“Call for Expression of Interest” 

The Faculty of Education and Arts at Nord University calls for expressions of interest from early career researchers to apply for an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF-2022). We will then work with selected applicants to write their full proposal for the 14th September 2022 deadline. Details at www.nord.no.

The candidates may want to address questions such as:

• What are the kinematic, kinetic and muscle adaptations to different assisted sprint conditions?
• How assisted sprint training could help increasing sprint performance in several different sports?
• Can we monitor throwing performance in handball with IMUs and machine learning?

Successful candidates will be supervised by Professor Roland van den Tillaar.

Professor van den Tillaar research primarily focuses on improving sports performance using motor learning/control, biomechanics and strength and conditioning, and secondly reducing the risk of sporting injuries by investigating risk factors and injury prevention methods. Professor van den Tillaar has published over 170 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a reviewer for 18 international journals and was in 2021 researcher of the year at Nord University.

The successful candidate will primarily work on the Marie Curie funded project but will also be integrated in the main activities in the research group in learning and development of performance in sports, taking part in regular meetings and discussion groups. Working for the research group 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 sports, kinesiology, exercise or human movement science. 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 kinematics, kinetics and electromyography measurements in sports, desirable in sprinting or overarm throwing.
• 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.

MSCA PF eligibility criteria

• MSCA PF is open to excellent researchers of any nationality.
• Researchers must be in possession of a doctoral degree.
• At the call deadline, researchers must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date that the researcher was in a possession of a doctoral degree.
• Mobility rule: the researchers 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.

Assessment and selection of candidates

Please send a covering letter outlining your relevant background, a one page description of the project idea, and a CV, including list of publications to Roland van den Tillaar roland.v.tillaar@nord.no.

Administrative information on MSCA is available from Hanne Silje Hauge, hanne.s.hauge@nord.no.

In the first step of the process we will choose the candidates for developing competitive MSCA-Postdoctoral grant applications. These candidates will be invited to submit a proposal to the EU funded MSCA-PF program. Applicants will be shortlisted by an internal panel and informed if they have been selected for the next stage.

There will be a training workshop for applicants on 4th May 2022.

The selected applicants will develop their MSCA-PF proposal in cooperation with their future supervisors at the Faculty of Education and Arts. In addition, they will be offered individual consultations and review of their MSCA-PF proposal.