Call for interest for Marie Sklodowska – Curie Individual Fellowship (MSCA – IF) 2019 call

Trinity College Dublins’, Centre for Innovative Human Systems (CIHS) based in School of Psychology is looking to support and host successful Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowship applicants.

About TCD

As Ireland’s university on the world stage, Trinity is recognised for academic excellence and a transformative student experience.  The historic campus is located in the heart of Dublin City centre at the meeting place of the retail and cultural districts.  With a tradition of scholarship spanning more than four centuries, Trinity is home to talented and inquiring minds, a liberal education, and research conducted at the frontiers of disciplines.

About CIHS

Over the past 25 years, the Centre for Innovative Human Systems (CIHS) has been focussed on bringing together a range of perspectives to develop better ways of describing, understanding and effectively changing these systems and processes. Psychology, Business and Organisation, Engineering and Computer Science, and Health Sciences all contribute to the work of the Centre. The CIHS provides a variety of offerings in Research, Education/Training and Consultancy.  As a multidisciplinary Centre there are opportunities to work with members across college faculties, we have meaningful engagement and collaboration with industry, hospitals and Research centres, both nationally and internationally, to facilitate intersectoral mobility and knowledge transfer and exchange. CIHS are also PIs and actively engaged with SFI Research Centres ADAPT (www.adaptcentre.ie) and LERO (www.lero.ie). In 2019 CIHS, funded by ADAPT Centre will invest in a driving simulator.   The simulator will further the CIHS-ADAPT collaboration in semi-autonomous vehicle research, focussing on driver sensing linked with machine learning, multi-model HMI, inclusive design and personalisation.

“Systems and processes have to work for people

and they can only do this if the role of humans is central”

CIHS Offer

We offer to support the candidate to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship within the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (2019) call, in the following areas of interest:

Human-Centred Design

Effective design of tools and equipment has always focussed on human requirements - what is the role of the person, what is the role of the technology and how do they interact? As socio-technical systems become increasingly complex, understanding and designing for the multiple ways different actors will interact with the system has become ever more challenging.

Automation

Autopilots have been the norm in aviation for decades and the aviation sector has long experience of the benefits and challenges of automation and of effective ways of human-machine coordination. Automation is now appearing in many aspects of life – banking, autonomous vehicles, robots for the elderly, etc. Automation is a special case of human centred design – at some point the automated system has to interface with the human. The CIHS has tools and methodologies to address this issue.  

Process and System Modelling

A long-kept secret of many industries is that the way things are actually done differs significantly from the way they are supposed to be done. By understanding how things are really done in a range of contexts, and how this maps (or does not map) onto the official procedure, we can model the operational process in its natural environment. From this we can identify where improvements can be made – changing the procedure, redesigning the equipment or process, improving the training, enhancing the communication tools.

Risk, Safety and Performance

The systems we work with include people as a natural, inevitable, part of the system. They bring risks, but they also open up opportunities - for innovation, creativity and connection. In the CIHS we bring a range of tools to bear to dynamically identify people-related hazards, and assess and manage the risk they pose. The more complex the system the more complex this process becomes and the more sophisticated are the methods that are needed.

Competence

Training needs analyses, and training courses themselves, tend to focus on the technical requirements of the job. But in most jobs the greatest challenges and the greatest opportunities for performance gain are in the non-technical skills required to do the job in a range of operational and social contexts.  Our competence requirements analyses are designed to capture these non-technical skills. A particular focus is on the tacit knowledge - knowledge that is gathered on-the-job that people may not even know that they know.

Communication and Coordination

One of the most common causes of both every-day nuisances and catastrophic failures in organisations is communication failure.  We employ a range of tools that put the communication and coordination requirements front and centre of our analyses. They enable us to visualise the network of relationships, the critical communications channels, the ones that are vulnerable, and the ones that are mission-critical.

Change Management & Implementation

Having acquired new technology or designed a new process, many organisations rely on a simple once-off one-way communication, such as an email, to inform staff and introduce the change. Evidence from industry is that the process of introducing change is as critical, and often more challenging, than deciding the direction of that change in the first place.

Experience from cross-sectorial implementation projects has provided the CIHS with practical skills and methodologies for planning, executing and evaluating implementation projects in operational settings.

Culture

As organisational culture becomes a pervasive explanation of organisational performance, cultural transformation seems a panacea for system problems. Our understanding of the culture of organisations requires both breadth, through surveys, and depth, through interview and observation. Much of our work concerns the implementation of policies, processes, procedures and practices which can promote the positive development of an organisation’s culture.

Leadership

Leadership is critical to every organisation. Yet in our research we have found that many leaders are unprepared to do what needs to be done to implement effective change. We put leadership practice centre stage, shifting the focus from the traits and characteristics of individual leader to the shared activities, interactions and functions of ‘leadership’. Our approach emphasises accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement in building leadership strategy and capabilities.

The research themes illustrate the range of research topics that are of interest to us. But even if your topic is not specifically mentioned below, pitch us your idea and we will let you know if it is of interest.  Further information and case studies on the above research themes are available at https://www.tcd.ie/cihs/case-studies/

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria for applicants are set by the European Commission in the 2018-2020 Work Programme. For more information on please consult the following page (relevant section ‘Mobility rule’): https://www.rcsi.com/dublin/research-and-innovation/research-careers/ma….

Required Education Level

PhD or at least 4 years research experience in any of the relevant disciplines and fields mentioned above. Applications are encouraged from applicants with backgrounds in complementary disciplines.

Required Language(s)

English: Excellent

Skills/Qualifications

Applicants should possess a strong publication record (at least 2 or 3 publications as first author in first quartile internationally recognised journals). Your CV should provide evidence of independence and you will be expected to co-create the proposal idea with your host supervisor.

Interdisciplinary and Intersectoral approaches are strongly encouraged.

Application Process

Please submit a copy of your CV and a letter of intent to PHICKS@tcd.ie  for consideration. Please include the research field and keyword in the subject.

Applications lacking the letter of intent will not be considered.

Please note that due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be acknowledged.

Dr. Sam Cromie

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=SDCROMIE

Dr. Siobhan Corrigan

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=SCORRIG

Dr. Liz Curtis

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=CURTISE

Dr. Rahul Sambaraju

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=SAMBARAR

Dr. Tamasine Grimes

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=TAGRIMES

Dr. Michael Gormley

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=GORMLEM

Dr. Deirdre D’Arcy

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=DDARCY

Dr. Simon Wilson

http://peoplefinder.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=SWILSON