PhD Candidate, Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering

About the job

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The proposed 3-year PhD position at the Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering in Gjøvik, is linked to three European funded projects of ASEMlab (www.asemlab.no), dedicated to the recycling, circularity, and waste management of fiber-reinforced polymer composites.

The successful candidate will focus on the development of a strategy to efficiently disassemble and recycle multilayer composite structures, as well as to develop a digital waste management system of composite waste. Through this position, you will find an exceptional portfolio of industrial and academic partners from Norway and Europe, across a variety of sectors.

The successful candidate will join the Group for Sustainable Composites and will be part of ASEMlab team (Laboratory of Advanced & Sustainable Engineering Materials), led by Prof. Sotirios Grammatikos. ASEMlab is in possession of brand-new facilities for polymer composites research, covering manufacturing, testing & characterization, non-destructive evaluation, recycling as well as advanced software for design and analysis.

ASEMlab-NTNU is currently the main hub for composites research in Norway, with a strong portfolio of running (national and EU) projects and ongoing collaboration with the industry. NTNU in Gjøvik is one of the new campuses of NTNU, located close to Raufoss Industrial Park, Mustad Industrial Park and Sintef Raufoss.

The successful candidate will be supervised by Prof. Sotirios Grammatikos.

Duties of the position

The PhD position aims to:

• Develop recycling solutions for multilayer fibrous polymer composites consisting of state-of-the-art recyclable polymers.
• Develop a waste management platform for the efficient circularity of different polymeric and composite products, suggesting best routines for End-of-Life (EoL) polymer composite waste management.
• Develop a framework for the recycling of dedicated polymer composites products that can be presented as a recommendation to the industry and the European Commission.

Given the involvement in different research programs, professionality, exceptional communication skills as well as the ability to travel to project meetings and other dissemination activities, is a must.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalient field.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, 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 (link)
• You have a strong background in polymers composites with focus on sustainability.
• You have documented laboratory hands-on experience on disassembly/recycling of composites.
• You have strong knowledge of circularity aspects and environmental impact.

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 

Language requirements

Proficiency in English language written, and communication skills is a prerequisite. The candidate is expected to be fluent in written and oral English language skills.

Candidates from universities outside Scandinavia and English-speaking countries are kindly requested to document English language proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)).

• TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test), 92 (Internet-based test)
• IELTS: 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5 (only Academic IELTS test accepted)
• CAE/CPE: grade B or A.

In extraordinary circumstances, formal documentation of language skills can be relinquished. In such cases the candidate’s language skills will be assessed in a personal interview.

Preferred selection criteria

• experience from industry and /or experience from working in projects with multiple partners will be considered a merit
• previous experience working in National /European projects will be considered a plus

Personal characteristics

We are looking for a positive, balanced personality who can think creatively and critically. The candidate must have excellent analytical and collaboration skills as well as an ability to work independently and in teams. Cooperation skills and communication skills are important for the position and will be highly weighted in the selection process.

• research mind-set and application oriented
• self-starter with initiative and ability to set up, organize and execute your research
• ambitious, proactive with a strong ability to work on problem oriented activities

Emphasis will be placed on education, previous experience, and personal suitability, as well as motivation, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in the advertisement.

We offer

• a friendly workplace with dedicated academics
• brand-new research facilities
• a research-oriented environment
• close collaboration with the industrial sector both nationally and internationally
• attractive schemes for housing loan, insurance, and pensions in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

The Faculty of Engineering wants to attract outstanding and creative candidate who can contribute to our strategic ongoing research activities. We believe that diversity is important to achieve a good, inclusive working environment. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of the gender, disability, or cultural background. We encourage especially women to apply.

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 per annum before tax. 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 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:

1. Cover letter directed to Prof. Sotirios Grammatikos
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Certified copy of transcripts and diplomas with grades from post graduate studies (in English)
4. Research statement dedicated to the needs of this position (max. 1 page) that should include:
   1. A short presentation of the motivation for a PhD student
   2. How the applicant sees his/her background suitable for this position
   3. The applicant’s view of research challenges within the area of this position
5. Names and contact details of at least 2 reference persons who we can contact
6. A copy of the master thesis (in PDF), or, for those who are near to completion of their MSc, an extended abstract combined with a statement of how and when the applicant plans to complete the thesis (1 page)

Incomplete applications and applications not meeting the background criteria, will not be considered. Nominations and applications will be considered until the position is filled.

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.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short 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 Gjøvik has a population of 30 000 and is a town known for its rich music and cultural life. The beautiful nature surrounding the city is ideal for an active outdoor life! The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world.

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.

Contact person

Professor Sotirios Grammatikos, Research Group Leader for Sustainable Composites, Director of Laboratory of Advanced & Sustainable Engineering Materials (ASEMlab), sotirios.grammatikos@ntnu.no, phone: + 4790577561.

For informal information about the position, interested applicants are very much encouraged to contact Professor Sotirios Grammatikos.

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: 05.02.2022

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.

Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering

Our profile of expertise can help to solve the world’s most important societal challenge: the development of sustainable solutions in industry and society. This profile includes research on modern industrial processes, use of new and recycled materials, new technological solutions and the application of new forms of organization and business models. The Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 5th February 2023
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Gjøvik
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Campus Gjøvik