LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET

PhD Fellow - Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (LCIA)

Deadline: 06.12.2022

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university 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.

The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE) consists of Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NFH) and School of Business and Economics.


The main task of BFE is to conduct teaching and research dissemination at a high national and international level within all relevant fields. Prioritized research areas are aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, climate, life in the arctic, marine bioprospecting, fish health, seafood products, business and macroeconomics, resources and environment, markets and management of marine resources. The interdisciplinary profile of the faculty provides good opportunity to develop research projects involving several research groups at the faculty according to its strategy.

PhD Fellow on inclusion of ghost fishing and its effects on ecosystems and biodiversity in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA)

The position

UiT The Arctic University of Norway, The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE) has a four year position available for PhD in the field of life cycle impact assessment development within the Dsolve project. SFI Dsolve hosted by UiT is a centre for research-based innovation aiming at developing biodegradable plastics for marine applications to solve challenges caused by fossil-based plastics (micro-/microplastics and ghost fisheries). Dsolve is funded by the Norwegian Research Council (project number 310008). The centre includes research partners NORNER, SINTEF Industry, SINTEF Ocean and NORSUS and three international research institutions as well as several other research and industry partners.

The candidate will be affiliated with The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS) and the research group HARVEST. The position is a fixed term position for a duration of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other research related duties for Faculty BFE. For this PhD project the main supervisor for the candidate will be from the NCFS and supported by supervisors from NTNU industrial ecology programme and NORSUS. The main workplace is at UiT in Tromsø, although the candidate should expect to spend a proportion of his/her time at NTNU in Trondheim. The elected candidate must be able to start in the position within 6 months after receiving the offer.

The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The position’s field of research

This PhD position belongs to Dsolve research area 5: Circularity of bio-based, biodegradable and non-degradable plastics. The objective for this PhD is to develop life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology for assessment of the effects of abandoned, lost and discarded (ALD) conventional and biodegradable fishing gear. The PhD candidate is expected to collect own data on board fishing vessels, prepare and analyse the data, and publish scientific results in international peer-reviewed journals. The candidate is expected to participate in science communication events (i.e. conferences and workshops).

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact:

Professor Roger B. Larsen:

or Senior Researcher at NORSUS, Cecilia Askham:

Qualifications

The candidate must have:

  • Master's degree in industrial ecology, or marine related studies in biology, ecology, technology or engineering, environmental sciences, natural resource management, ocean studies or similar
  • Experience with experimental design and research methodology
  • Experience with field work and collection of data (onboard vessels)
  • Experience with analysis of data and general statistics

If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply.

Scientific publishing experience is an advantage.

Applicants must document fluency of in English and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma. Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is also beneficial.

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position.

We are looking for candidates who:

  • Have good collaboration skills
  • Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
  • Wants to contribute to a good working environment

As many as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:

  • A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
  • A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.
  • A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.

Grade requirements applies both to the master thesis as well as courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are grade C or better on the master’s degree, and grade C or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree. A grade lower than C in one course may be compensated by a higher grade than C in another course. If the applicant has two subjects with the grade D or lower, the applicant is not qualified for admission. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from NOKUT. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree.

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than six weeks after taking up the position.

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of 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 are 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 at 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.

We offer

  • Involvement in an interesting research project
  • Good career opportunities
  • A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues 
  • Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement 
  • Pension scheme through the state pension fund 
  • More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here.

Application 

Your application must include:

  • Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests, this should be approximately 2 pages long and include a suggestion for the focus of the PhD, research question(s), and potential methods and data that the work could be based on, including reasoning about these choices
  • CV
  • Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
  • Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
  • Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
  • Documentation of English proficiency
  • References with contact information
  • Master’s thesis, and any other academic works

Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcripts for the master’s degree with your application.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

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.

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.

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