UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT is a multi-campus research university in Norway and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.

Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology / Department of Electrical Engineering

Professor/Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering at the Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy (ARC)

The position

A position as Professor/Associate Professor is available at the Department of Electronical Engineering. The position is connected to the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology (IVT-Fak) at UiT campus Narvik, Department of Electrical Engineering, Research group of Electromechanical Systems. The research activities of the group are aimed at power and energy systems, electronics and communication, as well as advanced control and (coordinated) position control of rotating systems. Further information about the research group could be found at this link.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) established in 2016 the Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy (ARC). This is an interdisciplinary centre focussing on Arctic challenges and conditions within renewable energy and greenhouse gas management. The centre combine expertise in physics, humanities, chemistry, social sciences, applied mathematics, marine biology, computer science and electrical engineering. The initiative permeate the university in its entirety and strengthen existing research activities at UiT within the scope of the centre.

The centre is a 110 MNOK initiative by UiT, which finance eight professors within renewable energy and greenhouse gas management. The applicant should value working in an interdisciplinary environment.

The centre’s main objectives are:

• interdisciplinary R&D excellence within renewable energy and CO2 management in order to create sustainable societies in the Arctic
• to create an internationally competitive and outstanding environment that is an attractive R&D partner for the commercial and public sectors
• to ensure that graduates receive high quality education and expertise within renewable energy and CO2 management that is relevant for the business and public sector in the north

The focus themes of the centre, seen in an arctic context, are ethical and responsible presumption of distributed renewable electricity, fuels and thermal energy, and an accountable management of greenhouse gases.

The workplace is at UiT in Narvik. You must be able to start in the position in Narvik within a reasonable time, within 6 months after receiving the offer.

The position’s field of research/work

The fundamental objective of ARC at UiT is to accelerate the essential transition of Norway from an oil dependent society to a sustainable society free of fossil fuels. ARC is tackling issues related to energy and the synergistic management of greenhouse gases. We encourage interdisciplinary cooperation and seek to combine existing technologies to create new solutions that can be harmoniously integrated into our society and environment. As an ARC professor/associate professor you will embrace this mission and you will be involved in research aimed at realizing sustainable living and the wellbeing of people.

Relevant work tasks might be:

• Further development of existing study programs and development of new study programs in the field of power systems and electrical engineering, develop offers for practical and continuing education within the field of pertinence and related to ARC
• Developing new and strengthening existing research networks in the field of electrical engineering both at the university and externally
• Initiate and provide funding for new research in the field, and write applications for the Norwegian Research Council and other research funding institutions as well as the industry
• Play a leading role in networking with the industry, locally and nationally, within the field of power systems.

Contact

Further information about the position is available by contacting:

• Associate Professor Trond Østrem,, Phone: +47 76966250 (office), e-mail: trond.ostrem@uit.no

Qualifications

The ideal candidate has a genuine desire to go a step beyond analysing problems as isolated cases and looks at putting the necessary ingredients together that can provide working solutions in terms of sustainability. In this respect, the energy problem is not seen as a purely technological issue but is also treated in its societal context. We are looking for a candidate with proven expertise in several of the following disciplines:

• Grid integration of renewable energy
• Power systems analysis
• Integration of energy storage (mobile and static)
• AC/DC energy conversion and control i.e. power electronics
• Smart grid and micro grid technologies

The applicant must:

• have professorial/associate professorial qualifications in Electrical Engineering with a focus on renewable energy grid integration, energy conversion and power system analysis and/or smart grids.
• document substantial qualifications within electrical power systems in general and the thematic areas in particular and refer to publications at international level.
• have relevant experience outside academia, experience of cooperation between industry and research environments, and experience of academic activities will be emphasized when evaluating applicants.
• have good communication skills, experience in teaching and research in power engineering in general and the specific topic in particular.

Applicants should have a good command of English. The applicant must be willing to learn Norwegian within minimum two years.

During the assessment, emphasis will be on your potential for research, motivation and personal suitability for the position.

