Recruitment

Only submission through this link will be taken into consideration! Applications submitted via email or via other websites will not be taken into consideration. The deadline for applications is 28 February 2021.

The full vacancy text can be found here. This webpage provides additional information regarding the recruitment for the ESRs in REPAIRS. Read ALL this information carefully before you apply!

This web-page provides two types of information. First, additional information on the recruitment eligibility and procedure is provided. Second, information on the different ESR projects is presented in two overview tables to show that a wide range of disciplines is active in REPAIRS. Check these tables if you want to know whether your expertise matches with that required in REPAIRS!

Who is eligible to apply?

Only applicants who comply with the eligibility criteria of the MSCA grant can apply. These criteria concern conditions of mobility and experience.

The recruited fellows may be a national of a Member state, of an Associated Country or of any third country, that is, the ESR can have almost any nationality. However, the researchers are required to move to another country when being appointed. More specifically, the recruited fellow must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of his/her host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to his/her recruitment. Note that short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account. This implies that:

an applicant of nationality X who has studied/worked in country X all his/her life can not apply for a position in country X,
an applicant of nationality X who has studied/worked in country Y for at least 2 years in the past 3 years can apply for a position in country X,
an applicant of nationality X who has studied/worked in country Y for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to recruitment can not apply for a position in country Y

Applicants from a country against which EU restrictive measures are in place (see https://sanctionsmap.eu/#/main) should carefully check their eligibility.

The eligibility criteria used to recruit Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) follows the guidelines of the Research Executive Agency (REA) that executes the MSCA. These guidelines state that at the date of recruitment by the host organization the ESRs should be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research career and have not been awarded a doctoral degree. These four years are measured from the date when a researcher obtained the degree which would formally entitle him or her to embark on a doctorate (as a PhD student), either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited, irrespective of whether or not a doctorate is or was ever envisaged.

Recruitment procedure

The recruitment procedure consists of three phases:

Phase 1

Applicants have to submit their application through this link. Each submission consists of three files (see below). We will first do a check on the eligibility of the applicant, hence applicants should make sure that the information regarding mobility and experience in the past years is clearly provided in the motivation letter or CV.

Applicants will be assessed on:

relevance and level of educational program, scientific skills, and technical skills,
level of scientific knowledge of the field,
level of academic performance and analytical skills,
independence in doing research,
motivation and expected capacity to work in a high-level international, interdisciplinary and intersectorial research training program,
evidence of and willingness to develop teamwork,
evidence of and willingness to develop softskills,
language skills (see below).

Candidates will be informed around the end of March about who is selected for Phase 2.

Phase 2

Applicants who rank in the top in Phase 1 will be invited for Phase 2. Applicants are first invited to write a short essay. Topics and details will be announced at a later stage. Expect to spend at least one day of work on this on the 14^th and 15^th of April 2021. Applicants will also be invited for an online interview that is scheduled to take place in the period 27-30 April 2021.

Phase 3

Those applicants who pass Phase 2, will be invited for an ESR Recruitment day, which will take place on 26 May 2021. Depending on the then applicable COVID-19 regulations the event will be held virtually or physically. Soon after this date the final selection will be made.

Documents to submit

Applicants have to submit three files. Each of these three files needs to be composed out of multiple documents. The files to be submitted differ for applicants who have and those who have not obtained their Master degree before the deadline for applying expires.

The application link shows these opportunities to submit three files under ‘Accompanying letters’.

File 1 should be submitted under ‘Cover letter’.
File 2 should be submitted under ‘CV’.
File 3 should be submitted under ‘Optional other attachment’.

For those applicants who have obtained their Master degree, the following documents should be submitted:

File 1 containing (use page breaks between items):
– Motivation letter (max 1 page, Font: Times New Roman, 12; line spacing: 1.15); applicants should indicate for which ESR position they have interest. If they are interested in more than one ESR position, they should give a ranked interest.
– CV; indicate your country of residence of the last three years in your CV

File 2 containing (use page breaks between items):
– Two standardized reference letters (see below)

File 3 containing (use page breaks between items):
– A degree equivalent to a European Master degree according to the European Qualifications Framework (here)
– Diplomas and certificates (Official English translation and formal grade transcript)
– Certificate English language test (written and spoken). TOEFL: Applicants taking the internet-based TOEFL are required to have a minimum total score of 100. IELTS: Applicants taking the IELTS test (academic version) your overall band score must be at least 7.0. Cambridge: Cambridge Proficiency or Cambridge Advanced (only Grades A or B). Important update: the English language certificate is obligatory for those who did a Master that was NOT in English. However, applicants with a degree of an English Master do not have to submit the language certificate in Phase 1, but if they are invited for Phase 2 they have to submit the English language certificate at the beginning of that round.

