Faculty of Technology, Art and Design, Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with almost 22,000 students and over 2,500 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

The Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD) offers higher education and research and development (R&D) activities within technical subjects, arts and design. The Faculty has approximately 4.000 students and 400 staff members and is situated at Pilestredet Campus in downtown Oslo and at Kjeller Campus in Viken.

The Department of Built Environment offers bachelors and master’s degree programs in engineering, in addition to research and development activities. The department has approximately 60 staff members and 850 students.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship – Advanced Concrete and Structures

Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology, Faculty of Technology, Art and Design 

The department conducts high-impact research on a broad range of topics within national, European and international projects. Activities cover various R&D areas of great interest in Civil and Structural Engineering and rely heavily on an integrated use of experimental testing, analytical methods and numerical simulation and modelling with a modern holistic approach to research. 

Call for Expression of Interest for a joint application under the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship funding programme 

We hereby invite top-class researchers of any nationality, who have obtained a PhD degree and up to eight years of research experience after PhD, to apply for an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship (call MSCA-PF-2021) to conduct research at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University for a period of two years. 

Area of research 

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures/infrastructures are often exposed to different types of damages and deterioration due to exposure conditions during their service life. Assessment of such structural damages plays a key role in public safety with regards to both long-term damage accumulation and post extreme-event scenarios. Given its importance, there has been increasing interest in automating damage assessment of RC infrastructures using computer vision and data driven techniques in the last ten years. On the other hand, concrete is a continuously developing material, and even the definition of durable and sustainable concrete have changed over time. The desirable characteristics of concrete structures imply several requirements for advanced concrete material.  

Modification, characterization, modelling and recycling of concrete to improve sustainability, mechanical properties, durability as well as imposing digitalization and smartness to such composites and consequently concrete structures are the potential research approaches in this position. Researchers who join us will cooperate in a diverse group of experts who work on different aspects of material, structural assessment and digitalization. The project aims to fill the knowledge gap in numerical and experimental works on advance concrete and concrete structures in various fields, including but not limited to 

  • Advanced modelling and simulation of concrete and concrete structures; 
  • Non-linear static and dynamic analysis of concrete structures with FEM; 
  • Durable concrete and concrete structures; 
  • Corrosion in concrete structures; 
  • Smart concrete; 
  • Self-sensing concrete; 
  • Sustainable concrete; 
  • Ultra high performance concrete; 
  • Fiber reinforced concrete; 
  • Structural health monitoring and control; 
  • Application of soft computing in concrete structures. 

Tasks and responsibilities 

We invite applicants to propose more detailed and focused topics within the scope of this research as a part of their application. Successful candidates will be supervised by Associate Prof. Mahdi Kioumarsi. His research has been ranging from large scale (structural level) to small scale (material level) within the field of concrete structures. Common for all his research is the combination of FE modelling and experimental work, see his profile at Researchgate and https://uni.oslomet.no/mkioumarsi/. 

The successful candidate will primarily work on the Marie Curie funded project, but he/she will be integrated in the Department in general, taking part in regular meetings and discussion groups. The candidate will be introduced to Associate Prof. Mahdi Kioumarsi’s national and international network and he/she may also be included in other ongoing projects or in proposal processes at the department. 

Expected qualification of candidates 

Candidates must have a PhD in civil, structural, material or earthquake engineering as the minimum requirement.  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 OsloMet and other institutions conducting research in the field. The candidates must be eligible for a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (PhD successfully defended and a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research).

We are looking for applicants who have 

  • Knowledge of policy context and quality and availability of quantitative or qualitative data in the field; 
  • Already published relevant research work in prestigious scientific journals; 
  • An excellent track record in research, 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; 
  • Excellent command / highly proficient in spoken and written English. 

Application process 

With this call for Expression of Interest, we invite postdoctoral researchers to apply; they must submit their CV, including publications list and a one-page description of the research project idea, that together with a virtual interview will be the basis for assessing and selecting two candidates with whom we will collaborate for developing competitive MSCA-PF grant applications.  

