TAMPERE UNIVERSITY HOSTING AND COACHING GAMES AND GAMIFICATION MSCA-PF CANDIDATES

The professors of games and gamification research at Tampere University (TAU) welcome applicants to join and actively co-develop successful applications to the MSCA PF program.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA PF) provide funding opportunities for excellent researchers of any nationality and any research field. They aim to enhance the creative and innovative potential of a researcher wishing to acquire new skills through advanced training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility.

Tampere University conducts leading research in games and gamification with ten professors and one hundred researchers in different career stages. Games and gamification is one of the strategic focus areas of the University, and our research area Games as a Platform to Tackle Grand Challenges is the latest opening in the development. In this research area, we apply the frameworks, methods and tools of games and gamification research in solving the great global challenges, targeting e.g. climate change, sustainable business, social inequality and the role of artificial intelligence. With existing and new colleagues we can develop more engaging services, collect new essential data, create alternative and interactive futures and encourage people, communities and societies towards behavioral change. 

WHO CAN APPLY

Eligibility criteria (Horizon Europe MSCA PF):

• Applicant has a doctoral degree by the time of the call deadline (13.9.2023).
• The applicant must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Finland for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

Check here for more details.

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer a holistic program for supporting candidates in developing winning proposals through their Masterclass webinars and personal coaching by TAU Preaward team.

1) Applicants will prepare a competitive MSCA PF proposal together with their supervisors. The Profiling Area and TAU will offer thorough support during the proposal writing and application. 

Possible mentors for applicants in games and gamification research include the following professors: 

General (any topic)
• Professor Juho Hamari – juho.hamari@tuni.fi
[Video] [Google Scholar]

Culture
• Professor Frans Mäyrä – frans.mayra@tuni.fi
[Video] [Google Scholar]
• Professor Olli Sotamaa – olli.sotamaa@tuni.fi
[Video] [Google Scholar]

Education
• Professor Kristian Kiili – kristian.kiili@tuni.fi
[Video][Google Scholar]
• Assistant professor Muhterem Dindar – muhterem.dindar@tuni.fi
[Video][Google Scholar]

Management, business, economics
• Associate professor Henri Pirkkalainen – henri.pirkkalainen@tuni.fi
[Video] [Google Scholar]
• Assistant professor Nannan Xi – nannan.xi@tuni.fi
[Video][Google Scholar]

Technology and Design
• Associate Professor Johanna Virkki – johanna.virkki@tuni.fi
[Video][Google Scholar]
• Assistant professor Oğuz “Oz” Buruk – oguz.buruk@tuni.fi
[Video][Google Scholar]

Urban and Augmented spaces
• Assistant Professor Mattia Thibault – mattia.thibault@tuni.fi
[Video][Google Scholar]

2) The webinar course series called MSCA PF Masterclass 2023 will be organized for the sixth time during May-August 2023. All potential researchers applying for MSCA PF funding to TAU will be invited to the course. In addition, all the researchers at TAU applying for the Global or European Fellowship funding abroad are welcome to join the course. This Teams based Masterclass is highly recommended for all MSCA PF applicants. The aim of the Masterclass is to provide coaching on competitive proposal writing and developing the research idea together with the supervisor.

See Tampere University’s general information brochure here.

If successful, gross salary for a MSCA PF candidate will vary between 5300-5800 € per month depending on several factors (specified in the MSCA PF program and during the orientation period).

Tampere University is one of the most multidisciplinary universities in Finland. Almost all internationally recognised fields of study are represented at our university.

Tampere University was created in January 2019 by the merger of the University of Tampere and Tampere University of Technology. TAU is Finland’s second-largest university with 20.000 students and 330 professors. TAU is a partner in the ECIU University, one of the first 17 Erasmus+ European Universities alliances that will become the universities of the future, promoting European values and identity, and revolutionizing the quality and competitiveness of European higher education.

At the new University, technology and social sciences come together in a unique way. Our research groups and projects conduct multidisciplinary research across institutional boundaries.

HOW TO PROCEED

If you are interested in applying for a MSCA PF grant and work at Tampere University, please: 

1) Verify accurately that you fulfill all the programme eligibility criteria. 

