Postdoctoral Fellowship funding programme

We hereby invite top-class researchers of any nationality to apply for an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF-2021). Applicants must have obtained a PhD degree, as well as up to eight years of research experience related to studies of innovation management, logistics or maritime economics. The research period is two years. MSCA PF mobility rule requires that the candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Norway for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

Tasks and responsibilities

The candidate is invited to address different aspects of technological disruption in international shipping and its relation to Arctic contexts. The proposals may examine this issue from different disciplinary or methodological angles, such as non-exhaustively: innovation systems analysis, maritime informatics including network analysis, life cycle analysis, discourse and policy analysis or agent-based modeling. In particular we welcome candidates with great interest on comparative technological system analysis of disruptive technologies or systems including propulsion through hydrogen, wind, digitalization of shipping operations, autonomous shipping.  

The candidates may want to address questions such as:

  • How could cleaner shipping impact Arctic shipping policy and institutions?
  • In what way can technologies, such as hydrogen or wind-assisted propulsion, diffuse among Arctic shipping actors?
  • What are the potential and limitations for hydrogen supply infrastructure in Arctic environments?
  • What are the drivers and limitations between emerging Arctic shipping routes (Northern Sea Route, Northwest Passage) for cleaner shipping propulsion technologies?
  • What are institutional drivers and barriers to facilitate a transitions to cleaner propulsion in the Barents region?
  • How can pilot projects of cleaner shipping propulsion in Arctic environment scale-up for larger technological uptake in the High North?
  • What are the potentials and innovation system road-mapping for autonomous shipping in Arctic environments?

Successful candidates will be supervised by Associate professor  Roberto Rivas Hermann and co-supervised by Associate professor Bjørn Gunnarsson.

The successful candidate will primarily work on the Marie Curie funded project, but will also be integrated in the main activities in the Centre for High North Logistics, taking part in regular meetings and discussion groups. Working for the center includes being introduced to a national and international network of researchers. Moreover, in agreement with the candidate, he/she may be included in other ongoing relevant research projects and/or in proposal development processes.

Expected qualification of candidates

Candidates must have a PhD in business, management, economics, planning and development, or maritime economics. We are primarily looking for experienced researchers who wish to use this period as an opportunity to further develop their research, and to develop longer term research collaborations with Nord University and other institutions conducting research in the field. The candidates must be eligible for a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. This requirement demands a successfully defended PhD and maximum eight years research experience.

We are looking for applicants who have

  • Broad knowledge of maritime economics, technological innovation management or Arctic shipping
  • An excellent track record in research and publications, necessary for being able to develop a competitive Marie Curie Fellowship application
  • An open and cooperation-oriented nature, with strong abilities for independent academic work.

Assessment and selection of candidates

With this call for Expression of Interest, we invite researchers to submit their CV, including publications list and a one-page description of the project idea. Submit your application by 25 March 2021 to Roberto Rivas Hermann (roberto.r.hermann@nord.no).

In this first step of the process we will choose two candidates for developing competitive MSCA-Postdoctoral grant applications. These qualified candidates will be invited to submit a proposal to the EU funded MSCA-PF program. The chosen candidates will be informed of the results of the pre-selection to apply by 15 April 2021.

Selected applicants will then be invited for a proposal preparation seminar to be held online by the end of April.  The selected applicants will develop their MSCA-PF proposal in cooperation with their future supervisors at CHNL. In addition, they will be offered MSCA PF proposal writing course and/or individual consultations and review of their MSCA-PF proposal.

The deadline for submitting the MSCA-FP proposal is 15 September 2021. If applicants are successful in their MSCA grant application, the place of work will be in the Centre for High North Logistics, Nord University main campus, Bodø.

Contact person
Dr. Roberto Rivas Hermann
Roberto.r.hermann@nord.no
+47 75 51 78 39

For more information visit the Centre for High North Logistics website.