia approach that links individuals to hiring opportunities within a state university system might be more effective. Here we present a case study describing the progress of the NSF-funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) PROMISE Academy Alliance, a consortium within the University System of Maryland (USM) collaborating to develop, implement, self-study, evaluate, and disseminate a unique postdoc-to-faculty conversion model in the biomedical sciences. The initiative centers on diversifying faculty across five insti...

This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the motives and criteria by which excellent researchers chose a host institution. Semi structured interviews of recently appointed excellent young researchers based in the UK, USA and Germany were carried out and motivations for choosing an institution explored. The findings show a variety of professional and personal factors are included in the decision making process. Excellence of research was clearly important, but also fit and potential for collaborations was cited. Personal issues included family issues regarding stability of children’s schooling, employment for partners and ease of adapting to the local language. Length of tenure was also stated as being important for personal reasons and also to allow time to build up a research group. This understanding of young researchers key motives for choosing an institution will inform institutions to allow them to attract and retain excellent researchers which will be of benefit not only to the institution itself, but also to the regional and national economy.

The International Catacomb Society desires to support scholars of demonstrated promise and ability who are judged capable of producing significant, original research within the sphere of the Mediterranean world from the late Hellenistic Period to the end of the Roman Empire. Of special interest are interdisciplinary projects that approach traditional topics from new perspectives.
One or more Shohet Scholars will be selected each year and supported for a period of one year. Grants may be made to seed innovative approaches and new ideas or to cover specific expenses or phases of a larger project under the direction of the applicant. At this time, awards in the range of $2,000 to $30,000 will be made.
The application deadline for 2017-2018 is January 15, 2017.

My Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship project has arrived to its closing phase. Now it is time to summarize the results and the most important lessons learnt from planning and implementation. With my colleagues, we organized a seminar on 23 March to share our experiences with the project. The event was part of the seminar series From researcher to researcher organized by our university's Research and Innovation Services.