Tallinn University

Call for Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellows

Call for Applications: Marie Sklodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellow Workshop at Tallinn University

Join our team as a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow!

Tallinn University invites outstanding researchers to apply for a fully funded grant-writing workshop designed to help secure the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship. This exclusive opportunity, hosted by the School of Governance, Law and Society (SOGOLAS), is tailored for scholars in International Relations (IR) and Comparative Politics (CP). Join us in the vibrant and intellectually stimulating environment of Tallinn University, where innovation and academic excellence converge in the heart of Estonia.

Workshop Details:
  • Dates: June 9-13, 2025
  • Location: Tallinn University, Estonia (address: Tallinn, Narva mnt 25, 10125)
  • Funding: Fully funded, including transportation costs (up to a certain amount), accommodation, food during workshops, and tuition fees.
Why Join Tallinn University?

Tallinn University is a dynamic and forward-thinking institution known for its cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary approach. By participating in this workshop, you will:

  • Gain invaluable insights from experienced scholars and grant-writing experts.

  • Work in a supportive and collaborative research community.

  • Develop a competitive MSCA application with expert guidance.

  • Benefit from long-term mentoring and networking opportunities.

Eligibility and Requirements:
  1. Hold a PhD and have at most 8 years of full-time research experience by the time of the application. The full-time research experience includes the period of doctoral studies.
  2. Be committed to applying for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship with Tallinn University's School of Governance, Law and Society (SOGOLAS) as the host institution.
  3. Candidates should focus on the fields of International Relations or Comparative Politics.
Application Materials:

  • Motivation Letter (1 page): Describe your background, career plans, and why you wish to apply for the MSCA at Tallinn University.

  • Research Statement:

    • For IR track: Max. 3 pages (excluding references) outlining your proposed project and its relevance to the supervisor’s expertise.

    • For CP track: Max. 2 pages (excluding references) outlining your proposed project and its relevance to the supervisor’s expertise.

  • Detailed CV, including a list of publications.

Application Timeline:
  • Application Opens: February 10th, 2025
  • Application Closes: March 21st, 2025
  • Notification to Candidates: April 18th, 2025
Workshop Highlights:
  • Intensive writing sessions and workshops led by senior academics with extensive grant-writing experience.
  • Review and analysis of past successful MSCA applications.
  • A collaborative environment to refine and perfect your application.
  • Post-workshop supervision and guidance.

Under the IR track candidates will benefit from the newly launched CEEShub project´s wider network, including mentoring and workshop presentations by Dr Elise Feron and Prof Maria Mälksoo. 

Selection Process: 

The selection process will be a collaborative effort between supervisors and research advisers at Tallinn University. Selected candidates will be notified by April 18th, 2025, and will thereafter engage in joint preparation of their MSCA PF applications with their assigned supervisors, along with participating in the training workshop.

How to Apply: 

Candidates must submit their motivation letter, research statement, and CV by the application deadline - Friday, March 21st, 2025 (midnight Eastern European Standard Time) - to tonicerk@tlu.ee.

We look forward to receiving your applications and welcoming you to Tallinn University for an enriching and productive workshop.

Important Information:

In addition to being eligible for MSCA, applicants who submit their proposal with Tallinn University and pass the 70% threshold in the evaluation will qualify to have their projects funded through the incoming postdoctoral grants of the Estonian Research Council.

For any further questions, please contact Toni Čerkez: tonicerk@tlu.ee.

Supervisors for the IR track

 

 

Birgit Poopuu (she/her) is Associate Professor of International Relations and co-director of the Central and Eastern European Security Hub (CEEShub) at Tallinn University’s School of Governance, Law, and Society. She is currently the Principal Investigator of European Horizon Twinning grant “A critical relational perspective on peace & security in CEE”. Her main research interests include politics of knowledge production in global politics, critical approaches to security and peace and conflict studies, and critical theoretical perspectives in International Relations. She is the author of The European Union’s Brand of Peacebuilding: Acting is Everything (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), and the co-editor of Knowledge and Expertise in International Relations: A Handbook (OUP, 2025). Her work is published in International Studies Quarterly, International Feminist Journal of Politics, Political Anthropological Research on International Social Sciences (PARISS), and in the Companion to Peace and Conflict Fieldwork (Palgrave Macmillan Cham, 2020).

Supervision topics: feminist and decolonial peace and conflict studies, Syrian revolution, critical (esp. feminist and de-colonial) security theory, relational theorizing in IR, politics of knowledge production in global politics. Full CV.

Benjamin Klasche is a lecturer in politics and international relations at Tallinn University. He is also Co-Director of the Central and Eastern European Security Hub and Senior Researcher at the European Horizon Twinning Project called “A critical relational perspective on peace & security in CEE.” An International Relations scholar at heart, his research also draws from Public Administration and Sociology. His research interests are IR and social theory, particularly relationalism and critical theories, climate change, and peace. His book, A Relational Approach to Governing Wicked Problems (Palgrave MacMillan 2023), co-authored with Peeter Selg and Georg Sootla, argues for a need to rethink governance as a process from the relational point of view to spur its potential for addressing these problems. His work is published in International Studies Quarterly, International Relations, International Review of Sociology and International Studies. 

Supervision topics: governance of wicked problems, the Anthropocene, relational theory, critical security studies (esp. relational, feminist and de-colonial), relational methods in social sciences, de-colonial knowledges, EU migration studies and governance. Full CV.

Supervisor for the CP track

Mari-Liis Jakobson's research interests are primarily linked to populism, migratory multinationals and political communication. Since 2023, he has been leading a research project on a start-up grant project funded by the Estonian Research Agency, "Poison the mainstream but remain radical: strategies for the selective involvement of populist right-wing radical parties" (www.sidestream.ee). She has published in International Migration, European Political Science, the Journal of Political Ideologies, Contemporary Politics and Comparative Migration Studies. Mari-Liis curates the Master's program in Political Science and teaches mainly courses on political communication and democracy (including populism), but also contributes to courses in migration and integration policies and qualitative research methods.

Supervision topics: electoral realignments, populism and radicalization, far right and fringe parties, immigrant and emigrant political participation, radicalization among migrant voters and the political inclusion of migrant voters. Full CV.