About the job

We have a vacancy for a PhD Candidate to work with computational tools for the maritime industry at Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering in Ålesund, Norway. This position is connected to the SEUS – Smart European Shipbuilding EU Horizon project.

The PhD fellowship appointment runs for three years without teaching duties.

The maritime domain and shipbuilding industry have a significant impact on the European economy. It enables society’s waterborne logistics through shipping, transportation, and tourism activities, technological development through requiring the highest expertise, and driving environmental sustainability. Industrial technology for the design and construction of high value and complex vessels is interconnected with the development of efficient computational tools.

Computational tools constitute the core of digitalization. They have a sizeable transformative potential in the design and construction process, the quality and innovativeness of solutions used, the investment required to build and maintain ships through their life cycles, the skills and expertise of shipbuilders, as well as the competitiveness of the EU shipbuilding industry, thereby significantly impacting the future of the maritime industry in Europe.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

You will report to the supervising professors. Your immediate leader is Head of the department.

Duties of the position

  • gain insight into the characteristics and challenges of the European shipbuilding industry, with focus on the state of the art of the computational tools
  • lifecycle scenario evaluation for the European shipbuilding industry, with focus on the digitalization of processes and products
  • development and integration of computational tools in different phases of the lifecycle, ranging from conceptual deign to construction and assembly
  • investigation and application of Industry 5.0 topics in the maritime industry
  • active collaboration with the SEUS partners
  • take part in the mandatory PhD research education program
  • conduct independent research and publish the result in recognised scientific journals and present them at international conferences

Required selection criteria

  • You must have a professionally relevant background in Engineering or Computer Science.
  • Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master’s level
  • You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master’s degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
  • You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s doctoral program.
  • Good written and oral English language skills.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with  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  

Preferred selection criteria

  • experience with maritime research
  • experience with maritime industry
  • experience with programming
  • experience with 3D modelling (CAD/CAE tools)

Personal characteristics

  • ability to work independently as well as in teams
  • good communication skills
  • ability to work in close contact with the maritime industry
  • ability to travel to cooperate in loco with international partners
  • open to feedback and input from others as well as able to respect, collaborate, and negotiate with others

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities, and motivation for the position.

We offer

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

As a Postdoc you are normally paid from gross per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. The period of employment is 3 years.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

  • CV and certificates
  • Letter of motivation
  • Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not completed the master’s degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master’s thesis has been submitted.
  • 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.
  • Research plan; 5-7 pages, where you show your capability to structure a 3-years research study with clear motivation, objectives, research questions, methodologies, expected results and dissemination plan. The integration of computational tools in the maritime industry should be emphasized.
  • Name and contact information of three referees
  • If you have publications or other relevant research work

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.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Assoc. Professor Henrique Gaspar, email henrique.gaspar@ntnu.no . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Linda M. Granmo, e-mail: liiv@ntnu.no

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.

Application deadline: 10.04.2023

Further information can be found in here.