If you would like to apply for the position you must do so electronically through our recruitment system. 

Assessment and selection of candidates 

Candidates will be pre-selected based on an internal evaluation and the availability of suitable supervision. A maximum of five candidates will be invited for a virtual interview and a maximum of two candidates will be invited to submit a proposal to the EU funded MSCA-PF programme. Candidates will be informed of the results of the pre-selection to apply by 25 March 2021. The deadline for submitting the MSCA-FP proposal is 15 September 2021. 

Selected candidates will be invited and must participate in the MSCA-FP masterclass, a two-day online workshop organized by OsloMet on the first week of May 2021, exact date to be confirmed. In this first phase, the cooperation will be carried out remotely, with regular communication via email and online meeting platforms. If applicants are successful in their MSCA grant application, the place of work will be at the OsloMet main campus, located in the center of Oslo.

The postdoctoral position 

Successful applicants who obtain a MSCA-PF grant will be offered a position at OsloMet to be hired as postdoc researchers in conditions as explained below.   

Starting Date 

The EU informs the evaluation results on the MSCA-PF-2021 applications in February 2022. Successful applicants who receive the MSCA-PF grant are expected to be available to start in their postdoctoral position at OsloMet within the following two months of the evaluation results and no later than summer of 2022 

It is important for OsloMet to reflect the population of our region, and all qualified candidates are welcome to apply. We make active endeavours to further develop OsloMet as an inclusive workplace and to adapt the workplace if required. If there are periods where you have not been in work, under education or in training, you are also welcome to apply.  

We offer 

Initially, we offer assistance in developing competitive Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship proposals. Then, to successful applicants to the Marie Curie program, we offer: 

  • An exciting opportunity at Norway’s third largest and most urban university 
  • Participation in a dynamic professional environment and unique academic community 
  • Flexible working conditions 
  • An inclusive and friendly work environment 
  • Unique academic network the possibility for the right candidate(s) to pursue his/her academic goals under the auspices of Associate Professor Mahdi Kioumarsi 
  • Beneficial welfare schemes and a wide range of sports and cultural offers
  • Free Norwegian language classes to employees and their partners/spouses
  • Work-place in downtown Oslo with multiple cultural offers 
  • On-boarding assistance and other services 

OsloMet has implemented the Charter & Code for researchers and been granted the HR Excellence in Research (HRS4) by the EU Commission and is part of the EU network for mobility of Researchers EURAXESS. Practical information about relocation to OsloMet to at EURAXESS Norway. 

Remuneration and employment 

The competitive fellowship opportunities are 100% funded and include living and mobility allowances.  

  • Type of employment: Temporary position 
  • Contract type: Full time 
  • Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 60,000 
  • Starting day of employment: Expected starting date 1 April 2022 
  • Number of positions: 2 
  • Working hours: 37.5 hours/week 

Other information 

For more information about the position, feel free to contact:    

  • Karoline Aursland, R&D and External Funding Support, Karoline.Aursland@oslomet.no
  • Florissa Abreu, R&D and External Funding Support, Florissa.Abreu@Oslomet.no
  • Mahdi Kioumarsi, Associate Professor, mahdi.kioumarsi@oslomet.no  

We only process applications sent via our electronic recruitment system and all documents must be uploaded for your application to be processed. The documents must be in English. Translations must be authorised. OsloMet performs document checks in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition.  

OsloMet has adhered to the principles in the DORA declaration and obliged the institution to follow the recommendations in this declaration. 

   

Deadline for application:       January 31, 2021

Ref.:    20/12115

 

 

 

Type of employment Temporary position (shorter than 10 days)
Contract type Full time
First day of employment Expected starting date 1 April 2022
Salary Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 60,000
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Oslo
County Oslo
Country Norway
Reference number 20/12115
Published 22.Dec.2020
Last application date 31.Jan.2021 11:59 PM CET

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