The University of Oulu is an international research and innovation university   engaged in multidisciplinary basic research and academic education. It is one   of the largest universities in Finland with 14 000 students and 3 000   employees. By combining multidisciplinary research and education, high-level   infrastructure and wide cooperation with international research and   educational institutes, companies and the public sector it has created a   significant research and innovation hub of “Science with Arctic Attitude”.   More information http://www.oulu.fi/english/.

Digital Health (DigiHealth) research programme and Hub is part of the   University of Oulu’s national profiling actions. It is designed to do   world-class interdisciplinary research and become nationally the strongest   research programme strengthening health care services, diagnostics and   therapies in the new digital era. The primary aim of DigiHealth is to develop   and validate novel digital technologies for data-driven health applications,   valorizing University of Oulu’s strong expertise in medicine, wireless   solutions, big data analytics and business. The programme’s focus is crucial   as novel technologies and technological solutions (e.g. artificial   intelligence, internet of things, virtual/augmented/mixed reality, robotics,   5G/6G) are becoming more intelligent, invisible and ubiquitous to be utilized   for data-driven health applications. Several international breakthroughs are   expected within the DigiHealth related to development and application of   novel digitalized solutions to predict progression of diseases and in   offering personalized therapies in a cost-effective and patient-centric way.   New discoveries in the programme will build on interdisciplinary   collaboration providing transformative knowledge aiming to strengthen the health   technology ecosystem of Oulu.

Specific research areas of the DigiHealth are:

1) Next-generation data for digital healthcare focusing on bioinformatics   and novel biosensors,

2) Wireless system level architectures for future digital healthcare,

3) AI-based solutions to support personalized clinical diagnostic or   therapeutic decisions,

4) Systematic impact creation and health technology assessment

The DigiHealth includes four faculties (Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of   Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Biochemistry   and Molecular Medicine, and Oulu Business School) and 31 Principal   Investigators linked to four above-mentioned research areas.

Within the above mentioned Digihealth   programme, the University of Oulu announces the following two postdoctoral   researcher positions for highly talented individuals who hold a doctoral   degree and have excellent potential for a successful scientific career.

1) Postdoctoral Researcher of “Systematic Impact Creation in Digital Health”

2) Postdoctoral Researcher of “Health Technology Assessment in Digital Health” 

Research in this fourth DigiHealth research area (impact/assessment) is   performed currently in three faculties (Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of   Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, and Oulu Business School) and   above-mentioned positions are expected to be located within the research   groups in the Oulu Business School and in the Faculty of Medicine. However, the   final host faculty will be identified based on the specific research expertise   of the successful applicant.

Expected research topics 

First postdoctoral researcher position in “Systematic impact creation in digital health” is directed towards creating new approaches to evaluate systemic impact of the   developed digital health solutions and services. The impact analysis covers
  1) system level impacts, such as  impacts to service system, economic and societal   impacts and impacts on businesses, and 2) impacts to the behavior, value and   service experience of crucial actors, e.g. health care professionals and   patients.

The second postdoctoral researcher position in “Health Technology Assessment in Digital Health” is directed towards creating novel Health   Technology Assessment (HTA) approaches to evaluate the effects of new medical   information systems in the next generation care pathways. HTA focus is   targeted to usability, user experience and utility issues as well as to   clinical effectiveness analysis. Rapid progress in mobileHealth, robotics together   with AI, wireless communication and fast networks (5G/6G) require adaptation   of appropriate HTA methodologies to new areas like security, safety,   regulatory and ethical issues.

Both postdoctoral researchers are expected to collaborate within the   DigiHealth consortium e.g. in advanced research topics like co-creating   medical solutions for the next generation decision support systems and   personalized medical services in the future hospital concept. While there are   two positions with different profiles, the   applicant should mention, which of those above mentioned position he/she is   interested.

The duration of the positions is initially for 2 years.  

The starting date is 1^st January 2020, or later by mutual agreement with the successful applicant.

Required   Qualifications and assessment

The   successful applicant must hold a recent PhD degree. Candidates whose PhD   thesis has been submitted by the application deadline will also be   eligible.  The applicants should have   experience from the social and health care sector. Also, sufficient understanding   about the technological and systemic change in the sector is required. For   the position no 1, the applicant should have sufficient expertise in business   research and for the position 2 the applicant should understand HTA   methodologies.  Fluent oral and written   English skills as well as good communication and teamwork skills are   required.

When assessing the applicant’s qualifications, issues to be considered   will include scientific publications, supervision experience, activity in the   international scientific community and familiarity with the research   field.  As part of the research groups,   the duties may include supervising scientific research of BSc, MSc, and PhD   students, therefore teaching experience will be taken as merit. Participation   in acquiring supplementary funding will be expected.

Salary: The salary is in accordance with the University salary system (for   teaching and research personnel) level 5. In addition, there is a share   increase at most, 50% of the base salary, which is based on personal   achievements and performance.

Application: Applications, together with   all relevant enclosures, should be submitted electronically by 30  November, 2019.

The application should be written in English and the following must be   included:

1) A letter of application with contact information

2) A curriculum vitae following the guidelines of the Finnish Advisory   Board on Research Integrity (Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta). (The   guidelines are available at http://www.tenk.fi/en/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae  and a template at http://www.tenk.fi/sites/tenk.fi/files/CV_english_270613.pdf

3) A list of publications

4) A brief account of research and teaching merits, if any (max. 2 page)

5) A brief research and action plan (max. 1 page)

A six-month trial period will be effective in the beginning of a contract.

Please note:

The applicant should include information, which postdoctoral position he/she is interested in.

Interview:  The top candidates for the post may be interviewed and asked to present   their scientific work and experience.

For further information and enquiries about this post and the application   and selection procedures, please contact: 

Professor Timo Koivumäki,
Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, Finland
Phone: +358-294482925
timo.koivumaki(at)oulu.fi

Professor  of Practice Maritta Perälä-Heape
Center for Health Technology,
Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Finland
Phone: +358-294487150
maritta.perala-heape(at)oulu.fi

Professor of Practice Jarmo Reponen
Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology
Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Finland
Phone: +358-294486020
jarmo.reponen@oulu.fi

Other benefits: Finland is one of the most   dynamic countries, with a high quality of life, high safety standards, an   excellent education system, and a competitive economy. The successful   candidate will receive full benefits provided by the University of Oulu to   university employees, including free time corresponding to holidays and free   occupational health care services. The successful candidate will also receive   all the benefits provided by the Finnish government for residents, e.g.,   access to the national health care system, tax benefits for employees with   children and high-quality, affordable childcare services.

About the City of Oulu: The City of Oulu is Northern Finland’s largest and oldest city, with a   population of over 200,000. Located in the Gulf of Bothnia in the Oulu River   delta, the city has good access from anywhere. Oulu is a very safe and family   friendly community with one of the highest qualities of life in all of   Scandinavia. This modern  city with a  beautiful    harbour and  market  area    offers plenty  of  cultural    activities  as  well    as opportunities for exploring the northern nature. Open space and   parks can be found all along the Oulu River and throughout the area and they   are easily accessed by bike–the favorite mode of transport in Oulu. There is   an entire range of outdoor and sports facilities to choose from, not   forgetting Finland’s biggest spectator sport, ice hockey. Winter is a season   that is highly celebrated and lit bike trails and bridges bring the city   alive. As the world’s northernmost tech hub, Oulu has a highly educated and   innovative workforce and the University has a strong role in the community.   Oulu is a marvelous place to live, work and enjoy a vibrant academic   community. Welcome to the home of science with Arctic Attitude!


Updated: 7.11.2019