The Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences and Chemical Engineering at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), has a vacancy for a Research Fellow (PhD position) in Virtual Reality, Simulation and Serious Games for a period of 4 years.

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

On January 1st, 2017, Bergen University College, Sogn og Fjordane University College and Stord/Haugesund University College merged to form Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

With about 16,000 students, is one of the largest higher education institutions in Norway. A broad range of academic programmes are offered at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels.

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 PhD research fellow will be part of the PhD programme in Computer Science: Software Engineering, Sensor Networks and Engineering Computing (http://ict.hvl.no). The research programme in computer science currently includes 20 professors and associate professors, 25 PhD and post-doctoral research fellows, and a large number of master’s students.

About the PhD project

The PhD project will investigate how simulation technologies can complement live training and learning, in order to achieve necessary learning objectives in a clinical laboratory education. Interests in virtual reality and simulation technologies, serious games, human-computer interaction and commitment to develop useful tools for biology and health are appreciated.

We are looking for a PhD student interesting in designing, developing but also using virtual reality and serious games for training and learning. The focus will be on using simulation and serious games, at the first instance, but also on improving training with gamification elements based on already existing laboratory training. The aim is to understand the learning support needed for biomedical laboratory scientists in the view of new technical possibilities. This requires a theoretical understanding of the potential of simulation and serious games and basics from biomedicine. The results will contribute to suggesting innovative learning environments that can continuously adapt digital solutions and estimate their impact in education.

Research environment

The computer science research environment at HVL (http://ict.hvl.no) has a strong focus on use-inspired and applied research, and on ICT as an enabling technology. The research environment has cooperation with many national and international research groups, and with national and regional industry partners. The programme includes the research themes of software engineering, engineering computing, communication systems and sensor networks, grid computing and physics data analysis, machine learning, and interactive and collaborative systems.

The current PhD research fellow position is allocated to the activity in applying software engineering and simulation, serious games and gamification to support training and learning in biomedical laboratory science. The PhD research fellow will belong to the interdisciplinary research group Collaboration, Interaction and Graphics as well as the research project EduMedLab (focusing on improving quality through transformation of education, see further https://www.hvl.no/forsking/gruppe/education-for-medical-laboratories-edumedlab/). Supervisors for this position will be Ilona Heldal in collaboration with Gry Sjøholt and Elisabeth Ersvær. A scientific advisory group will also be allocated to the project.

Qualifications:

The PhD research fellow should have master's degree in system or software engineering, information and communication technologies. Candidates from other natural sciences or engineering disciplines holding a master's degree with a strong emphasis on computing may also qualify for admission to the programme. Such qualifications can be, for instance from health informatics, biotechnology or from closely related fields.

The master thesis have to be submitted before the application deadline. In this case it is required that the master's degree be awarded within 4 weeks after the applications deadline.

A background in human-computer interaction and interests in serious games development and/or communication and learning in health services will also be considered and advantage.

In addition to the required educational background, the following criteria will be evaluated:

• competence and grades on completed course work
• quality of the master's thesis (excellent grade, equivalent of grade B or better on the ECTS grading system)
• publications (if any)
• research and teaching experience
• practical software engineering skills and experience

A possible outline of a research plan for a potential PhD project will also be taken into account.

The candidate must be diligent and display the ability to work independently, supplemented with regular guidance, and is expected to carry out high-quality research and to publish the results in international workshops, conferences, and journals.

The PhD research fellow must enroll in the PhD programme in Computer Science: Software Engineering, Sensor Networks and Engineering Computing at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, and must meet the formal admission requirements for admission into the PhD programme. 25% of the 4-year period will be designated to duties such as teaching, development and administrative tasks.

The employment period may be reduced if the successful applicant has held previous employment as a research fellow.

The PhD candidate will be assigned three academic supervisors at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, combined with an advisory group with members from both research groups. An application for enrolment should first be submitted after an appointment is made and the supervisor(s) will help with this procedure. The candidate must be enrolled as a PhD student within 3 months from the start of the employment.

Application procedure:

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

To apply for this position, please use the link “Apply for this job” (“Søk stillingen”).

The applications will be assessed by the information entered in www.jobbnorge.no at the application deadline. The applicants are responsible for ensuring that all the documentation is submitted before the closing date, including the scientific work (up to 15 pieces), complete publication list, certificates and diplomas. If the diplomas, transcripts or other documentation are not in a scandinavian language or English, the applicant must upload the certified transactions himself. The transcripts must specify the topics, the course works, and the grades at the bachelor`s and master`s degree levels. If the attachments exceed 15 MB, they must be compressed before uploading or attaching as a link.

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

• Master thesis
• Copies of selected academic publications (no more than 15)
• A CV with a complete list of academic publications
• Diplomas and certificates

Applicants should indicate which publications or parts of publications should be given special consideration in the evaluation.

The applications will be sent electronically to the expert committee. Based on the committee's recommendation, qualified applicants will be invited to an interview and an trial lecture. Applications cannot be sent by e-mail or to individuals at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

We offer:

• 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 51 - 449.400 NOK - code 1017 in the Civil Service pay grade table scale

There is a compulsory 2 % deduction to the pension fund (see http://www.spk.no/en 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. Applicants may be called in for an interview.

Contacts:

• Professor Ilona Heldal phone: +47 55 58 75 24, e-mail: ilona.heldal@hvl.no
• Associate professor Gry Sjøholt Phone: +47 55 58 72 24, e-mail:gry.sjoholt@hvl.no
• Head of Department Geir Martin Førland Phone +47 55 58 76 23, e-mail: Geir.Martin.Forland@hvl.no
• Professor Håvard Helstrup, Coordinator of PhD Program on Computer Science, phone: (+47) 55 58 75 61, e-mail: Havard.Helstrup@hvl.no

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