About the position
There is a PhD position available at the Department of Psychology – within Social and Environmental Psychology. The position is for the duration of three years, with the possibility of one year duty work upon agreement. The candidate must be resident at NTNUs campus in Trondheim. It is an educational position, which will provide promising research talents the opportunity for professional development towards a PhD-degree. The position is connected to the PhD program at the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences.
You will report to the Head of Department.
The position is part of the project Combining skills to identify the “sweet spot” to solve marine plastic pollution in Norway is one of five PhD positions connected to the work packages of this project. The project is a newly established, interdisciplinary initiative led by NTNU Ålesund. The objective of Combining skills to identify the “sweet spot” to solve marine plastic pollution in Norway is to generate outstanding research that builds on current activities at NTNU to investigate transformative solutions to the marine plastic problem. The terminology “sweet spots” reflects the idea of using mutually complementing knowledge systems to build a comprehensive picture of marine plastic pollution in Norway and to use this as a springboard for co-developing interventions that are eco-effective.
This PhD-position will focus on applying knowledge from behaviour change psychology and geography to develop and pilot interventions that enable a transformation in the production and consumption of plastics in Norway. The prospective candidate will work on the identification of key parameters needed to develop behavioral interventions needed to solve the problem of marine plastic pollution. An innovative and comprehensive combination of methodologies from environmental psychology and geography can be applied. This combination of methods can include citizen science, geographic information systems (GIS), surveys and focus groups. Activities the successful candidate will be involved in include beach cleans, subsequent litter analysis, geographic analysis of litter using GIS tracking (through mobile phones) and focus groups with target group members (e.g., fishing and aquaculture sector, SME consumers, communities). In addition, online surveys covering psychological drivers of key behaviours, literature reviews and stakeholder consultations, and eventually a pilot intervention are aspired. The candidate is encouraged to shape the project description according to their own strengths and further to co-develop the process together with the other PhD candidates working in this project.
Duties of the position
- The PhD fellowship holder is expected to work on the project Combining skills to identify the “sweet spot” to solve marine plastic pollution in Norway, Work Package 5.
- The PhD is expected to complete the necessary doctoral coursework.
- Conduct research and apply methods in line with the project description, publish, and write publishable papers that constitute the requirement for the PhD position.
- The PhD is expected to collaborate with his/her fellow PhDs across work packages to identify potential syntheses.
Required selection criteria
- The PhD-position’s main objective is to qualify for work in research positions.
- The qualification requirement is completion of a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in Social or Environmental Psychology, Geography or equivalent education with a grade of B or better in terms of NTNU’s grading scale. Applicants with no letter grades from previous studies must have an equally good academic foundation. Applicants who are unable to meet these criteria may be considered only if they can document that they are particularly suitable candidates.
- You must meet the requirements for admission to the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences’ PhD programme
Other qualifications:
- Excellent written and oral English language skills, ideally supported by evidence. The following tests can be used as a documentation: TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE), or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).
- The position also requires excellent skills for working in a large team and across disciplines as well as experiences with communicating scientific content outside the own discipline and outside academia.
- The ability to carry out and finish projects successfully will be given weight.
Preferred selection criteria
- Level 2 or higher in any of the Scandinavian languages is an advantage, especially for community and stakeholder interaction, but is not obligatory.
- Previous experience in quantitative methods, survey design and analysis, qualitative data collection and analysis as well as GIS are considered beneficial, but not a prerequisite.
- Interest and relevant experience in marine plastic pollution is an advantage.
The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant
Incomplete applications will not be considered. This also applies to applications from candidates originating from countries covered by ITAR or “Electronic Code of Federal Regulations”
About the application
The application must include:
1) An application letter concerning your motivation for completing a PhD in this particular project, outlining previous relevant experience.
2) A research proposal (in a separate document as motivation letter) describing activities, plans and timeline for this PhD project. The proposal shall not exceed five pages including references, timeline and any visuals.
3) A CV with information on education, previous research experience
4) Authorized documentation of certificates, diplomas and study records for both bachelor and master degrees.
5) Any academic work such as scientific publications.
6) A copy of the master’s thesis. If you recently have submitted your master’s thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position.
7) Name and address of at least two references.
If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor’s and master’s education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.
Publications and other academic works that the applicant would like to be considered in the evaluation must accompany the application. Joint work will be evaluated. If it is difficult to identify the contributions from individuals in a joint piece of work, applicants should enclose a short descriptive summary of what she/he contributed to the work.
Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no including your CV, diplomas/grade transcripts, certificates, motivation letter, research proposal, and academic works (if any).Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI).
General information
Working at NTNU
A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.
The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.
As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.
Under the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova), information about the applicant may be made public even if the applicant has requested not to have their name entered on the list of applicants.
Questions about the position can be directed to Dr. Isabel Richter (Isabel.richter@ntnu.no) or Professor Jan Ketil Rød (jan.rod@ntnu.no)
If you have questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Nine Jonstad: nine.jonstad@ntnu.no
If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number SU-663 when applying.
Application deadline: 07.01.2022
For further information on the position, visit this website.