2022 Public Call for Applications for Junior Researcher Positions

In accordance with Article 12 of the Rules on Selecting and Financing Junior Researchers’ Training for the Period 2022–2027 no. P-2022-1 (hereinafter: the Rules) and the General Act on the Stable Financing of Research Activity (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 87/22), the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), Novi Trg 2, Ljubljana, Slovenia, hereby announces the

 

2022 Public Call for Applications for Junior Researcher Positions

 

1. The subject of this public call is the selection of junior researchers that will start their doctoral training programs with their selected advisors in 2022 in the following research fields:

 

Research field	Research subfield	Advisor	Slots
Ethnic issues	Ethnic and migration studies	Kristina Toplak	1
Philosophy	Aesthetics	Marina Gržinić Mauhler	1
Literary studies	Older Slovenian literature, medieval and early modern Latin literature	Monika Deželak Trojar	1
Linguistics	Historical linguistics	Kozma Ahačič	1
Art history	Early modern art	Tina Košak	1
Archeology, archaeobotany	Ecology of weed communities in the past and present	Tjaša Tolar	1
Geography	Regional geography and geographic information systems	Rok Ciglič	1
Karst studies	Microbiology	Janez Mulec	1

 

 

2. Junior researcher applicants must meet the following requirements:

• They have not yet completed a doctoral program or been awarded a doctoral degree;
• They have never been employed as junior researchers;
• They are proficient in at least one world language;
• They have a second-cycle (master’s) degree or a comparable degree from a university abroad (applicants that have not yet completed their second-cycle degree program at the time of applying for the open call must complete their program by September 15th of the current year);
• Their grade point average in the second-cycle program is at least 8.00 (including their master’s thesis grade);
• No more than four years have passed since the end of their second-cycle degree program or the acquisition of a degree that corresponds to the degree obtained in a second-cycle degree program and, under the law governing the Slovenian qualifications framework, is classified as level 8, or since the end of a comparable academic program completed abroad (the year of graduation). If the applicant took parental leave, this period can be extended by the period of the applicant’s justified absence, whereas for other types of justified absence specified in the health insurance regulations it can be extended at most by the period of the justified absence only if the absence was continuous and lasted longer than six months;
• Before concluding the employment contract, they have enrolled (via the eVŠ portal) in the first or second year of a third-cycle (doctoral) program.

 

Foreign nationals or junior researcher applicants that have completed their studies abroad must have all the documentation required for employment in Slovenia in order before concluding the employment contract. If applicants have not completed a second-cycle academic program or an academic program that meets the requirements for enrollment in a doctoral program in Slovenia, they must obtain a decision from a higher-education institution recognizing a degree completed abroad for the purposes of pursuing further education in Slovenia.

3. The applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Grade point average in a second-cycle program or an academic program that meets the requirements for enrollment in a doctoral program (3 points for an average grade between 9.00 and 10, and 1 point for an average grade between 8.00 and 8.99);
• Awards or other recognitions received (a university award: 1 point; other awards or recognitions for professional work: 0.50 points each, but up to a maximum of 2.00 for all awards or recognitions together);
• Research articles published (up to 1.00 point for authorship or a proportional part for co-authorship, but up to a maximum of 2.00 points altogether);
• Participation in research projects (up to 2.00 points);
• Applicant interview assessment (up to 10.00 points).

 

 

4. The application must include the following:

1. A signed application form with statements properly marked;
2. Proof of education if the applicants have already completed their program (a photocopy of a second-cycle degree diploma);
3. Proof of grade point average in a second-cycle program (i.e., a diploma supplement or an officially confirmed transcript of courses taken from which the grade point average rounded to two decimal places is evident);
4. Proof of proficiency in a world language;
5. Proof of enrollment in a third-cycle graduate program and proof of requirements completed if the applicant is already enrolled.

For the purposes of evaluation in accordance with the criteria set, the following can also be enclosed with the application:

1. Proof of any awards and recognitions received;
2. A list of research articles published;
3. Proof of participation in research projects;
4. Proof of the applicant’s justified absence in order to meet the requirement regarding the permissible number of years after the end of the academic program specified under indent 6 of point 2 hereof.

5. Term of employment:

ZRC SAZU shall conclude a fixed-term employment contract with the applicant selected. This term covers the period of training, which is the same as the period of financing (junior researchers are financed until they obtain a doctorate, but for no more than four years; if the applicants are enrolled in the second year of their doctoral program when starting work, their training is financed until they receive a doctorate, but for no more than three years). The employment contract is terminated if the junior researcher completes his or her training (receives a doctorate) before the envisaged expiry of the contract.

6. Applying for the open call

The application must arrive at ZRC SAZU (Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia) by 2 pm on July 21st, 2022, regardless of the manner in which it is sent. Each envelope must be labeled in Slovenian: Razpis za MR – Ne odpiraj – javni razpis za kandidate za mlade raziskovalce v letu 2022, and it may only contain one application for one research area or one advisor.

 

 

The applicants may:

– Submit their applications by the deadline above in person at the ZRC SAZU front desk (Novi trg 2, Ljubljana),

or

– Mail their applications, making sure they are received by the deadline above, to ZRC SAZU, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

 

 

Only complete applications that arrive at the ZRC SAZU address by the deadline and in the manner specified above will be considered.

 

 

 

7. Additional information

 

ZRC SAZU will complete its selection by August 31st, 2022.

 

Interviews with the applicants are expected to take place from July 25th to August 25th, 2022.

 

Dissertation advisors propose individuals for the junior researcher positions in agreement with the head of the program group and the head of the institute.

 

The applicants selected will receive a request at the e-mail address provided in their application form to confirm they accept the junior researcher position within three working days.

 

ZRC SAZU will notify the other applicants that they have not been selected for the position within eight days after the selection procedure ends.

 

The application form with the relevant statements is available HERE.

 

Important:

The applicants selected for the junior researcher positions are required to apply separately to the call for applications for enrollment in graduate programs in the 2022/2023 academic year and to submit proof of enrollment in a third-cycle program to ZRC SAZU before concluding the employment contract.

Applicants that fail to enroll in a graduate program by the enrollment deadlines via the eVŠ system will not be able to conclude a junior researcher training contract with ZRC SAZU.

 

Additional information about the public call is available at +386 1 470 6413.