About the position 

We have a vacancy for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainable IT-systems by design at Department of Computer Science.

The IE faculty at NTNU has taken the initiative to establish a Center for Sustainable ICT  CESICT - NTNU. It will promote interdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches to ensure that the development and evolution of ICT-solutions to support sustainable development is done in a sustainable manner. The center will act as a NTNU-coordinated network of activities for research institutions, industries, and the public sector, and will be hosted by the IE-faculty at NTNU.

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions. The candidate will work in close connection to CESICT and will contribute to its operation.

You will report to the Head of Department.

Duties of the position

One of the core competence areas of professional involved in the development of IT is the identification and representation of requirements for systems design to ensure lifecycle support of ICT systems. For modern ICT-solutions, sustainability can be considered a key concern, which calls for an understanding of the lifecycle of the ICT system, the context in which it can be used and its potential impacts. Thus we have to look upon how to achieve sustainability by design, and not as an afterthought. The position will perform research on: 

• How to express sustainability requirements to software and information systems.
• How to elicit sustainability requirements to software and information systems.
• How to balance sustainability requirements and more traditional form of requirements, and the managing the dilemmas between technical, social, ecological, economic, and personal sustainability.
• How to deal with sustainability requirement in modern agile development methods.
• How to evaluate adherence and achievement to sustainability requirements on a short and long time period.

The person employed in the position is expected to:

• Publish in international conferences and journals in the relevant fields.
• Communicate and disseminate results to academic and non-academic stakeholders.
• Support in teaching, academic and training activities.
• Lead/support research proposals from NTNU in the area of sustainable ICT.

Required selection criteria

The postdoc’s main objective is to enhance and further develop research skills acquired during the PhD.

Completion of a Norwegian doctoral degree in Information Systems, Software Engineering, human computer interaction, CSCW or a related area, or equivalent foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree is required.

Other qualifications we seek for this position are the following:

Mandatory/Core requirement:

• A good, documented understanding of the relevant research fields, including  information systems and software engineering.
• Software and information systems engineering skills.
• Proven skills in applying qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research methods in real-world organizations.
• Demonstrated research capability via a good publication record in the relevant areas.
• The ability and willingness to conduct research independently as well as collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent written and oral English language skills.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Knowledge and experience with issues related to sustainability will be considered an advantage.

Personal characteristics

• Ability to interact, also independently, with various stakeholders including external organizations.
• Ability to deal with cross-disciplinary challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly acquire knowledge in new topics.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as in a team-based environment.
• Passion for uncovering new knowledge and explaining it to others.

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

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 563 500 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 employment period is 3 years, one of which is dedicated for compulsory work.

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 on a daily basis.

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. 

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include:

• CV, including a list of all publications in peer-reviewed conferences and journals.
• Certified copies of diplomas.
• The 5 most significant publications attached as pdf files, including an explanation in the below mentioned research statement, of their relevance to this position.
• A research statement of 2 to 3 pages. The statement must include the following sections:
  • A short presentation of the motivation for applying to this position.
  • How the candidate sees her/his background as suitable to contribute to sustainable ICT design.
  • Theoretical and methodological knowledge about the research area.
  • A sketch of important research problems in the research area of sustainable ICT.
  • A summary of the candidate’s role and involvement in previous projects relevant for the research areas.
• Name, phone number and email address of three referees.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

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. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.  

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 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. 

General information 

Working at NTNU 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

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 continually maintain and improve your professional development and be flexible regarding any organizational changes.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor John Krogstie, email john.krogstie@ntnu.no, telephone +4793417551. or the Head of Department Professor Heri Ramampiaro, email heri@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact the HR-team at the Department of Computer Science, e-mail: hr@idi.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: 14.10.22

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 Computer Science 

We are the leading academic IT environment in Norway, and offer a wide range of theoretical and applied IT programmes of study at all levels. Our subject areas include hardware, algorithms, visual computing, AI, databases, software engineering, information systems, learning technology, HCI, CSCW, IT operations and applied data processing. The Department has groups in both Trondheim and Gjøvik. The Department of Computer Science is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering .

Deadline 14th October 2022
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Campus Gløshaugen