Ledig stilling ved UiT Norges arktiske universitet
Professor / Associate Professor in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism
Deadline: 11.05.2020
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 Humanities, Social Sciences and Education
The position
One permanent position as Full Professor or Associate Professor is available in the Department of Language and Culture at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT). The position is affiliated with the AcqVA Aurora Centre: The Dynamic Nature of Languages in the Mind. This new position is a key strategic hire within the expansion of research themes in the AcqVA Aurora Centre, specifically Theme Four Bilingualism and Neurocognition. The AcqVA Centre's funding period is 2020 - 2024.
Affiliation
The position is affiliated with the Department of Language and Culture (ISK), more specifically the AcqVA Aurora Center. The Department has 73 permanent employees, 10 adjunct professors, 13 postdoctoral researchers and approximately 25 PhD fellows. Additionally, the Department has approximately 35 temporary research and teaching positions. The Department’s core activities are research, teaching, and dissemination within linguistics, literature, art history, and media and documentation studies.
The Department has a very active and diverse research profile. It houses one of the world’s most excellent research communities in linguistics, with the AcqVA Aurora Centre on language acquisition and multilingualism as well as research groups within cognitive linguistics (CLEAR), Sami language technology (Giellatekno and Divvun), socio-linguistics (LAIDUA), and theoretical linguistics (CASTL-FISH). The Department’s research communities within literature, art history, and media and documentation studies are nationally highly competitive, and are organised into research groups such as «Health, Art and Society» (HAS), Russian Space (RSCPR), Libraries, archives, museums, in the community (LAMCOM), Arctic Voices in Art and Literature (ARCTIC VOICES), Just Literature (JUL), Interdisciplinary Phenomenology (IP) Worlding Northern Art (WONA) and Multilingual North, Diversity, Education and Revitalisation.
The Department offers one-year programmes, as well as full Bachelor and Master programmes in the following fields: General linguistics, literature, art history, media and documentation studies, English, Kven, Finnish, Norwegian, Russian, Sami, Spanish, and German. It also offers PhD programmes in linguistics, cultural/literary studies, art history, as well as media and documentation studies.
The AcqVA Aurora Centre currently consists of more than 30 active researchers, including seven professors/associate professors, a lab manager, seven researchers/postdoctoral fellows with an additional five MSCA postdoctoral researchers, four PhD students, and eight Professor II positions (20% adjunct professors), who are top, internationally recognized leaders in our field. The group members are involved in a number of research projects both locally and internationally, e.g. the MiMS and SALT projects financed by the Research Council of Norway, the MultiGender project funded by the Centre for Advanced Study, and the HeLPiNG project funded by the Tromsø Research Foundation. For further information about the group’s work and activities, see the website of AcqVA Aurora.
AcqVA Aurora is a UiT Aurora Centre, funded for the period 2020-2024. The highly competitive UiT Aurora Centre scheme provides funding to research groups that demonstrate excellence, in order to strengthen their capacity to be successful in the competition for larger external funding. AcqVA Aurora will add 10 outstanding researchers to the current team: Four postdoc/researcher positions, four Professor II positions, one lab manager and the advertized position as associate/full professor.
The advertised associate/full professorship is funded directly by the Aurora Centre grant through 2024.
The appointed position must have her/his daily workplace at the UiT in Tromsø.
The position’s field of research or work
Together with other key contributors working in this area, for example, Professor Jason Rothman, Adjunct Professors Jubin Abutalebi (Vita Salute San Raffaele) and Jon Andoni Duñabeitia (Nebrija) and a dedicated postdoctoral researcher for Theme Four, the new associate/full professor will play a key, formative role in defining the shape and scope of Bilingualism and Neurocognition research in the AcqVA Aurora Centre. The theme is primarily focused on investigating and understanding the cognitive and neurological outcomes of bilingual experience across the lifespan. We are, therefore, especially interested in applications from younger and more established researchers whose work explores determinants of bilingual competence and language use (across different types of bilinguals) that relate to potential neurocognitive effects from childhood through older age, as well as various types of neurodegeneration. Researchers are encouraged to apply with active programs in understanding (the conditions relating to how, why and if bilingualism: (i) might result in neuroanatomical changes in the brain, (ii) relates to/results in cognitive and/or neural reserve, (iii) confers differential efficiency in task performance at the brain level, (iv) potentially affects executive control processes more generally, and/or (v) comes to bear on healthy ageing and neurodegeneration across the lifespan.
