About the position

About the project

The vision of Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA, Norw.: Statens vegvesen) is to contribute to national goals for the transportation system. These goals are safety, promoting added value in society, and promoting change towards lower global emissions. The road system in Norway is large and complex, and the geography of Norway raises a range of challenges in this area with respect to maintenance which will be given priority compared to new large road investments in the coming years.

The Norwegian National Transport Plan is aimed towards promoting mobility, traffic safety, climatic and environmental conditions. To ensure a high-quality road infrastructure it is important to choose effective maintenance actions within the areas of operations, maintenance and rehabilitation. In particular, the development of new technology and new digital concepts is essential to enable more efficient monitoring and analysis of road traffic and road network conditions.

There is a technological shift taking place towards a more digitalized society. This technological shift has the potential to contribute to the overall goals of safety, low emissions and increased resource efficiency. The vision of NTNU is Knowledge for a Better World and is actively pursuing this goal across education, research and innovation. In the area of transportation, NTNU conducts extensive activity in several relevant engineering fields connected to infrastructure, maintenance and digitalization. 

NPRA established a research and development project with the title "Smarter maintenance". This project on road maintenance and infrastructure will involve close cooperation between the areas of research expertise in civil, transport and structural engineering, technology, digitalization and maintenance, and economics. This cooperation is organized within three thematic areas: (1) Condition registration, data analysis and modelling; (2) Big data, artificial intelligence, strategic analysis and planning; and (3) Maintenance, social economics and innovation. There is both a substantial need and many opportunities for innovation in this research program which will bring together 7 PhD candidates across several engineering and cognate fields. Together, they will seek to solve specific challenges connected to the maintenance of transportation infrastructure.
These positions will be grouped into research clusters that will ensure close cooperation between PhD-candidates, supervisors, NPRA-experts and master/bachelor students.

We are seeking motivated candidates to work in a multidisciplinary and innovative setting of national and international importance.

About the position

We have a vacancy for a PhD position at Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

• The main focus for the research will be development of economical models for road maintenance. The perspective for these models will be social economy where the investment in road maintenance shall be evaluated in terms of the benefit for the society in terms of safe and efficient transportation systems.
• A catalogue of degradation and failure models for the various road elements shall be developed in order to establish strategies and criteria for preventive as well as corrective maintenance.
• The PhD position is part of a cluster of three PhD position within the overall objective to establish social economic and strategic analyses of risk based maintenance.

The position reports to Professor Jørn Vatn

Main duties and responsibilities

• Independently set up research plans and conduct them accordingly
• Take lead in writing research papers under supervision
• Contribute in supervising master students within the field
• Comply with the PhD training programme of the Faculty
• Establish close cooperation with the other PhD candidates within the “Smart Maintenance program”
• Participate actively in the RAMS group. Currently there are 15 PhD students working within the field of RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety)

Qualification requirements

Essential qualifications:

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 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 for education leading to a PhD degree

• A relevant Master’s Degree in reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)
• Work experience within maintenance planning, execution of maintenance and/or economical analysis
• Strong analytical capabilities with special focus on mathematical modelling
• Good understanding of the connection between technology, process and human interaction
• Fluent in English language, good written and oral communications skills

Candidates completing their MSc-degree in the Spring 2020 are encouraged to apply. The position is also open for integrated PhD for NTNU students starting their final year of their Master’s Degree in Autumn 2020.

Desirable qualifications:

• Programming skills
• Ability to handle large complex models and datasets
• Exposure to social science research, econometrics and/or operations research
• Basic Scandinavian language skills are considered an advantage, but not a requirement

Personal characteristics

• Dedicated to the work
• Creative – Creating new ideas and new technologies/methods
• Critical – Asking the right questions
• Respectful – Care about your colleagues

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in the advertisement. NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. 

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 479 600 before tax per year. 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 admission to the PhD programme in engineering. 

As a PhD candidate, you undertake to participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period. A condition of appointment is that you are in fact qualified for admission to the PhD programme within three months.

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 criterias 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.

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. 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.

The national labour force must reflect the composition of the population to the greatest possible extent, NTNU wants to increase the proportion of women in its scientific posts. Women are encouraged to apply. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life (http://trondheim.com/). Having a population of 200 000, Trondheim is a small city by international standards with low crime rates and little pollution. It also has easy access to a beautiful countryside with mountains and a dramatic coastline.

Questions about the position can be directed to Professor Jørn Vatn, phone number + 47 41473730, e-mail jorn.vatn@ntnu.no.

About the application:

Publications and other academic works that the applicant would like to be considered in the evaluation must accompany the application. Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify the individual applicant's contribution to joint works, the applicant must include a brief description of his or her contribution.

Please submit your application electronically via www.jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. 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): (http://www.chsi.com.cn/en/).

Applicants invited for interview must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters.

Please refer to the application number IV-76/20 when applying.

Application deadline: 08.03.2020

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

We educate graduates who can create new products, operate and maintain products, and manage projects. The Department has a variety of bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. We conduct wide-ranging research in fields such as technology, energy, product quality and development, and productivity. The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 8th March 2020
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Dep. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering