About the position

We are looking for highly motivated people who are interested in joining our team as a PhD student at Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

We offer an international and multidisciplinary environment in which creativity and scientific dialogue across fields is valued and stimulated.

The Yaksi Group ( www.yaksilab.com ) consists of an international team of enthusiastic biologists, physicists, medical doctors and engineers. The overarching goal of our team is to understand how widely dispersed brain regions dynamically interact and how these interactions modulate the way animals process sensory information and make behavioral choices.

This project will be a collaboration between the Yaksi lab and the group of Prof, Stefan Werner ( https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/stefan.werner ) at and Department of Electronic Systems, NTNU.

Duties of the position

The successful candidate will work with a collaborative team and apply a combination of functional brain imaging, machine learning, multi variate statistical tools and applied mathematics to analyze neural connectivity architectures and neural sequences underlying sensory perception and memory computations in the ancestral cortico-limbic structures of zebrafish brain. While this position will be mainly focusing on data analysis, there will also be opportunities to learn and use experimental tools to collect neural data across thousands of individual neurons, by using calcium imaging.

We are looking for a PhD student who has expertise in neuroscience, computer programming, machine learning applied mathematics, and data science. We are especially interested in people with high motivation in applying their training in maths, physics or engineering in a multi-disciplinary collaborative team, but those students form medicine and life-science backgrounds with high-level experience in programming and data analysis are also encouraged to apply.

Required selection criteria

• Msc in a relevant field, e.g. neuroscience, physics, mathematics, biology, engineering
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, 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
• The candidate is required to start working on this position before 1st December 2023
• Experience in medicine or neuroscience, as well as machine learning, applied mathematics, and data science and programming (e.g. MATLAB, Phyton, C)

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

• At least 6 years medical degree will be an advantage
• Good written and oral English language skills
• Motivation for the position

Personal characteristics

• Curious
• Passionate
• Motivated
• Creative
• Team player

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

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 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 4 years with 25 % teaching duties.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in neuroscience 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 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 + List of publications
• Name of 3 references,
• You must prepare a 1 page statement of skills and research interest,
• You must also prepare a 1-2 page project proposal based on your skills and previous work of the Yaksi and the Werner labs.

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.

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 our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. (tas bort hvis ikke aktuelt)

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.

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 Emre Yaksi, email emre.yaksi@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultatnt Anne Karin Henning, e-mail: anne.karin.henning@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: 30.11.2022

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.

The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (MH) is one of NTNU’s largest faculties with about 2000 employees (1300 full-time equivalents).

The Faculty’s main activities are education and research in close integration with St Olav’s Hospital. For further information, see: https://www.ntnu.edu/mh.

Deadline 30th November 2022
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology|
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Øya