Expertise in neuroimaging is required; structural analyses, e.g. volumetric analyses such as VBM and analyses related to diffusion such as TBSS, task-related and/or resting state functional analyses and/or Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and related analyses. Knowledge and/or interest in EEG, especially ERP and neural oscillation analyses are also highly desirable. Training in or knowledge of linguistics/language science is also desirable. For the associate professor level, more junior scholars with a PhD in hand, an established record of publications in the relevant field as well as promise for external funding will be considered. For appointments at the professorial rank, a considerably higher level of scholarly, teaching and supervisory achievements are expected, commensurable with Regulations concerning appointment and promotion to teaching and research posts in Norway. Applicants with and without current permanent positions are welcome to apply, although we expect that anyone considered for the full professorship is likely to have been in a previous tenurable/tenured (or its equivalent) position where experience with teaching and supervision is also demonstrable (see below).
It is expected that the participant will participate in research group collaboration and professional networks nationally and internationally, as well as in disseminating research to a wider public. It is expected that the successful candidate/position holder is willing to develop grant applications (RCN/EU).
Contact
For further information about the AcqVA Aurora Centre or the current position, please consult the website and/or contact:
Head of Department of Language and Culture Linda Nesby, e-mail: linda.nesby@uit.no
Qualifications
A completed PhD in (Psycho/neuro-)linguistics, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Psychology or another relevant field.
Expertise in MRI research methods (in particular as described above), preferably related to bilingual populations.
High command/competence of statistical modelling and knowledge of relevant programs, programming and analyses suites.
Excellent command of spoken and written English.
A demonstrable track record of publications and funding, commensurable with rank and years since PhD was obtained.
Experience or potential for high-quality teaching and supervision.
Interest/experience working with bilingual populations.
Interest/experience working with ageing populations and/or neurodegeneration populations is desirable.
Background in linguistics or related fields is desirable.
Experience with other empirical methods such as offline behavioral experimentation, eye-tracking and/or EEG is desirable.
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.
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
The successful candidate for the advertised (associate) professorship must be able to teach in one or more of the programs offered by the Department of Language and Culture, e.g. courses in language acquisition, multilingualism, research methods, etc. During the first four years of appointment, teaching reduction will be negotiated (due to the Aurora Centre grant).
Applicants must provide a general contextualizing statement (3 pages maximum), indicating the rank they are applying for (associate or full professorship), how they meet the qualification requirements, their general vision for their personal research program (past, present and future) and how they see their background and experience fitting into AcqVA Aurora more generally, but especially Theme Four.
Please contact Professor Jason Rothman (PI, Theme Four) or Marit Westergaard (AcqVA Aurora Centre director) for access to the full research proposal and any questions you might have.
Personal suitability will be emphasised.
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
All applicants for teaching and research positions shall document their pedagogical competence.
You must have aquired basic competence for teaching and supervision at higher education level, which includes basic skills in planning, conducting, evaluating and developing teaching and supervision.
The pedagogical competence can be achieved in one of the following ways:a) Completed education or courses designed to provide teaching competence for teaching at universities and colleges, equivalent to a minimum of 200 hours
b) Practice as a teacher and supervisor in higher education, often combined with relevant courses and seminars. Experience with teaching and supervision in higher education corresponding to two years in a full-time position is required. For professor positions, experience with teaching and supervision in higher education corresponding to three years in a full-time position of 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. Before expiry of the two-year period, the assessment committee undertakes an assessment of whether the requirements have been satisfied.
UiT offers courses in educational competence to employees.
For a position as professor, the supplementary criteria for a professorial basic pedagogical competence must be met.
We offer
Some of the best conditions in the country concerning sabbatical terms
A stimulating working environment
Good welfare benefits
Good pension benefits under the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund Scheme
The remuneration for Professors is in accordance with State salary scale code 1013. The remuneration for Associate Professors is in accordance with State salary scale code 1011.
A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.
Application
The application must be submitted electronically via www.jobbnorge.no
The application must include:
General Letter of Application
Contextualizing statement/proposal (max 3 pages), see details above.
CV (containing a complete overview of education, supervised professional training and academic/professional work).
Diplomas and references (scanned copies of all degrees and a list of three to four references who can be contacted, inclusive of contact information).
Up to five items of published work or other professional writings for applicants wishing to be evaluated for a position at the level of associate professor; up to 15 items for applicants wishing to be evaluated for a full professorship.
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 for the position. Applicants who are considered to be the best qualified will be called in for an interview. The interview will, among other things, clarify personal fitness and motivation for the position. A trial lecture may also be required.
If there are no fully qualified applicants for the position, an interim appointment to qualify scientifically may be made for a period of three years. Application for permanent employment with a new assessment shall be applied for within the three year-period. The appointment will become permanent if you are found to be suitably qualified before the three-year period elapses.
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.
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.
As a norm, the time resources spent on administrative duties constitutes 5 % for academic staff.
The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.
A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. UiT will make the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability.
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.