Qualification requirements for the position as Professor:

• Academic level conforming to established international or national standards for position of Professor in the subject area concerned
• Documented pedagogical competence

In addition you must document:

• Development of the quality of one's own teaching and supervision over time, and
• Broad supervision experience, preferably at master's/PhD level, and
• Participation in the development of educational quality in academic communities

To be awarded a professorship, you must document substantially more extensive research of high quality than that required to be awarded a doctorate degree. You must document academic activity at a high level over the previous six years, and that this points forwards towards continued activity at professorial level.

In addition UiT assess applicants according to national guidelines for assessment of professorial competence, decided by the National Faculty Meeting for STEM-subjects. You can find the guidelines here.

Qualification requirements for the position as Associate Professor:

• Norwegian doctoral degree in subject area concerned or a corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognised as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree, or competence at a corresponding level documented by academic work of the same scope and quality
• Documented pedagogical competence

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

UiT wishes to increase the proportion of females in academic positions. In cases where two or more applicants are found to be approximately equally qualified, female applicants will be given priority.

Pedagogical competence (basic pedagogical competence)

All applicants for teaching and research positions shall document their pedagogical competence.

You must have acquired basic competence for teaching and supervision at higher education level. This includes basic skills in planning, conducting, evaluating and developing teaching and guidance.

Documentation requirement

a) Applicants who have completed education or courses designed to provide teaching competence for teaching at universities and colleges, equivalent to a minimum of 200 hours, must attach diploma and curriculum for the completed course.

b) Other applicants shall describe, assess and document their competence as a teacher and supervisor. The skills must be documented in the form of a teaching portfolio.

For professor positions, experience with teaching and supervision in higher education corresponding to three years in a full-time position is required.

For professor positions, the teaching competence can be developed and documented through a combination of courses and teaching portfolio. Applicants for professor positions shall also document that the supplementary criteria are satisfied:

• Description of and reflection over your work involving development of your teaching and supervision. This should be documented with specific examples that demonstrate development over time, as well as a description of and reflection over the process and result
• Description of experience with supervision at master's and PhD level. In addition to describing the scope of the supervision, you shall also summarize your supervision experience and point to possible development areas
• Description of and reflection over your own leadership, participation and role in development of the educational quality in the academic community

If the pedagogical competence can be acquired within two years of appointment, applicants shall not be ranked based on pedagogical competence.

Those who do not satisfy the requirements may be appointed on a permanent basis on the condition that they satisfy the requirements within two years of appointment.

We offer

• R&D sabbatical conditions which are considered some of the best in the country
• Good welfare arrangements for employees
• Good arrangements for pension, insurance and loans in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

Work and salary conditions

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole, and should lecture at Ph.D. and Master level and supervise Ph.D. and Master students.

The allocation of working hours is flexible and allocated on a case-by-case basis. In general, Professors/Associate Professors will spend an equal amount of time on teaching and research and development work after time spent on other duties has been deducted. As a norm, the time resources spent on administrative duties constitutes 5 % for academic staff.

The remuneration for Professor is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1013. The remuneration for Associate Professor is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1011. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University in Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment.

We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application.

If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it.

Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

Application

The application must include:

• Letter of application
• CV (containing a complete overview of education, supervised professional training and professional work) diplomas and references
• Two references with contact details
• Documented pedagogical competence
• List of works and description of these (see below). The list of works shall contain the following information: academic works:
  • author(s), the work’s title
  • for articles: the journal’s name and volume, the first and last page of the article, year of publication
  • for publications: publisher, printer, year of publication, number of pages
• The applicant may submit up to ten works that are central to his/her production. The applicant’s doctoral thesis is regarded in this context as one work.
  • In addition, the applicant shall provide a description of his/her production stating which works he/she considers the most important and which shall therefore be the main emphasis of the assessment. A brief description of the other listed works shall also be included to demonstrate depth of production. These descriptions shall be an attachment to the application.

Documentation has to be in English or a Scandinavian language. The application and submitted documents must be sent electronically via www.jobbnorge.no.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications on the basis of the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview shall among other things, aim to clarify the applicants personal suitability for the position and motivations. A trial lecture may also be held.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

More information about moving to Norway and working at UiT.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

In case of discrepancies between the Norwegian and the English version of this description, the Norwegian version takes precedence.

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