Postdoctoral Positions in Asian Studies

The Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), invite candidates for a number of postdoctoral positions in Asian Studies.

We are looking for early career scholars researching on modern and contemporary East and Southeast Asia, who could contribute to work in one or more of the following areas:

• Climate and Sustainability
• Digitalization
• Gender Equality and Diversity
• Democracy and Human Rights
• Asia-Nordic Relations
• The Rise of China
• Geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific
• Youth Politics and the Politics of Protest

Successful candidates will either work on their own projects or on collaborative research projects with NIAS and University of Copenhagen colleagues.

The position is from 1 September 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter and until 31 December 2023.

Funding will be available for conference travel and to support the publication of a book resulting from the fellowship.

Introduction
The Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), founded in 1968, is a well-established research centre, with a particular focus on social science and humanities research on contemporary Asia. NIAS has a broad Nordic mandate and a range of partners around the region, but is administratively part of the University of Copenhagen, where it operates under the auspices of the Department of Political Science.

University of Copenhagen (founded 1479) is a major European research university with 37,500 students and 9,400 staff, located across four campuses in the Danish capital. It is the largest educational institution in Denmark. Located on an historic campus in the heart of downtown Copenhagen, the Department of Political Science is one of the best departments of its kind in Europe: it currently has 60 full-time academic staff, 31 PhD researchers, and more than 2100 students.

NIAS works in close collaboration with the Nordic NIAS Council (NNC), a 29 member academic consortium spanning the five countries of the Nordic region and all three Baltic countries. The Institute houses NIAS Press, a leading specialist academic publisher in the field of Asian studies. NIAS also runs the very successful Nordic Asia podcast series, hosted by the New Books Network.

For further details, see these webpages:

https://nias.ku.dk

https://about.ku.dk/facts-figures/

https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/the-nordic-asia-podcast/id1509921432

Duties and Responsibilities

• Research and publishing in the field of appointment
• Collaborating on the development of relevant grant and funding applications
• Teaching a related class in the Department, as appropriate
• Supporting collaborations between NIAS and the University of Copenhagen
• Strategic communication, including podcasts, media, social media and outreach activity

Your Competencies and Opportunities

Competencies

Essential
The candidate must have:

• Obtained a PhD degree in a relevant social science or humanities field
• Substantial expertise on one of the above-listed research areas
• Asian language competency
• Track record of academic publications with well-regarded journals and/or publishers
• A research agenda for the period of the appointment

Desirable
Preferably, the candidate will also have:

• Experience of teaching at university level
• Experience of presenting academic papers at international conference and seminars
• Experience in engaging with and presenting to external users of academic research
• Experience in working on research grants from international sources

Strategy of the Faculty of the Social Sciences
The Department of Political Science is part of the Faculty of the Social Sciences. The Faculty is a successful academic community that strives to put knowledge into action by:

• Engaging partners in the co-creation of knowledge, learning and social change.
• Empowering our students to become reflective and responsible citizens who have the vision, the knowledge and the competences to change society for the better.
• Energising global, European and Danish communities of knowledge by innovating research methodologies and by research findings with impact

For more on the Faculty strategy, see https://samf.ku.dk/fakultetet/strategi/.

The Department of Political Science has a strategic plan addressing current challenges with four main areas of focus: impact, internationalization, academic environment and revenue. You can read the Department’s strategy here https://politicalscience.ku.dk/about/strategy-plan/

Terms of Employment

• Further information on qualification requirements as postdoc can be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities 2019 here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/dokumenter/Ministerial_Order_no._1443_of_11_December_2019_on_Job_Structure_for_Academic_Staff_at_Universities.pdf
• Terms of appointment and salary is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).
• The salary range starts at DKK 34,480 per month + a 17.1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

The recruitment process
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here:  https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: https://ism.ku.dk/

Contact information
Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, Maritxell Abrahamsson, e-mail: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk, please refer to ID number: 211-1145/22-2I #1

Additional information about the position can be obtained from Duncan McCargo, e-mail: duncan@nias.ku.dk, phone +45 35 32 46 28

How to apply
Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page to apply. The documents must be in Adobe PDF or Word.

Your application must be written in English and include the following documents:

• Cover letter explaining your motives for applying
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications
• Research proposal (no more than 2 pages)
• Diplomas (master and bachelor)
• Two sample publications or conference paper

The closing date for applications is 31 July 2022 at 23:59 CEST.

Applications or enclosures received thereafter will not be considered.