About the position

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has a vacancy for a PhD candidate at the Water and Wastewater group as part of the Horizon 2020 project B-Watersmart. The period of employment is 3 years.

This project aims at providing water-smart technologies and concepts with multiple users at different scales for

• reuse of water and recovery of energy and materials from water and wastewater
• managing water demands and enable efficient allocation of available water resources
• exploitation of alternative water sources
• smart management of water systems and infrastructure

The PhD candidate will work closely with a case study (in collaboration with a postdoctoral researcher and Master students) in this project. This case study will be a pilot for instruments package testing (measure flow, pressure, temperature, quality) and corresponding signal transmission techniques for leakage and infiltration detection. Through a smart water sensor system, the team will create snapshots and time integrated performance data, including private connections. The test will include improved water quality monitoring of the network. Secondary, the network leak detection data will be paired with infiltration detection data to quantify the leaked drinking water that ends up in the wastewater collection system. The case will test a wide range of sensors for flow and water quality detection, creating new solutions for monitoring, which will allow to quantify sources of infiltration and predict future performance.

The position reports to a professor.

Duties of the position

This position is part of the project “Accelerating Water Smartness in Coastal Europe” funded by the Horizon 2020 Program of the European Union. The duties of the position are thereby defined by this project.

• Case study set-up and development
• Research tasks for the case study
• Preparation of journal and conference papers and presentation of results on international conferences

Required selection criteria

The PhD-position's main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirement is that you have completed a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in civil engineering with a specialization in water or equivalent education with a grade of B or better in terms of NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you are unable to meet these criteria you may be considered only if you can document that you are particularly suitable for education leading to a PhD degree.

The appointment is to 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.

Other required qualifications

• a relevant Master’s degree in water and wastewater treatment, chemical engineering, environmental engineering etc
• experience with conduction experiments in a laboratory environment, ideally related to water treatment and/or water quality analysis
• the project includes fieldwork with close collaboration with Norwegian contractors, and thus strong command of a Scandinavian language is required (demonstrated by works written in the past, application correspondence and language, and/or certified language tests
• scientific reports and papers are written I English, and thus strong command og English language is required (demonstrated by works written in English, and/or certified English tests)

Required selection criteria

• background in hydraulic modelling of urban water systems (e.g. EPANET)
• good written and oral English language skills

Preferred selection criteria

• programming skills (e.g. Python, R, Matlab)
• experience smart water sensors systems
• experience with signal processing and time series analysis
• Norwegian language is an asset

Personal characteristics

• ability to work both individually and in a team environment and a high level of personal responsibility
• excellent communication skills in scientific writing and oral presentation
• creative and initiative problem-solver
• ability to think “out of the box”

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 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 Civil and Environmental Engineering within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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.

The position is subject to external funding.

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 applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

The application must include:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• Motivation letter
• Publication list
• Name and address of two referees

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability.

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

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.

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Prof. Tone Merete Muthanna, email tone.muthanna@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Senior Executive Officer HR Hege Johansen, e-mail: hege.johansen@ntnu.no.

Please submit your application electronically via 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).

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number IV-151/20 when applying.

Application deadline: 15.08.2020

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 Civil and Environmental Engineering

We conduct research and teaching in civil and transportation engineering, technical planning, structural engineering, water and wastewater engineering and hydraulic engineering. Graduates from our programmes become employees in both the public and private sectors – with a sustainability mindset combined with competitive knowledge and skills. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 15th August 2020
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Trondheim