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 Education, Arts and Sports has four departments with staff in Bergen, Sogndal and Stord. This Faculty is one of the largest teachers training institutions in the country with around 6200 students and a staff of 550, offering kindergarten teacher training, primary and secondary school teacher training for Classes 1-7 and 5-10, practical pedagogical education and Bachelor’s, Master's and PhD programmes.
The faculty will offer an extensive programme of continuing and further education. Research activities at the Faculty are organised into research programmes and research groups.
The Department of Sport, Diet and Natural Sciences has approximately 110 employees in Sogndal, Bergen and Stord. Disciplines in the department are sports, physical education, fitness, public health, outdoor life, science and food & health.
The department is also responsible for the follow-up of the National Centre for Food, Health and Physical Activity. The department is responsible for several education programmes at bachelor level in the areas of sport, physical education, outdoor life and public health. There are also master degree programmes in sports science and physical activity and diet in a school environment. The department also provides teaching in its disciplines at all levels in kindergarten teacher education, practical-pedagogical education and at the primary and lower secondary school teacher training programmes, and also contributes to the faculty’s PhD programme Bildung and Pedagogical Practices.
Staff at the department are involved in research and development work that is relevant to the activities at the faculty and they are active in academic networks both nationally and internationally. The department is also an important player regional and national by contributing to further education and competence development in schools, kindergartens, sport, outdoor life, the health and fitness industry, etc.
The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) are advertising a vacancy for the permanent position of Professor of Friluftsliv / Outdoor Studies with the Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports.
The position will be with the Department of Sport, Food and Natural Sciences at the Sogndal campus.
Responsibilities and duties:
The position consists of the following responsibilities and duties:
Research and development work that has clear relevance to the position’s profile. The Faculty has 5 strategic research programmes (Art, Creativities and Cultural Practices Languages, Communication and Learning; Practice, Professionalism and Policy in Educational Research; Sustainability, Participation and Diversity; and Sport, Physical Activity and Food) and the employee is expected to contribute to research within one or more of these programmes.
Teach, direct and develop student-active forms of learning in line with the requirements set out in the Academic Supervision Regulations. These duties will correspond to the bachelor’s, master’s and PhD programmes as well as within the university’s continuing and further education in general, and specifically within the sports and friluftsliv programmes and teacher training programmes.
Institutional development work included; directing employees, subject-specific administrative duties, institutionalisation and cooperation with external partners.
Lead and participate in the development of research projects and prepare applications for external funding alongside colleagues within the academic community.
The successful applicant must have a Ph.D. degree in a relevant subject area and professorial competence in Friluftsliv / Outdoor Studies, and demonstrated (published and practical) competence in Friluftsliv, outdoor- and/or adventure-leisure, education or recreation. A special competence in one or more of these areas are required; aspects of how nature influence our behaviors, ways of engaging in outdoor space, experimental learning, sustainable outdoor practice, friluftsliv from an outdoor recreation and commercial perspective, slow adventure, sociological and philosophical approaches.
Applicants must have special competence within philosophy of science and/or qualitative research methods generally.
Educational competence is a requirement for the position.
Personal characteristics:
The person hired by the Department must have good team-working and communication skills, and must also be able to work independently, take their own initiative and be flexible.
A strong understanding of ethics is required when interacting with students.
The person hired by the Department must be personally suitable for the position.
Language requirements:
The language of instruction will be in standard Norwegian, and applicants who are not proficient in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language must agree to complete a language course in Norwegian within two years of starting the position.
Must be proficient in both oral and written English.
The following will be considered positively in the assessment:
Experience in initiating and leading research and development work, including experience in procuring external funding.
Relevant national and international research network.
Experience in PhD guidance and advising colleagues.
Relevant higher education experience.
Relevant candidates will be called in for an interview and trial lecture.
Educational competence:
Applicants who do not meet the requirements upon appointment in the role must fulfil them within two years. HVL offers courses in college pedagogy.
Applications for academic positions are assessed by an expert committee. The assessment will be based on the applicant’s documented skills, a review of their work and where their work has been published and up to 5 academic pieces of writing that must be attached to the application as full text. The appointment body functions as the appointment committee for the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.
How to apply for the position?
Submit your application and CV by clicking on the “Apply for position” button on this page.
You should be aware that applications will be assessed based on the information entered into www.jobbnorge.no before the application deadline. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all relevant attachments have been added to the application; pedagogical portfolio and CV, academic publications (up to 5. texts), a full list of publications, certificates and diplomas. If diplomas, grade transcripts or other documentation are not in a Scandinavian language or English, the applicant must upload certified translations. If the attachments exceed 25 MB, they must be compressed before they are uploaded or must be included as a link.
The applications must be sent electronically to the expert committee. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the relevant applicants will be called in for an interview and trial lecture.
Applications must not be submitted by e-mail to individuals at the University
We offer the following:
Good pension, insurance and loan schemes with the Norwegian Public Pension Fund.
An exciting professional environment with the opportunity to enhance one’s own competence and development.
Opportunities to exercise during working hours
The position of professor is paid according to the Government’s salary regulations, under the position code 1013 - professor.
A 2% contribution will be deducted from the salary and paid to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
General information:
Please note that, according to the Freedom of Information Act, information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has requested that they do not appear on the list of applicants. The applicant will be warned if this request cannot be fulfilled.
The public sector workforce shall reflect the diversity of Norway’s population as far as is possible. Thus, one of our personnel policy objectives is to achieve a balance in the composition of our workforce regarding age and gender, those with a minority background, and those with a physical disability, or to keep a CV.
The contact person for the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is:
Assistant Head of the Department, Ane Solbraa, phone: +4757676081 / 90953275, Email: ane.solbraa@hvl.no
