Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (2019 Call) – Calls for Expressions of Interest

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria / School of Informatics, Communications and Media cordially welcomes Expressions of Interest (EoI) from researchers to apply to the MSCA Individual Fellowship scheme. Applications will be supported by a host supervisor.

The fellowships last 12 – 24 months, are hosted at University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria / School of Informatics, Communications and Media and include an individual research project combined with advanced training, ranging from presentation skills and project management to proposal writing (including for ERC Starting Grants), and two-way knowledge transfer both in the research area and in transferable skills.

As leading university of applied sciences in Austria, the university is experienced in successfully carrying out R&D projects. Enterprises with scarce personnel resources or limited funds available for their own research and development activities (small and medium-sized enterprises) are addressed on the one hand, while solutions are being developed for enterprises in need of support in specialised fields (e.g. in the form of special devices) on the other. But we also provide associations and institutions, particularly in the social sector, with the innovative products and processes they require.

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria puts special emphasis on gender equality and therefore encourages in particular female scholars and scientists to apply for a MSCA-IF grant. It is vital for us that also women pursue and advance careers in academia which is why we especially invite women to step forward and send us their EoI.

Every year more than 400 projects are realized at our university. Small single projects for enterprises, multi-annual projects that are financially supported by public authorities up to long-term partnerships in research centres, located at our schools.

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria highly prioritizes interdisciplinary research and development. The combination of different research fields of economics, technology and social sciences results in solutions that are even closer to users’ needs and give economy and society the decisive lead.

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria / School of Informatics, Communications and Media is located in Hagenberg near Linz, Upper Austria’s capital. Hagenberg is widely known as "Austria’s Silicon Valley", a reputation that extends worldwide. With its unique combination of IT-related education, research and business in one place, Softwarepark Hagenberg has established itself as a powerhouse of innovation in computing and software development. The School is an important part of this successful technology park, with today more than 75 companies, among them 8 start-ups, and 10 research institutes. 1,100 people are employed here, while 1,600 students work towards a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree at our School of Informatics, Communications and Media.

This dynamic environment not only provides an ideal setting for a practice-oriented, academic education but also excellent networking opportunities as well as attractive, on-site internships and employment opportunities.

Students can choose from no fewer than 20 Bachelor and Master programmes in the fields of informatics, communications and media, many of which have won top rankings in national and international student and employer surveys.

The School offers plenty of space for studies and research. It houses over 60 computer labs, 19 seminar rooms and nine lecture halls with state-of-the-art equipment, a bio lab, an audio studio and a greenbox studio.

Main research areas at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria’s School of Informatics, Communications and Media are

• Software Technology & Applications
• Media & Knowledge Technologies
• Informations & Communication Systems.

In these specialist areas the School’s 11 research groups are working on innovative solutions for the digital future.

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria / School of Informatics, Communications and Media welcomes EoI in the research on developing and adapting machine learning algorithms for modelling system dynamics. When modelling physical systems or phenomena we often want to capture system dynamics. This allows to predict a system’s states and outputs up to a certain prediction horizon. For instance, such models allow improved predictive control of these systems (to improve efficiency, security, …). The visiting researcher should work on new methods for offline modelling of system dynamics as well as for online adaptation of models (i.e. reinforcement learning).

Our International Office provides support for all administrative, social insurance, accommodation and visa issues.

Researcher Profile

Candidates are expected to have a compelling CV appropriate to their career stage and to demonstrate a convincing potential for future high impact research.

Eligibility

Prior to the call deadline, candidates must have a doctoral degree or four years full time equivalent research experience.

The candidate can be of any nationality but must not have spent more than 12 months in Austria in the last 36 Months prior to 11/09/2019. If the fellow is resuming research after a career break of at least one year (within the 18 months immediately prior to the deadline), or is a European national or long term resident returning to Europe after a period outside Europe, a modified mobility rule applies: in these cases the researchers must not have carried out their main activity in Austria for more than 3 years in the 5 years immediately prior to the deadline.

How to apply

EoI should be submitted to Prof Gabriel Kronberger (researchjobs59@fh-ooe.at) by 29/06/2019 (please indicate your e-mail address!) and include, in one file:

• CV, including a list of publications (up to 3 pages)
• Outline of project proposal and training needs
• In a cover letter, confirmation that the fellow eligibility criteria are met

All complete EoI will be assessed by colleagues with expertise in the project area. Incomplete EoI will be rejected.

Successful applicants will be contacted as soon as possible after the submission date. They will be invited to a 2-day proposal working workshop in Upper Austria and provided with all the expert guidance and support they need with regards to submitting a full MSCA-IF proposal with the supervisor. University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria will arrange for accommodation (maximum 4 nights) and cover the costs. Travel costs (train, flights / economy class) will be reimbursed after the workshop (maximum 400 € for travel within Europe, 1200 € for intercontinental travel).

Before starting your application, please consult the Individual Guide for Applicants: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/msca-if-2019.