LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET
PhD Fellow in Microalgae Mass Cultivation
Deadline: 05.01.2022
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
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.
Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics / Norwegian College of Fishery Science
The position is for a period 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 duties. 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 workplace is Tromsø/Finnfjord. The nature of the project will require you to be flexible in term of workplace. The workplace will be mostly Finnfjord. Finnfjord is a village two hours outside of Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.
The position’s field of research
The PhD project will focus on aspects related to the scale up of mass-cultivation of marine microalgae using CO2 from factory fumes as carbon source. The candidate will use existing laboratory techniques, while contributing to the development of improved methods for large vertical column photobioreactor cultivation. The PhD project aims to select endemic cold adapted microalgal strains that can thrive in a mass cultivation setting and then optimize the cultivation conditions for maximized production of biomass or specific compounds of interest.
Tasks will include bioprospecting for and isolation of endemic cold adapted microalgae species with high natural uptake of CO2, optimization of cultivation conditions, testing of light distribution solutions, testing of physiological characteristics, mass transfer calculations and upkeep of a strain collection during the project period.
You will become a part of the Microalgae & Microbiomes Research Group (M2RG) and will regularly interact with members of the group working on different aspects of algal biotechnology.
Contact
For further information about the position, please contact:
A master’s degree or equivalent by the time of employment in marine biotechnology, microbiology, biotechnology, chemical/biological/environmental engineering or a related field
Good understanding of microalgae cultivation techniques and sterile/aseptic techniques in microbiology.
Good academic performances, and a genuine interest and motivation for performing research
Excellent written and oral English skills
It will be in the candidate’s advantage to have one or more of the following:
Basic understanding of bioprocess engineering
Experience in cultivation of microalgae
Experience in metabolite extraction including lipids, pigments, proteins and carbohydrates
Experience in using standard laboratory equipment such as plate readers, spectrophotometers, incubators, various microscope techniques etc.
Experience in operation of medium/large - scale water treatment systems such as filtering systems, compressors, large centrifuges etc.
Experience with bioreactors and/or large - scale microalgae cultivation
Established knowledge and/or motivation to learn R
Documented fluency in Norwegian/Scandinavian language
Experience with risk assessment and job safety analysis
Experience with field work
Experience with sensor technology and/or sensor data handling
Experience in outreach, communication, and social media
Driver’s license (equivalent to or Norwegian kl. B)
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.
Personal qualifications and suitability will be emphasized; the candidate’s personal qualifications should include excellent interpersonal and communication skills and an enthusiasm to work as a member of a collaborative research team.
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
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)
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.
