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Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainability Education

Deadline: 11.04.2023

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.

The Department of Teacher Education and School Research (ILS) is one of three departments at The Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Oslo, which also has a permanent center.

ILS is a leading institution in the fields of subject didactics, school leadership and practice-relevant school research. It hosts Norway's first Centre of Excellence in Education, ProTed – a joint project between the University of Oslo and the University of Tromsø.


EKVA (Unit for quantitative analysis in education) is also part of the department, as well as four interfaculty research groups (CLEG, TEPEC, SISCO and LEA).

The Department enrols 400 students in the Teacher Education Programme (PPU) and administers the university’s Graduate Teacher Education Programme (Lektorprogrammet) with about 300 new students each year. About 200 students follow the Master Programme in Educational Leadership. ILS also manages the study programme Teach First Norway in cooperation with the City of Oslo Education Agency and Equinor.

The Department of Teacher Education and School Research has approximately 40 administrative and 100 academic staff.

Job description

Applicants are invited for a 3 year position as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainability Education to be based at the Department of Teachers Education and School Research, University of Oslo.

The position is intended to strengthen ‘open schooling’ (Norwegian: Skole i Verden) as a field of research and social innovation. ‘Open schooling’ refers to initiatives where schools collaborate with local communities, organizations, enterprises and governmental bodies offering students learning opportunities by inquiring into real-life issues and challenges. Open schooling as a field of research and innovation became established at ILS through the H2020 project “Science Education for Action and Engagement towards Sustainability” (SEAS) (2019-2022) and projects Action for Sustainability through Knowledge co-creation (ASK) and Skole i Verden (SiV) building on SEAS.

The successful candidate is expected to conduct research on key outcomes and research questions from previous projects such as SEAS, but also to do research in collaboration and co-creation processes in local open schooling networks involving schools and external stakeholders. Of particular interest for the position are investigations at the intersection between disciplinary and interdisciplinary teaching and learning, the role of disciplinary knowledge in complex environmental issues typically involving uncertainty, conflicts of interests, crisis, and questions of social justice and equity. Teaching methods, learning practices, and the school as a community are research themes of potential interest in open schooling contexts. Experience with and interest in interdisciplinary research-practice collaborations, as well as in inquiry-based teaching approaches, are considered relevant to the position.

The successful candidate will be part of an international collaboration network and of a vibrant research environment, and will be included in the COSER (Challenges of Sustainability Education Research) research group.

More about the position

The appointment is a fulltime position and is made for a period of 3 years, 10 % of which is devoted to required duties, usually in the form of teaching activities.

The main purpose of the fellowship is to qualify researchers for work in higher academic positions within their diciplines.

The place of work for this position is Oslo.

Qualification requirements

  • Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in Education, school subject didactics, e.f. natural science, social science or Norwegian language arts or in a field directly relevant to sustainability education. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Appointment is dependent on the public defense of the doctoral thesis being approved.
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and a Scandinavian language.

The following qualifications will count in the assessment of the applicants:

  • The quality of the project description
  • The project’s relevance for open schooling and Sustainability Education
  • The applicants’ academic and personal qualifications for conducting the project
  • Personal suitability and motivation for the position
  • Good ability to collaborate and to form part of a multi-disciplinary academic community

We offer

  • Salary NOK 553 500 - 626 300 per annum depending on qualificatinos in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352)
  • A professionally stimulating work environment
  • Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include:

  • Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
  • Project description, including progress plan (max 7 pages)
  • CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity).
  • Copy of PhD Diploma or documentation of thesis submission. Applicants who have not yet defended their PhD dissertation need to include an advisor's letter confirming specific expectations about when the degree will be received
  • Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
  • A complete list of publications
  • Academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered, max 10
  • List of reference persons: 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link: “Apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

Incomplete applications will not be assessed.

In assessing the applicants, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, the project description and the quality of the project as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

Contact information

For questions about the position, please contact:

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postfoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

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.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

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