A new national operational model for doctoral studies is being created in experimental collaboration between governmental research institutes and the University of Eastern Finland. The first application period for the four-year doctoral education positions by the research institutes and the university has begun.
The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health participates in the pilot with three doctoral researcher positions: two focused on health economics and one on occupational toxicology.
“The co-operation pilot allows carrying out research that leads to a doctoral dissertation on current work life themes. This also opens up new perspectives into influencing with research data,” says Carita Aschan, Director of Centre of Expertise for the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
“There is a societal need for assessing the impact and cost of measures for promoting work ability along with researched information on the impact of occupational health care. In addition, the green transition introduces new processes and materials to workplaces and research data is needed in order to manage the new chemical risks that they pose,” says Aschan.
A total of 28 joint doctoral education positions
In addition to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, other participating government research institutes include the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finnish Meteorological Institute and Geological Survey of Finland (GTK).
The university and research institutes are looking for doctoral researchers for these joint positions. Full-time doctoral research and mentoring is carried out at the university and the research institute helps the researcher build complementary skills alongside their research. The doctoral researcher will conclude an employment agreement with both organizations.
“The co-operative pilot was prepared by the University of Eastern Finland together with the research institutes during the spring of 2023. We want to use this collaboration to expand researchers’ career paths and boost the attractiveness of research careers,” says Academic Rector Tapio Määttä.
Application period is open until mid-August
The centralised application period for the doctoral researcher positions will close on 14 August. Being eligible for doctoral education in accordance with the selection criteria of the doctoral programmes is a prerequisite for all of the positions. The positions are also open for persons currently employed at the research institutes and the university’s current postgraduate students.
The objective is for the first doctoral researchers to start in November 2023, or in January 2024 for some positions.
To the application: Open positions | University of Eastern Finland (uef.fi)
Further information
- Carita Aschan, Director of Centre of Expertise , Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Carita.Aschan [at] ttl.fi (Carita[dot]Aschan[at]ttl[dot]fi), tel. +358 30 474 2776
- Tapio Määttä, Academic Rector, University of Eastern Finland, tapio.maatta [at] uef.fi, tel. +358 50 575 1589
