Research professor - open to all scientific fields (Open BOFZAP)

European Commission; Belgique; Sur place; EUR 60 000 - 90 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A leading university in Belgium seeks a research professor to develop an international research programme and contribute to teaching. The role requires a doctoral degree, strong research profile, and the ability to supervise students. The position offers full-time employment with a starting grant to facilitate research.

Prestations

Starting grant of €110,000

Support for immigration and administration

Language training provided

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree relevant to the specified field.
• At least three years of research experience.
• Strong research profile with international publications.

Responsabilités

• Develop and lead an international, competitive research programme.
• Supervise master students, PhD students, and postdocs.
• Acquire competitive research funding.

Connaissances

Research Integrity

Teamwork

Leadership

Organizational Skills

Formation

Doctoral Degree

Description du poste

Organisation/Company KU Leuven Research Field Engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Belgium Application Deadline 2 Sep 2025 - 00:00 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 38 hours/week Offer Starting Date 1 Sep 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number BZI-2025-21 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Research

It is part of the assignment of the appointed candidate to develop, within the specified domain, an international, competitive research programme, to pursue excellent scientific results at an international level and to support and promote national and international research partnerships. The candidate must meet a strong research profile or have the potential to do so. In addition, the candidate is expected to have a multidisciplinary attitude and a willingness to cooperate intensively with other researchers and research units at KU Leuven.

The candidate:

• Is an excellent, internationally oriented researcher and develops a research programme at the forefront in the specified field.
• Strengthens existing research lines and brings complementary and/or additionally new expertise by working closely with the members of the research unit.
• Publishes at the highest scientific level appropriate to the specific domain, e.g.articles in various leading international journals in the domain and/or broader international top journals, monographs in leading series, conference proceedings, ....
• Develops an own research group.
• Supervises master students, PhD students and postdocs at a high international level.
• Aims to acquire competitive research funding from national and/or international agencies and submits research project proposals for this purpose.
• Establishes both within KU Leuven, national and international partnerships in the context of the research programme.
• Strives for excellence in research and provides a contribution to the international research reputation of the host entity, the involved faculty or department and the KU Leuven.
• Has a pronounced interest in fundamental research, but also pays attention to the valorization and applications of the research.

Teaching

The candidate also has the necessary didactic qualities for teaching assignments at the university. Although the position regards a research professorship at the start of employment, the candidate is expected to gradually contribute to state of the art teaching.In the first 10 years, the teaching assignment will be limited. The candidate must be prepared to take on additional teaching tasks after the 10-year BOFZAP period.

The provided education must meet the requirements set for academic education in terms of level, orientation, and academic content, and is research-based and research-oriented. The teaching must be in line with the educational concept of KU Leuven and any partner institutions involved. We expect commitment to the quality of the program as a whole.

Service

Scientific, societal and internal services (administrative and/or institutional) are also part of the assignment.

• We offer full-time employment in an intellectually challenging environment. KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our university is highly inter-and multidisciplinary focused and strives for international excellence. In this regard, we actively collaborate with research partners in Belgium and abroad. We provide our students with an academic education that is based on high-quality scientific research.
• The selection takes into account the university's global research and education policy.The number of vacant positions depends on the available budget.
• Depending on your qualifications and academic experience, you will be appointed to or tenured in one of the grades of the senior academic staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor. In principle, researchers who have a relative short research experience are basically appointed, without excluding a higher academic position, asassistant professorin a Tenure Track for a period of 5 years . After this period and a positive evaluation, you are permanently appointed as an associate professor.
• You will work in Leuven, a historic and dynamic and vibrant city located in the heart of Belgium, within twenty minutes from Brussels, the capital of the European Union, and less than two hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.
• KU Leuven is well set to welcome foreign professors and their family and provides practical support with regard to immigration and administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching, &
• In order to facilitate scientific onboarding and accelerate research in the first phase a starting grant of 110.000 euro is offered to new professors, if they are eligible according to the criteria set by KU Leuven.

Eligibility criteria

• You have a doctoral degree relevant to the specified field and you have at least three full years of research experience at the start of the mandate as a research professor, which means that the doctorate was obtained before 1 September 2023. If you have recently obtained your PhD, it is important that you support your research and growth potential with academic references.
  
• Upon application, you have no more than a 20% ZAP appointment at KU Leuven.
• You have an strong research profile in the field and an indisputable research integrity.
• Depending on the stage in the research career, you have achieved a high international level in your field and/or demonstrate a very high research potential, which is illustrated by, among other things, your internationally recognized scientific publications. International research experience is considered as an important advantage.
• You must show a strong commitment to teamwork in order to develop a research strategy together with their colleagues.
• You have demonstrable qualities related to academic education. Teaching experience is a plus.
• You possess organizational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You also have leadership skills within a university context.
• Your spoken and written English is excellent. The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in administrative meetings. Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch resp. English to the required standard.
• You have consulted with an academic contact at KU Leuven, and there is commitment for embedding in the research unit and financial scope. This confirmation is added to your application via a signed attachment, without which your application is not valid. See under 'More information' the explanation of this on 'Full application and selection procedure Research Professorship (BOFZAP)' and the link to the template of the attachment 'Host letter'.

Selection process

Before you start your application, read the full decription of the procedure and important information about attachments and templates at 'Full application and selection procedure Research Professorships (BOFZAP)' under 'More information'.For more information please contact Mrs. Martine van Nierop, tel.: [phone], mail: [e-mail] or Mrs. Kristin Vermeylen, tel.: [phone], mail: [e-mail] .
You can apply for this job no later than 02/09/2025 via the online application tool