Postdoctoral Researcher In Critical Border Studies

The Karelian Institute of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies invites applications for one Postdoctoral Researcher position in Critical Border Studies on the Joensuu Campus. The position will begin on 1 September 2026. Read more below and submit your application no later than 30 June 2026.

This four-year position is intended for a scholar who obtained their PhD no more than five years ago and who seeks to develop their expertise in critical border studies (broadly defined), while demonstrating the potential to advance the field both thematically and in terms of methodology and theory.

Position

The Postdoctoral Researcher will join a research team focusing on critical border studies, which is funded by the Research Council of Finland through the PROFI 9 allocation. The position involves conducting independent and collaborative research on social, economic, regional, political, or cultural processes related to borders in a broad sense. The researcher will be part of a dynamic and interdisciplinary community exploring contemporary transformations of borders and boundaries. Thus, the project encourages innovative thematic, theoretical and methodological approaches, especially those examining processes of border-making and border-transcending.

The main duties of the Postdoctoral Researcher are

• to conduct research in accordance with their personal research agenda within the field of critical border studies
• to contribute to project teams led by a professor specialised in critical border studies and other members of the Karelian Institute
• to take an active role in preparing research funding proposals and in developing and carrying out research projects, while also advancing their own scholarly interests and objectives.

The position is based at the Karelian Institute, but it supports the UEF’s Cultural Encounters, Mobilities and Borders (BOMOCULT) Research Community that brings together scholars from various disciplines to explore questions of mobility, identity, and geopolitical change through critical and interdisciplinary perspectives. The Research Community provides a vibrant environment for multidisciplinary collaboration, methodological exchange, and the development of innovative research.

Salary

The position is filled for a four-year term with the start date of no later than 1 September 2026. The position is filled for a fixed term due to it pertaining to a specific funding programme.

The salary of the positions is based on the salary system for the teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. The salary consists of a job-related salary element and a personal salary element. In these positions, the job-related salary element is based on level 5 of the job requirement level chart (EUR 3,366.55) per month, and the personal salary element is 6–50% of the job-related salary element. Depending on the personal salary element, the salary will be approximately EUR 3,700-4,200/month at the beginning of the employment relationship.

A trial period is applied to new members of the university's staff.

Requirements and advantages

Requirements

• The person to be appointed to the Postdoctoral Researcher position is required to hold a suitable doctoral degree, which may not have been completed more than five years ago at the time of accepting the position. In this context, the 5 years refer to a net period of time, which does not include maternity leaves, parental leaves, military service, etc. If the applicant pleads to the above-mentioned reasons, they need to explain them in the application.
• Language skills that support the applicant’s field of research. No knowledge of Finnish is necessary, but a good command of the English language is required.

Considered as an advantage

• Experience in international research cooperation and international researcher mobility will be regarded as merits.

Evaluation

The applicant is to present a concise (max. 3 pages) research proposal and a brief development plan. These should clarify the applicant’s contributions to the PROFI 9 funded research team supported by the Research Council of Finland, focusing on critical border studies, and more broadly to the development of the BOMOCULT Research Community. The research proposal and brief development plan should outline how the applicant’s research engages with social, economic, political, or cultural processes related to borders and bordering, and how it supports the interdisciplinary aims of the research community.

Applications meeting all the eligibility requirements will be sent for evaluation. Applications will be evaluated according to a) the excellence of the research proposal, b) earlier academic performance, c) the additional value to the PROFI 9 funded research team and d) international orientation.

What we can offer you

• Cutting-edge research, research training and career development as part of the PROFI 9 funded research initiative on Critical Border Studies exploring themes such as borders, regions, border areas and trans-border development, multilayered security, identity, and territoriality.
• An inspiring international and creative, participatory and engaging research environment in a well-established research institute and university research community.
• The opportunity for international collaboration as part of a research team.
• A wide variety of support services at UEF.
• Work that matters and a workplace that promotes work-life balance.
• The university’s occupational health insurance. The Finnish government also provides benefits to residents and their families, including access to the national healthcare system and high-quality, affordable childcare and school services.
• Staff benefits of the University of Eastern Finland, including comprehensive occupational health care, versatile staff training opportunities, affordable campus restaurant lunches and Sykettä sports services.

Please read more in the Work at UEF section on our website.

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How to apply?

