The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) is an internationally leading, specialised university within the disciplines of design, architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism. AHO offers a unique research-based education of international standing. Established in 1945, today it has built a solid national funding base and is prominently ranked internationally. AHO awards three master’s degrees in architecture, landscape architecture and design; a PhD programme; and an executive master’s programme. AHO offers master’s degree programmes that are designed to best equip the student to enter directly into professional practice or academia. Within the master’s programmes, students may specialise in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism, industrial design, interaction design, service or systems-oriented design (SOD). In its education, the school follows a studio-based model with a low faculty-to-student ratio that encourages individual development and collaboration. The school has approximately 800 students and 160 employees.
The Institute of Design at AHO is one of the leading Nordic design institutions. The Institute of Design is responsible for AHO’s 5-year integrated master’s programme in design and has a broad portfolio of research projects that connect across disciplines and domains. The institute takes a broad, holistic approach to design that emphasises the relevance and importance of design within contemporary society. Our perspective is that good design creates aesthetic and functional products, services and experiences that delight and improve the lives of people and contribute to a sustainable future. The institute develops research and teaching within and across the fields of industrial design, interaction design, service design and SOD.
The Institute of Design collaborates closely with industry, the public sector and governance and is an important actor in research and innovation projects. The institute has an extensive international and national network across industry and academia covering both the growing digital sector as well as established areas such as healthcare, maritime industry, future studies and innovation, and systemic development in the public and private sector. AHO’s design alumni can be found in leading design studios and consultancies, tech companies, industry, research and innovation, and policy and governance. The Institute of Design is internationally recognised and highly ranked; projects from the institute are frequently represented in national and international design awards.
The Institute of Design is undergoing a unique and exciting transition developing new curricula and research and hiring new staff. During this process, it is central for us that we develop and maintain an institute with a diverse and balanced mix of genders, ages and social and cultural backgrounds, and we welcome and encourage applications that contribute to this. AHO is eager to support career development.
About the position
The Institute of design has a broad holistic approach to design across Industrial, Interaction and Service Design where Systems oriented design (SOD) has an overarching function, connecting the disciplines and providing methods and approaches to handle complexity within key areas such as sustainability. The Institute of Design at AHO has been a pioneer in the establishment of SOD under the leadership of Professor Birger Sevaldson, since 2007. We are looking for a Professor/Associate professor to lead us into the future while maintaining and growing our strong national and international position both in teaching and research within design.
This position will be a 100% permanent position at the Institute of Design, with a focus on Systems Oriented Design. SOD is a design methodology and practice that is especially geared towards understanding and working with complex systems. SOD is positioned in the larger field of systemic design. What distinguishes SOD from Systemic Design is that it is rooted in design practice. This methodology helps us to create a holistic overview of complex problems and to coordinate valuable insight from different stakeholders. This knowledge forms the basis for the creation of innovative interventions, ideas and good designs that fit into a larger context. We teach and research SOD to enable students and researchers to design products, services and interventions that improve humanity’s ability to move towards a desired future.
SOD is an integral part of the 5-year master’s programme in design and of the institute’s research portfolio as well as an executive Master in SOD. AHO has been at the forefront of developing curriculum, research and innovation within areas such as the maritime industry, democracy, digital cities and societies, future studies, tangible interactions, healthcare and technology.
We are looking for a highly motivated person who wants to be a part of our team as a full-time, permanent professor/associate professor. We are looking for a person with a broad profile and experience from a range of design projects, preferably commercial, public and/or artistic/experimental. The person should have extensive generalist competency as a designer as well as both theoretical knowledge and experience from creative exploration of systems thinking and systemic design. A broader design background is essential.
This position will be responsible for teaching and developing courses for master’s and undergraduate students. Experience in practice-led and studio-based teaching in a design school will be prioritised. The person in this position will also be expected to lead and contribute to practice-based research and innovation projects at the institute and/or develop new projects.
Responsibilities
Develop curricula and teach studio-based undergraduate, master’s and executive master’s courses
Lead and develop practice-based research, innovation and dissemination projects
Develop collaborations and networks with external partners
Develop ambitious, high-quality teaching as well as research and development projects
Communicate and disseminate the outcomes of teaching, research and development projects for relevant national and international arenas
Administrative work
Qualifications
PhD in design, or equivalent
Extensive experience with developing design projects in professional settings
Extensive practice with, and a high level of knowledge in, systemic design
Extensive and deep knowledge of design theory and systems theory
Experience in design-led pedagogy, teaching or other communication work
Experience with applying, running and administrating externally financed research projects
Excellent written and spoken English required; fluency in a Scandinavian language strongly recommended
The position will require residency in the Oslo area.
Personal skills
Excellent pedagogic skills and related experience
Outstanding collaboration and communication skills
Innovative, proactive and solution-oriented perspectives and approaches
The ability to engage students and colleagues
Ability to support and flourish in an ambitious atmosphere with periods of high work intensity
In sum, we will weigh personal suitability for the position on the above criteria.
We offer
An outstanding stimulating and international professional research and teaching environment
Government pay scale depending on qualification (position code 1013 Professor or 1011 Associate Professor)
Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (monthly deduction of 2% of gross salary required as a contribution to the fund)
Standard terms applicable for the position
In light of our personnel policy aiming at a working staff that reflects the composition of the population in general, in terms of gender and cultural diversity, women and persons with a minority background are particularly encouraged to apply for the position. AHO is eager to support career development.
Application
As the application is to be assessed by an expert committee, applicants are asked to submit a documented, extensive overview of their design practice, teaching and all other activities of relevance to the position § 1-4.
The application must include:
A cover letter stating the applicant’s motivation for the position, a summary of teaching experience, future ambitions for research and pedagogical development and a reflection on the applicant’s pedagogical approach
A curriculum vitae
A list of design practice/teaching experience, publications and other qualifying works in the application portfolio that demonstrate a range of professional practice and projects that are relevant to the position (can be online)
Certificates/diplomas
A list of two to three references
The applicant is responsible for documenting all aspects of his/her competence in the application. Applications with attachments must be submitted via our online recruitment system jobbnorge.no. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.
At AHO, the position of professor/associate professor is typically divided into three main components: teaching, research and development, and administrative tasks. The balance between the components will be agreed upon in the contract.
The application deadline is March 26 2023.
Contact information
Questions can be directed to Head of Institute Steinar Killi, email: Steinar.killi@aho.no, phone: +47 901 08 728 or Chair of SOD Andreas Wettre, email: andreas.wettre@aho.no, phone: +47 900 21 072.
General information about AHO can be found at www.aho.no.
