Skip to main content

This job has expired

Practice-based PhD Position in Design

Employer
NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - NTNU
Location
Trondheim, Norway
Closing date
12 May 2019

View more

Academic Discipline
Art, Performing Arts & Design, Arts & Humanities
Job Type
Academic Posts, Postdocs
Contract Type
Temporary
Hours
Full Time

About the position

The Faculty of Architecture and Design (AD) is searching for designers who want to complete a practice-based PhD within the fields of design at Department of Design (ID)

ID offers education in Industrial Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, Graphic Design, and Web Design. The academic research at ID for the next five years will emphasize Sustainable Design, Service Design, Interaction Design, and Product Design, within the domains of Sustainability, Oceans and Health

The position is a part of a strategic initiative to strengthen the link between architectural or design practice and academic research at the faculty. The position offers a unique opportunity to develop new knowledge through architectural/design practice and research.

Practice-based research is understood as scientific research where the architectural or design practice itself is an essential component of the research process and/or the research results. It should however not be confused with artistic research.

The research can be based on previous or ongoing creative practice or/and research where practice in architecture, urbanism or design is used as a form of inquiry during the investigation itself.

Practice-based PhD projects are regulated through NTNUs regulations concerning the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and are required to fulfil the same criteria for as other scientific PhD projects, including significance, originality and contribution to knowledge.

Candidates are expected to submit a project proposal in line with this framework as part of the application. The project proposal should be related to one of the departments and be linked to one of the research areas mentioned above. The research may be based on commissioned work as long as it will result in significant new knowledge, and adhere to NTNU’s policy for open research data.

For more information, The Faculty of Architecture and Design has recently established a formal framework for practice-based research.

The candidate will be employed at Department of Design, and reports to the Head of Department.

Qualification requirements

Relevant candidates for the positions must be able to document the following:

  • Master's  (or equivalent) degree in architecture or design
  • Relevant experience with architectural or design practice, and a track record in innovative architectural or design production relevant for the research project.
  • Documented experience and/or affinity with application of scientific theory and methods in architectural or design practice
  • Written and spoken proficiency in English.

The PhD position's main objective is to qualify for practice-based research of high international standard within universities and other research institutions as well as other positions where there are high demands of insight and competence in line with academic practice and ethical standards. The qualification requirement is completion of a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in architecture, design 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 for education leading to a PhD degree.

The appointment will be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant.

Personal characteristics

  • Strong interpersonal skills.
  • Good overview of the field and ability to conduct reflected, analytical and critical subject-matter discussions, research and architectural/design work.
  • Ability to plan and accomplish research and architectural/design work.

In the evaluation of the candidates’ qualification, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability, in terms of the qualification requirements specified above.

About the application

Applications must include both a project description (maximum 5 pages) and a letter of motivation, addressing:

  • Choice of the topic accounting for its importance and relevance for society
  • Research questions within the framework for practice-based research
  • How practice in architecture, urbanism or design is to be used as a form of inquiry during the research
  • The potential impact of the proposed research
  • Why a practice-based PhD at the Faculty of Architecture and Design is the right platform to reach this research ambition
  • Your motivations for applying to this position

Additional documentation requirements for the application

  • CV with a full summary of education, practice and academic employment as well as a list of publications, projects, academic work and professional recognition (max 5 A4 pages)
  • A portfolio of architectural/design work. Collaborative work will be taken into consideration. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to a collaborative work, you must enclose a brief account of this contribution
  • One example of written work by you (maximum 10 A4 pages)
  • Name and contact details to three potential reference persons
  • Copies of educational certificates

The documentation of qualifications must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

The qualifications and project proposals of the applicants will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • The formal academic requirements for the position
  • The quality of the work presented in the portfolio
  • The significance, originality, relevance, feasibility and potential impact of the proposed research.
  • The academic competence of the applicant and the applicant's personal suitability within the context of the department's educational environment

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews and discussions about their project proposals. The top candidates might be offered the opportunity to revise and improve their project proposals in dialogue with potential supervisors within a second deadline before the recruitment process is finalised.

We offer

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 449 400 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 or 4 years, depending on the project and whether the candidate will have 25 % work duties for their department. Appointment to a PhD position requires admission to the PhD programme in architecture or design.

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.

Questions about the position can be directed to Head of Department, Ole Andreas Alsos ole.alsos@ntnu.no

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no. Applicants invited for interview must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters.

Please refer to the application number AD-23/19 when applying.

Application deadline: May 12th, 2019

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 Design

We are located in both Trondheim (industrial design) and Gjøvik (graphic design and web technology). Both groups have expertise in interaction design and share research interests in health and welfare technology. The design environment links many technology communities at NTNU, and nationally the Department has extensive collaboration with Norwegian industrial companies. The Department of Design is one of four departments in the Faculty of Architecture and Design.

Deadline 12.05.2019
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Department of Design

Get job alerts

Create a job alert and receive personalised job recommendations straight to your inbox.

Create alert