2) Send an Expression of Interest as soon as possible (preferably no later than 15th of April), by email to:  preaward@tuni.fi, to the preferred supervisor as well as to the area coordinator; juhani.linna@tuni.fi with the following reference: “MSCA PF “firstname_lastname“. Please indicate your preferred supervisor(s).

You can also make inquiries by contacting the supervisors beforehand about the research group and possible research topics. 

The expression of Interest must be in PDF-format and consist of the following:

• CV
• Description of tentative research plan to be proposed to the MSCA PF program
• Declaration of eligibility

You will be informed whether you have matched with a supervisor for the MSCA PF 2023 call by the 30th of April. At that time you will also receive the schedule of the MSCA PF Masterclass 2023.

All applicants that match with a supervisor and fulfill the general eligibility criteria will be invited to our Teams-based Masterclass course by the 29th of April. The TAU MSCA PF Masterclass 2023 will help you prepare a competitive proposal and will be starting on the 10th of May from 14:00-15:00. 17.5.2023 14:00-15:30 (Finnish time).

TIMELINE

• Masterclass: May-June 2023

• Full research plan proposal submitted to European Union (tentative) deadline: 13 September 2023
  

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“Coaching is of paramount importance to any MSCA application. Writing my project at Tampere University was a unique experience that contributed to the application’s success. Professor, researchers and university staff have been helpful, encouraging and they patiently guided me through the whole process, answering immediately all my questions. With their great experience, they helped me to structure, strengthen and enrich my proposal, offering valuable advice from a practical and a methodological perspective. Last but not least, Gamification Group’s environment is an ideal place for a researcher, as it is friendly, inspirational, supportive and a source of great research opportunities.”

— Nikoletta Zampeta Legaki, Gamification Group member, MSCA-IF grantee with the project GANDALF. 

“Coaching is a fundamental asset for any MSCA application. While I was writing my project at Tampere University, researchers and staff have been invaluable advisors: inspiring me and helping strengthen my project both from a practical and methodological perspective. (…) At the Gamification Group I found a dynamic and supportive environment to develop ReClaim, a place full of stimulating discussions and great research opportunities.”

— Mattia Thibault, MSCA-IF grantee with the project ReClaim.

“Preparing my MSCA-IF application was an intense and gratifying experience. While I could focus on writing a research proposal that intersects topics that I am passionate about, having such collective support in this process boosted my application towards this fruitful outcome. For instance, Tampere University’s research services guidance allowed me to understand further what evaluators expect from the proposal and how to address these points through an online workshop and follow-up meetings. Meanwhile, Professor Hamari and Gamification Group researchers’ expertise also ensured the proposal’s quality by introducing different perspectives and providing valuable advice in methodological and practical aspects. Despite the pandemics, the provided support and the collaborative environment made the whole process so enjoyable that I cannot wait to start implementing GamInclusive.”

— Ana Klock, MSCA-IF grantee with the project GamInclusive.

 “I witnessed one of the best experiences as a supervisee while preparing my application for MSCA-IF. Together with my four colleagues from different parts of the world, we were guided by the research services of Tampere University in a 2-day grant-writing workshop followed by a pleasant dinner in Tampere. Still, the workshop was only the hands-on part of this longitudinal support as I had been continuously and rigorously supervised by Juho Hamari, supported by the experts in research services and also by the colleagues in Gamification Group. As a result of this process, GG now hosts three successful MSCA-IF grantees who will also be of help for future applicants.”

— Oğuz Turan Buruk, MSCA-IF grantee with the project WEARTUAL.

“The MSCA-IF process was one of the most professional and supportive experiences I’ve had the joy to encounter. The enthusiasm and coaching provided by the team at the Gamification Group and TAU’s research services team was sustained over a four-month period from the original workshop right through to the final submission. The coaching I received from my supervisor, Professor Juho Hamari was worth its weight in gold in terms of practical and methodological advice in shaping a compelling research proposal. And in my particular case, my project wasn’t successful in its first attempt, but the Gamification Group and TAU believed in me and the project, and supported me in resubmitting an improved proposal the following year – and here we are with a funded project.”

— Marigo Raftopoulos, MSCA-IF grantee with the project Augmented-Humans.