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1 PhD Research Fellowship and 1 Postdoctoral Fellowship - Institute of Health and Society (HELSAM)

Deadline: 30.06.2020

Job description

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.


The Institute of Health and Society is one of three institutes at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo. The Institute covers various disciplines and consists of six departments: General Practice, Health Sciences, Health Management and Health Economics, Medical Ethics, Community Medicine and Global Health and Nursing Science.


The Institute of Health and Society bases its work on a complex understanding of disease, health and health systems. Culture, environment, economics, society and biology play direct and indirect roles. Our teaching responsibilities include seven Master’s programs, one Bachelor program and part of the Faculty’s medical school and PhD-program. We employ about 220 FTE and have almost 700 Bachelor and Master students. Annual income is about 200 mill NOK, half of which is external funding. Our researchers play an active part of public policy and disseminate new knowledge through many channels.

One 4 year full time PhD position (position code 1017) and one 4 year half time Postdoctoral Fellow position (position code 1352) are available at the Institute of Health and Society (HELSAM), The Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo. The positions are affiliated to the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Education (SHE), a center of excellence in education, hosted by the Faculty of Medicine.

SHE was established as a National Center for Excellence in Education (SFU) in 2020 and has received a 5 + 5 year grant from the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (Diku). The goal of the center is to renew the Faculty's health education programmes in light of the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs). Special emphasis is on developing models for evidence-based decision making that address global and future resources and needs. Furthermore, the center inteds to integrate the framework for Education for the Sustainable Development Goals developed by UNESCO into health professional education.

HELSAM is one of three institutes at the Faculty of Medicine. HELSAM bases its work on a complex understanding of interconnectedness of sickness, health and the health systems. Policy, culture, the environment, the society as well as biology interact. This complexity characterizes the research, teaching and service at the institute.

The two positions will be affiliated to two different departments at HELSAM: Department of health management and health economics (the PhD position) and Department of interdisciplinary health science (four-year half time postdoc).

The accession date must be no later than September 15, 2020.

More about the positions

The PhD fellowship will be related to the evaluation of SHE as a knowledge organization and various knowledge translation activities engendered by the centre. Special emphasis will be on how the center integrates the UNESCO framework into health sciences education activities. A formative critical-interpretative evaluation framework will be employed. The fellowship requires admission to the PhD-program. For information: https://www.med.uio.no/english/research/phd/index.html

25% of the position will be allocated to teaching and education development related to SHE.

The research fellow must take part in the Faculty’s approved PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The applicant must, in collaboration with her/his supervisor, within 3 months after employment, have worked out a complete project description to be attached to the application for admission to the doctoral program. For more information, please see our web site: https://www.med.uio.no/english/research/phd/index.html

The four-year half-time postdoc will be related to the RCN founded project “Virtuel presence” (led by prof. Marit Haldar, OsloMet).The project will be affiliated to the research group Knowit: Knowledge in translation at Helsam (prof Eivind Engebretsen), as well as the Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS) at Oxford University (prof. Trish Greenhalgh). The aim of this project is to explore health and welfare technologies as responses to loneliness. Child or elderly care are possible cases in point, as are digital responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective is to develop theoretical understanding of loneliness and its technological solutions within a health care context, especially with regard to absence/presence dichotomies, as well as the ethics and sustainability of various technological solutions.

The postdoc will be affiliated the Faculty's organized post doc programme https://www.med.uio.no/english/research/postdoctoralprogramme/

The main purpose of the fellowship is to qualify researchers for work in higher academic positions within their disciplines.

Qualification requirements

  • For the PhD Fellowship we seek candidates with a strong background in at least one of the following; global health, health management, global governance, education strategies for sustainable development, qualitative research methods. Applicants must hold a master degree. The Master’s degree must include a thesis of at least 30 ECTS
  • For the four-year half time Postdoc, we seek candidates with a PhD in social science with experience from theoretical and/or empirical studies of health technologies.

All candidates should be able to work independently and structured, while at the same time engage in close collaborations with members of the research group and research participants.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of the candidate’s background including international work experience and networks.

A good command of English is required. For the PhD Fellowship a good command of Norwegian is also required.

We offer

  • Salary NOK 479 600 – 542 400 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as PhD Research fellow, (position code 1017)
  • Salary NOK 523 200 – 605 500 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as Postdoctoral fellow, (position code 1352)
  • Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

  • Cover letter describing the applicant’s qualifications and motivation for the position
  • A 5 page project description describing potential contributions to the planned project
  • CV summarizing education, positions held, details of work and other qualifying activities, including a complete list of publications
  • Transcript of records of educational certificates and transcripts of records. Applicants with education from a foreign university must attach an explanation of their university's grading system
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 referees stating relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, as well as the candidate’s motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships and Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship/Postdoctoral fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Contact information

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