After a finished PhD degree, further research education can be obtained through the position as a postdoctoral fellow. Such employment contracts usually have a period of 2-3 years. Like the research trainees and the PhD students, the postdocs are part of the research departments in SRL. In contrast to the PhD students, the postdocs are not under the same type of supervision. Instead, they are associated with one of the department’s research projects, which implies that their immediate superior will be the project leader.

Heading for a research career

At many universities, the position as a postdoctoral fellow is often seen as a retreat into solitude, where the main goal is to produce a large number of scientific papers. The purpose is of course to quickly build the volume of publications that is needed for obtaining permanent positions in academia. The role of a postdoc is different at Simula. First of all, as any other researcher at Simula, you will be part of a research project, and you will have to fill the requirements set by the team to meet the project’s goals. Naturally, publication of research results is an important part of the postdoc’s work. Still, it is more important to write publications of high quality than to boost the volume of production.

One of SSRI’s goals is to contribute substantially to the professional and personal development that our postdoctoral fellows go through during their employment period. Persons that want a postdoc position have usually decided to pursue a career in research. Nevertheless, it may still be unclear whether they want a career in basic research, usually at an academic institution, or whether they prefer to work on very specific applications in an industrial company. Depending on interests, choice of topics, and specific skills, postdocs at Simula can move in any of these directions.

Over the later years, it has become clear that academic careers call for more than just a scientific background. For instance, when review committees evaluate candidates for permanent positions at universities, there is an increasing weight on experience and skills concerning teaching, supervision, leadership, fundraising, communication, organisation of conferences, committee work, etc. That is, there are many common factors in the qualifications asked from academia and industry, although there are still differences.

Through a series of actions, SSRI wants to address the challenges that postdoctoral fellows meet. For instance, you are encouraged to actively gain experience as a supervisor, either for master students or for PhD students. In the latter case, you will take part in a team of supervisors that counts at least one experienced senior person. Also, postdoctoral fellows should look at the possibilities for becoming part of a fundraising team, and thereby participate in the process of writing a research proposal. In addition to these activities, SSRI arranges seminar series with industrial relevance, as well as courses teaching skills like research management and writing of research proposals.

In order to strengthen the development of not only professional skills, but also personal skills, SSRI would like to assign a mentor to each postdoc. The mentor is an experienced person with a background in research, who can be a discussion partner when needed.

The roles of the postdoc, the project leader, and SSRI

As a postdoc, you are part of the team in a project group. This group is managed by a project leader, who serves under the head of department. The project leader is your scientific superior, in a sense similar to the principal supervisor for a PhD student. It is expected that you as a postdoc take stronger action than a PhD student by actively participating in the scientific and strategic discussions concerning your project and your department.

The project leader has a specific responsibility for inviting the postdoc into activities that are regarded to have a relevant educational value. For instance, postdocs should be asked to help preparing research proposals, act as a supervisor, take part in discussions with external research groups and industrial partners, etc.

When SSRI is conducting the employment dialogues, it is natural to discuss your relationship with the project leader, quite similar to the student-supervisor relationship discussed in Chapter 4. In cases of disagreement or conflicts, SSRI will provide advice as a third party and, if necessary, intervene in the conflict.

The mentor's role 

The use of mentors for the postdoctoral fellows is still on the planning stage, and has not yet been implemented. As indicated above, the mentor is intended to be an experienced person with a background in research. Since the main focus of the meetings with your mentor will be on what it means to be a researcher, rather than technical details of your current work, the mentor’s scientific background may be quite different from yours. The frequency of the meetings and the actual way that the postdoc-mentor relationship works out will vary. There is no unique formula for success in this type of training, as it will depend on the personal chemistry between the persons involved.

Like the relationship to your scientific superior, the relationship to your mentor will be touched upon in the employment dialogues. The purpose is then to verify that you have a working relationship with a mentor, rather than looking at the details of that contact.

Internal recruiting for permanent positions

The number of permanent positions in Simula is very limited. In general, one expects a quite high turn-over as PhD students and postdoctoral fellows are finishing their project periods. However, postdocs about to finish their period may ask for an assessment for a permanent position, given that there is funding available. Such assessment is initiated by the postdoctoral fellow’s application to the managing director of Simula.

Upon receipt of the application, the director will compose an evaluation committee consisting of the head of the department to which the postdoc belongs, and three other researchers. Two of these researchers shall be chosen from other research departments. The committee will look at the following types of criteria: (1) scientific production, which should be of high quality and corresponding to the volume of two or three doctoral dissertations; (2) research talent, which should be sufficient to reach the competence level of a professor within three years; (3) documented talent and work capacity, which should be sufficient to establish oneself as an independent researcher at an international level; (4) research profile, which should be consistent with the research department’s strategy; (5) excellent personal qualities; and (6) initiative, which should be documented through participation in research proposals, supervision of master and PhD students, research management, or by other means.

The postdoc's checklist

Do we have any official requirements?

Useful resources

SSRI’s information for postdoctoral fellows
Simula Publication Guidelines