Declaration of interest – Industrial PhD fellow position to the project: The future of weight bearing standing frames

R82 and University of Southern Denmark invites applications from qualified candidates for a fully funded 3-year Industrial PhD fellow position in the field of weight bearing standing frames for children with disabilities. The starting date is spring 2022 (details will be arranged with the successful candidate).

The project has been granted funding from the Innovation Fund Denmark under the condition that a candidate who meets the grade requirements is approved by the foundation.

The company
R82 is a world-leading provider of innovative paediatric assistive medical devices adapted to the needs of the individual and the caregivers, providing support and promotion participation in daily activities. Since 2012, R82 has been owned by Etac. R82 is based in Gedved near Horsens, Denmark, where we develop and produce medical devices, such as wheelchairs, walkers, toilet chairs and standing frames for children with disabilities. The product solutions are sold through entities and distributors in Europe and abroad. Etac is headquartered in Sweden, with more than 900 employees worldwide. Read more about our company on www.etac.com.

Head of Education Helle Mätzke Rasmussen will take on the role as main company supervisor, while the Chief Technology Officer, Paediatrics Rasmus Theilmann will act as secondary company supervisor.

The Research Unit / University
The research project will be conducted at the Orthopaedic Research Unit, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and supervised by Professor Anders Holsgaard Larsen (AHL). The PhD fellow will be affiliated to the Orthopaedic Research Unit – a strong research environment focusing on translational research from exploratory and isolated findings to implementations in clinical practice. The research unit encompasses 10-15 PhD fellows with various health professional backgrounds, 4 Professors/associate professors, project nurses and a secretariat.

Read more about the research unit on https://www.SDU.dk/da/forskning/ortopaedkirurgisk.

About the PhD project
Children who are unable to stand without support due to delayed development or a health condition are often offered medical equipment in the form of a standing frame to compensate for that function. The research project "Future weight-bearing standing frames" will examine attitudes to and the importance of weight-bearing in standing frames and improve the quality of the healthcare interventions. The project will also be used to investigate how research can be used to ensure market access for future product solutions.

The current project proposal consists of the theoretical background for and description of three research projects which need to be further elaborated in a detailed PhD-project description.

The project will be carried out in a collaboration between the PhD fellow, R82 and the Orthopaedic Research Unit, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark (SDU). The PhD fellow is expected to divide the working hours between the company and the Research Unit.

About the Candidate
We are looking for a highly motivated, creative, and ambitious fellow with a good command of English (written and spoken), who can work well in a team as well as independently and quickly acquire knowledge in new topics.

The candidate should have a health-related professional background such as physiotherapist, occupational therapist, medicine, sports science or similar, holds a Master’s degree within health science and have solid experience with the use of assistive devices / medical equipment and preferably within paediatrics. The ideal candidate should have experience from the public healthcare sector and knowledge about the private sector. Also, the ideal candidate has prior research experience and is competent and motivated to acquire skills to conduct high-quality research and present and publish the outcome of the project at international conferences and in scientific journals.

Contact information
For further information or to make an appointment for phone call, please contact Head of Education Helle Mätzke Rasmussen [email protected] or Professor Anders Holsgaard Larsen [email protected].

Requirement and conditions of employment
The PhD fellow will be employed by R82 and enrolled at the PhD School in Health Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark. Employment will be conditioned by approval of the candidate by the Innovation Fund Denmark and the PhD School (see below).

• The Innovation Fund Denmark:
  The Candidate must have completed their master's degree with at least 10 in the thesis and either have at least 8.2 on average for bachelor and candidate combined or 9.5 for the candidate alone. Please see the specific requirements and calculation sheet below and section 2.3 in the guideline here.
• PhD School in Health Science:
  The Candidate must have a Master's degree or another relevant degree and good oral and written English language skills. In addition, enrolment as a PhD-student require external review of the elaborated PhD-description and scientific acceptance of the candidate’s qualifications, including documented prior research experience. Please see the specific requirements here.

Employment of a PhD fellow can only happen after the Innovation Fund has approved the candidate AND the PhD School has approved the candidate and project description for admission to the PhD school. Employment and enrolment will cease without further notice at the end of the period.

Applications must include:
We expect applicants to read the Faculty information about application and enrolment for PhD students and the detailed requirements as describes above.

• Motivated application that explains your interest and qualifications relevant to the PhD project as well as a description of how you fulfil the requirements from the Innovation Fund Denmark and the PhD School in Health Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark (max. 2 pages)
• Curriculum Vitae
• Copy of diplomas in the form of master's diplomas and transcripts (bachelor and master).
• Calculation sheet, Industrial PhD from the Innovation Fund Denmark, can be obtained here.

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link "Apply online".

Attached files must be in Adobe PDF or Word format. Each box can only contain a single file of max. 10 Mb.

Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated. This also applies to reference letters.

By agreement on the above between the applicant, the university supervisor and the company supervisor, a detailed project description and application for enrolment as a PhD student at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, is then prepared based on the application approved by the Innovation Fund Denmark.

Closing date 10 January 2022
Successful candidates will be asked to send an application to the PhD Secretariat, Faculty of Health Sciences, to be enrolled as PhD students.

The PhD programme will be carried out in accordance with Faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities (PhD order).

The terms of employment as a salaried PhD Research Fellow are stated in the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC).

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.