For those applicants who have NOT yet obtained their Master degree (but expect to before 1^st Sept 2021), the following documents should be submitted:

File 1 containing (use page breaks between items) (similar as above):
– Motivation letter (max 1 page, Font: Times New Roman, 12; line spacing: 1.15); applicants should indicate for which ESR position they have interest. If they are interested in more than one ESR position, they should give a ranked interest.
– CV; indicate your country of residence of the last three years in your CV

File 2 containing (use page breaks between items):
– Two standardized reference letters (see below)
– At least one of the two required reference letters will need to come from a supervisor/lecturer in the to be obtained Master degree. A specific question needs to be answered explaining the current status of the applicant and the likeliness that the potential candidate will obtain the Master degree at the planned date. This planned date should be before the planned start of the appointment (1 September 2021).

File 3 containing (use page breaks between items):
– A degree equivalent to a European Bachelor degree according to the European Qualifications Framework (here)
– Diplomas, grade list and certificates (Official English translation and formal grade transcript)
– A list of finished courses and grades in the master
– A list of courses (names and number of credits) to be obtained in the master
– Certificate English language test (written and spoken). TOEFL: Applicants taking the internet-based TOEFL are required to have a minimum total score of 100. IELTS: Applicants taking the IELTS test (academic version) your overall band score must be at least 7.0. Cambridge: Cambridge Proficiency or Cambridge Advanced (only Grades A or B). Important update: the English language certificate is obligatory for those who are enrolled in a Master that is NOT in English. However, applicants who are enrolled in an English Master do not have to submit the language certificate in Phase 1, but if they are invited for Phase 2 they have to submit the English language certificate at the beginning of that round.

Reference letter

In the reference letter the following questions should be answered in a structured manner. It is advised to send these exact instructions to the referent.

How do you know the applicant and what is your relation to the applicant?
What is the best scientific skill of the applicant?
Which scientific skill or skills does the applicant need to develop further?
How independent is the applicant as a researcher?
What are the strong points of this applicant?
Which points can the applicant improve?
How does the applicant work in a team?
Only if the applicant does not have his/her Master degree: What is the current status of the applicant with respect to obtaining the Master degree? Provide an indication of the likeliness that the applicant will obtain the Master degree before the planned start of the appointment (1 September 2021).

Information about the ESR projects

An overview of the different backgrounds that are relevant for the different ESR projects

Discipline

ESR project

Human Movement Science / Kinesiology / Exercise and Sport Science

Mathematics / Physics

Machine learning

Philosophy

Rehabilitation Science

Neuroscience

Experimental Psychology

Biomedical Engineering

Robotics

Biophysics

Cognitive Science

Artificial Intelligence

Philosophy of Cognition

Philosophy of Science

Philosophy of Technology

Computer Science Engineering

Behavioural Sciences

Developmental Psychology

The focus of the different ESR projects and the patient groups involved.

Involved levels of perception-action cycle	ESR	Research Focus	Translation to clinical rehabilitation practice
Brain Muscles & Joints	1 & 2	Single individual	Patients suffering from cerebellar stroke affecting the upper limb
Muscles & Joints Agent-Environment	3 & 4	Single individual	Patients suffering from mild stroke affecting the upper limb People with a visual impairment
Agent-Environment Social	5 & 6	Multi-individual	Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Social Brain	7 & 8	Multi-individual	Individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Individuals with schizophrenia
Brain Agent-Environment	9 & 10	Single individual	Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
Social Muscles & Joints	11 & 12	Multi-individual	Patients suffering from mild stroke affecting the upper limb People with ACL injury
All levels	13, 14 & 15	Developing insights on the challenges of applying a systems approach	Developing requirements of translation ESR13 focusses on patients with a knee endoprosthesis