Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

With about 16,000 students, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest higher education institutions in Norway. A broad range of academic programmes are offered at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels, spread out on five campuses Førde, Sogndal, Bergen, Stord og Haugesund.

Our ambition is to build stronger and more solid academic and research environments that will interact nationally and internationally. The aim is to become a recognized actor on the international higher education arena. Increased international cooperation and engagement in externally funded projects will work towards this goal.

The Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences (FØS) has three departments: the Department of Business Administration, the Department of Maritime Studies and the Department of Social Sciences. The academic staff at the faculty has about 140 employees, in total, there are about 2300 students on the three campuses: Bergen, Haugesund and Sogndal.

The faculty currently has eleven bachelor's programs and four master's programs. The faculty has a doctoral program in nautical operations which is a joint degree with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Norwegian Arctic University (UiT) and the University of Southeast Norway (USN). FØS is also the host faculty for the doctoral program "Responsible Innovation and Regional Development" (RESINNREG) in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences.

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences has a vacancy as Postdoctoral Research Fellow

The position is a temporary 2- years full- time position and is located to Campus Bergen.

About the position:

The postdoc candidate will work closely to HVL’s newest PhD program in Responsible Innovation and Regional Development - RESINNREG. The program highlights innovation in an applied and reflexive perspective and educates candidates who have both a theoretical and a practical approach to innovation. RESINNREG encompasses the research fields of Responsible Industry Innovation, Public Sector Innovation and Green Innovation, and represents a broad understanding of responsible innovation, drawing upon a diverse foundation of literature. The programme encourages critical reflections of the normative dimensions of the role of researchers engaged in innovation processes. 30 candidates have now been admitted to the programme. The candidates have backgrounds in various academic disciplines at three faculties, namely: The Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FIN), the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHS), and the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences (FØS).

Socially inclusive innovation & transition is a topic addressed across all pillars of RESINNREG, but is a main focus in the RESINNREG pillar of public innovation. Social and public innovation are both broad concepts, embracing several dimensions such as gender, age, ethnicity, disability inclusion, distribution of benefits, social inequality, as well as sustainable development. While the concepts especially target the social and public responsibility, still it involves both the public and private sector, and not at least the civil society. There is a growing attention in the public discourse about the need for a stronger focus on innovation in the public sector, e.g. in the governance and organisation of public sector and in the production of public services. As a result, the research fields of public innovation, social innovation and social entrepreneurship have gradually developed the last two decades, and becoming a diverse field of multiple disciplines. Within this discourse and research, concepts such as ‘co-creation’, ‘co-production’ and ‘public value’ has been established as prominent approaches for collaboration projects in EU and other funding programs to support the inclusion of diverse groups of stakeholders. Social transformation, especially in the forms of civic engagement and collaboration between public and voluntary sector, are central topics in the emerging research on public and social innovation. In addition, studies of innovation that are concerned with challenges, lack of outcome, or potential ‘dark sides’ of innovation in the knowledge economy, are research questions of interest in this postdoc position. Investigations of dilemmas, potential negative-, or the lack of, outcome of innovation in the public sector, e.g. concerning institutional factors such as economic budget, legal restrictions, or the effect of a political management model, are topics in need of more research.

For more information on the research pillars in the RESINNREG PhD programme, check here.

About the PhD project/ work tasks:

The postdoc position will be located at HVLs Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, and the project is academically anchored in social sciences. However, the call invites various academic disciplines that are linked to the social sciences, as well as multidisciplinary projects. The position requires presence and social connection to campus Bergen.

Tasks

• Contribute to develop the RESINNREG pillar on research in public innovation
• Publication and dissemination
• Contribute to research groups and in developing research applications
• Support the PhD programme

Qualifications:

• PhD graduate
• Academic background in social sciences, or other academic background with an interdisciplinary link to social sciences
• Experience and competence within the field of research: public and/or social innovation

Preferred qualifications

• Experience in research on civic engagement and social inclusion
• Good skills, and ambitions for, publication and dissemination
• Experience on working with research applications
• Experience in teaching and supervision

Personal qualities

• Good social skills
• Engagement and positivity
• Are able to collaborate with students and staff
• Ability to obtain goals

Application procedure:

Applications will be evaluated by an expert panel of three members.

Applicants are asked to submit their application and CV online. Please use the link “Apply for this job” (“Søk stillingen”).

The following documentation should be uploaded as an attachment to the online application:

• PhD Thesis
• Copies of selected academic publications (no more than 15)
• A CV with a complete list of academic publications
• Diplomas and certificates
• 2 references (preferable a leader and one colleague of yours)

Applicants should indicate which publications or parts of publications should be given special consideration in the evaluation. If the documents submitted are not in a Scandinavian language or in English, the applicants must submit certified translations of these. The transcripts must specify the topics, the course works, and the grades at the bachelor`s and master`s degree levels.

Applicant whose education is from another country than Norway, need to also attach a certified translation of the diploma and transcript of grades to English or a Scandinavian language, if the original is not in any of these languages. It is required that the applicant enclose a review from NOKUT whether the education (bachelor and master’s degree) is of a scope and level that corresponds to the level of a Norwegian master’s degree. Please see www.nokut.no/en for more information about NOKUT’s general recognition. This may take some time and we recommend you to apply as soon as you know you will apply for this position. If no answer within the application deadline, please enclose documentation from NOKUT that they have received your application.

Applicants should note that the evaluation will be based on the documentation submitted electronically via Jobbnorge within the submission deadline. The applicants are responsible for ensuring that all the documentation is submitted before the closing date. It is of utmost importance that all publications to be considered in the evaluation are uploaded as an attachment with the application, since these are sent electronically to the expert panel. Applications cannot be sent by e-mail or to individuals at the college.

Salary:

• Good occupational pension, insurance and loan schemes from The Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Exciting academic environment with the possibility of competence enhancement and development
• Opportunities for training within the working hours

Initial salaries will be offered at grade 59 (code 1352) in the Civil Service pay grade table scale.

There is a compulsory 2 % deduction to the pension fund (see http://www.spk.no for more information). The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any time.

General information:

The appointment will be made in accordance with the regulations for State employees Law in Norway ("Lov om statens ansatte)". Organizational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities associated with the position must be expected.

State employment shall reflect the multiplicity of the population at large to the highest possible degree. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Bergen has therefore adopted a personnel policy objective to ensure that we achieve a balanced age and gender composition and the recruitment of persons of various ethnic backgrounds.

Information about the applicant may be made public even though the applicant has requested not to be named in the list of applicants. The applicant will be notified if his/her request is not respected.

Short-listed applicants will be called in for an interview.

Employed on condition that you are granted a work and residence permit (must be considered individually).

Contacts:

1) Professor Jill Loga, Phone: 55 58 75 03

2) Assistant Head of Department, Kristin Lofthus Hope, Phone 55 58 71 87

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