Submit your application with appendices in English by using our electronic application form no later than 30 June 2026 by 24:00 (midnight) Finnish time (UTC+3). The application is required to contain the following appendices:

• CV (Template for CV, TENK web page)
• a list of publications (Instructions, Research Council of Finland Web page)
• copies of the academic degree certificates/diplomas, and copies of certificates/diplomas relating to your language proficiency, if not indicated in the academic degree certificates/diplomas
• a concise summary of the applicant's scientific achievements and research activities, including research cooperation (max. 1 page)
• a research proposal written in English (max. 3 pages)
• a development plan (max. 1 page) explaining how the applicant intends to promote project activities, network building and societal impact of the BOMOCULT Research Community and the VERA Centre for Russian and Border Studies .

• The applicant may also include other documents to demonstrate their merits for the position (e.g., a statement from the opponent, letters of recommendation, etc.).

If your degree certificate is not in English, Finnish, or Swedish, you must provide official English translations of your degree certificate documents. All translations must be issued by the awarding educational institution or an authorised translator. Each page of the official translation must bear the translator's stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be accurate translations of the original documents. Translations made by the applicants themselves will not be accepted.

Questions?

For more information on the position, please contact the Head of the Karelian Institute Petri Kahila (petri.kahila@uef.fi, +358 40 411 8445) or Vice Head of the Karelian Institute Joni Virkkunen (joni.virkkunen@uef.fi, +358 50 442 4469).

For further information relating to the application procedure, please contact HR Specialist Airi Leppänen, airi.leppanen@uef.fi.

Tutkijatohtorin tehtävä

Haemme tutkijatohtoria Itä-Suomen yliopiston Joensuun kampukselle, Karjalan tutkimuslaitokselle työskentelemään kriittisen rajatutkimuksen (Critical Border Studies) teemassa. Tehtävä kuuluu Suomen Akatemian rahoittamaan PROFI 9-tutkimuskokonaisuuteen ja yliopiston Cultural Encounters, Mobilities and Borders (BOMOCULT) -tutkimusyhteisöön.

Tehtävä sijoittuu yhteiskuntatieteiden ja kauppatieteiden tiedekuntaan ja alkaa 1.9.2026. Tehtävä täytetään neljän vuoden määräajaksi ja sen tehtäväkohtainen palkanosa on vaativuustasoluokittelussa tasolla 5. Lisäksi maksetaan henkilökohtaiseen suoriutumiseen perustuvaa palkanosaa (6–50 %). Henkilökohtaisesta palkanosasta riippuen palkka on työsuhteen alussa noin 3 700–4 200 euroa kuukaudessa. Tehtävässä edellytetään hyvää englannin kielen taitoa.

Lue tarkemmat tiedot tehtävästä ja hakuohjeet yllä olevasta englanninkielisestä ilmoituksesta. Jätäthän hakemuksesi englanniksi. Hakuaika tehtävään päättyy 30.6.2026 klo 24.00.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies operates on two campuses of the University of Eastern Finland – in Joensuu and Kuopio. The faculty trains experts in the fields of history, geography, economics and business administration, law, social sciences, and social and health management. The faculty's research is closely linked to the research areas identified in the university's strategy. The faculty has 4,480 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students and approximately 500 postgraduate students actively pursuing their studies. The faculty has 550 staff members.

At the Karelia Institute, we conduct interdisciplinary basic and applied research in humanities and social sciences and offer doctoral education in interdisciplinary border studies. We work in close collaboration with various research areas of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. Our thematic research areas are: Regional development and rural studies, Ethnicity and culture, and Borders and Russia. The Karelia Institute was founded in 1971, and it currently employs around 70 experts.

The University of Eastern Finland (UEF) is the most multidisciplinary university in Finland. Our university employs approximately 3,200 employees, and our community includes approximately 17,000 degree students and 16,000 adult education students. Our campuses are located in Joensuu and Kuopio. We represent the world’s cutting edge of research in many fields and produce research-based knowledge, which is made openly available to benefit everyone. Learn more about our university at www.uef.fi/en. Read also about UEF as a working community and employer and the career stories of our employees.

Työsopimuksen voimassaolo: määräaikainen työsopimus | Työsuhteen luonne: kokoaikainen | Paikkojen lukumäärä: 1 | Työllisyysaste: 100 | Paikkakunta: Joensuu | Maakunta: Pohjois-Karjala | Maa: Finland | Ilmoitusnumero: 691/01.01.03/2026 | Julkaistu: 2026-05-19 | Haku päättyy: 2026-06-30