Faculty of Social Sciences

Department of Psychology

Section for Methodology, Work, Culture and Social Psychology (MAKS)

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Climate Psychology on Designing and Evaluating Futurizing Workshops in Schools

Job description

A two-year position postdoc fellowship is available in the Section of Methodology, Work, Culture and Social psychology (MAKS) at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The position is linked to the Climate and the Social Psychology groups. The Climate Group is a newly formed group studying topics like the renewable energy transition, climate justice and climate change adaptation in the Global South, climate anxiety and young people’s climate movements in Norway, health effects of green surroundings, and climate mitigation in the construction industry. The group is interdisciplinary and offers a stimulating, inclusive and highly productive academic environment. The Social Psychology group is a research and teaching groups comprising five permanent positions and currently six PhD students and five postdocs, studying Relational models, communal emotions, the development and foundations of social-relational thinking, the development of interest, the judgement of truth, and the mitigation of anxiety through social support-induced opioid release. The two years can be extended by two months with a 10% teaching duty within the Social Psychology group.

More about the position

The position is part of the project “Wind for Future: Envisioning swift and inclusive energy transitions with young people across Norway”. The project is a collaboration between the Department of Psychology and the Department of Technology Systems at UiO and is funded by UiO:Energy. It will run for two years, starting in January 2023.In Wind for Future, we will answer the question: What energy systems do young Norwegians envision for their future? To do that, we will develop, conduct and evaluate an intervention tool, in the form of workshops on the energy transition for youth, aged 16-18. The workshops will use design-focused learning activities based on the Edukata model to foster systems thinking and envisioning a renewable-energy based future. Integrating serious games will allow us to quantify where in their local environment students could or not imagine wind turbines and what amelioration options can lift barriers. We will sample different regions in Norway and base the workshop cases on interviews with stakeholders about regional plans and options.

The planned research is twofold.1. We will evaluate the impact of participating in the workshops on understanding and empowerment regarding climate solutions and attitudes towards wind farms through pre- and post-questionnaires. 2. We will use the workshop-generated results in an energy systems model for Norway, to design possible future energy systems as envisioned by young people. From these, we derive recommendations for planning procedures as well as parameters, and provide them to relevant stakeholders. This collaboration between psychological and technological research groups thus allows the integration of feasibility and desirability of energy solutions, combining technical parameters for options with social parameters for choices. The successful candidate will be responsible for the first of these goals.

For further questions about the position, please contact Dr. Beate Seibt, e-mail: beate.seibt@psykologi.uio.no. We can also send you the project description upon request.

Qualification requirements

• Applicants must hold a Master's degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent in psychology or closely related disciplines.
• Applicants must hold a PhD in Psychology or related disciplines at the time of application, or have submitted their thesis and defend before starting the position.
• Solid theoretical and methodological background in applied social psychology.
• Solid experience with conducting advanced statistical analyses (e.g., structural equation modelling, multi-level modelling, longitudinal analysis) in R or other advanced statistical software, documented through thesis work, publications and/or course certificates.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Proficiency in a Scandinavian language or a clear motivation and ability to learn Norwegian quickly
• Ambition for conducting high quality research within the project, evidenced by the cover letter.

Preferable qualifications

• Background in climate psychology
• Experience with conducting interviews and qualitative research
• Experience with leading a team and project management
• Experience with interdisciplinary work
• Interest in methods and statistics
• Enthusiasm for the topic, evidenced by the cover letter
• Experience with the academic publication process, documented through submitted or published manuscripts
• Strong analytic abilities
• High motivation and strong work ethics

Personal skills

• You are ambitious to conduct high-quality empirical research and resilient to cope with setbacks in the process.
• You are a team player, who is interested in co-developing research ideas and in playing an active role in the team - yet you also know (and like to) work independently
• You are open to learn from various disciplines in co-creating and evaluating an exciting learning program for pupils

We offer

• A job opportunity in an international and interdisciplinary research team that is looking forward to working with you
• A salary of NOK 573 900 - 661 400 per annum depending on qualifications
• A professionally stimulating working 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

• Letter of motivation (1-2 pages): explain to us why this job is just perfect for you and why you want to work with us
• A research statement (1 page): tell us what you have previously worked on and how this is relevant to the present position
• Curriculum Vitae: summarize your education, positions, teaching experience and academic work and publications, including conference presentations.
• Copies of educational certificates in English or in one of the Scandinavian languages (academic transcripts only).
• Copies of up to three publications/academic work (if any) that you wish to be considered by the evaluation committee. Please include a statement of authorship specifying what exactly your contribution to this academic work was.
• Names and contact details of at least two references (name, relation to you, e-mail and telephone number)
• Documentation of language proficiency, if relevant

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”. International 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.

The applications will be evaluated and ranked. Emphasis will be placed on the applicants’ academic and personal qualifications to carry out the project. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview.

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 Postdoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of 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.

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.

Contact information

• Professor Beate Seibt, email: beate.seibt@psykologi.uio.no
• HR adviser Kristine Jacobsen, email: kristine.jacobsen@psykologi.uio.no, for questions about the application.

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