PhD Candidate – Designing User Interfaces for Monitoring and Operating Ship-breaking Robots

20 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Department

Department of Design

Research Field

Technology

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Norway

Application Deadline

19 Mar 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Oslo)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

37,5

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description
This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

More than 80% of our global goods are transported by ships. Like the goods they transport, ships will eventually become waste at the end of their operational lives. Ship breaking is a complex and dangerous job since ships contain different types of toxic materials that should be properly located, identified, and removed to prevent adverse effects on humans and the environment. However, only a fraction of ship breaking is done in a safe and clean manner since most of the ship-breaking process is still done manually by hand. Therefore, the risk of accidents and health issues is extremely high for workers in the ship-breaking industry.  

The Department of Design has a vacancy for a PhD position in designing user interfaces for monitoring and operating ship-breaking robots. The PhD candidate will work as part of the SHEREC project, an EU-funded project that aims to improve the occupational safety and health conditions in the ship-breaking industry by deploying robots to carry out the ship-breaking process. Having suitable user interfaces is essential so that operators can perform ship-breaking activities with the robots in a safe and productive manner.

The position’s working place is at the NTNU Shore Control Lab in Trondheim.

Your immediate leader is the Head of Department.

Duties of the position

•    Designing user interfaces for monitoring and operating ship-breaking robots.
•    Conducting high-quality research and reporting progress on a regular basis and in agreement with the supervisors.
•    Documenting the research findings in the form of scientific papers.
•    Presenting the research findings at internal project meetings and scientific conferences.
•    Undertaking the necessary courses (30 ECTS) as part of the PhD program.

Required selection criteria

You must:

• Have a relevant background in interaction design, computer science, software engineering, human-computer interaction, human factors, or related fields.  
• Have completed at least five years of higher education that includes a master’s degree or other equivalent degree, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before by appointment. 
• Have a strong academic record and a weighted average for the last two years of your master's degree equivalent to a B or higher according to the 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 result, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Meet the requirements for admission to the doctoral program in design .
• Have very good written and oral English language skills. Candidates from universities outside Scandinavia and English-speaking countries are requested to document English language proficiency:
  •  TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test), 92 (Internet-based test)
  •  IELTS: 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5 
  •  CAE/CPE: grade B or A
     

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

Experience with:

•    Creating high-fidelity user interface prototypes.
•    Conducting user research and evaluation studies.
•    Analyzing quantitative and qualitative data.
•    Game engines, such as Unity or Unreal Engine.
 

Personal characteristics

The candidate is expected to: 
•    Be scientifically curious and open to new research challenges relevant for the position. 
•    Demonstrate independence and persistence in addressing technical problems.
•    Be flexible and reliable, with ability to work effectively independently and as part of a team.
•    Be able to work in close contact with project partners across Europe.

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 scale 54, NOK 532 200 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 three years with the possibility of a fourth year related to teaching or other relevant assignments.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD Program in Design  within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD program 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 be attached to 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: 

• A short and directed cover letter (in English or Norwegian) identifying your motivation for the PhD position, your understanding and thoughts on the topic of the position, and why you are suited for the position. 
• CV including information relevant for the qualifications.
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• Certified copies of academic diplomas and transcripts (in English or Norwegian).
• Academic or professional works that you would like to be considered in the assessment.
• Name, current affiliation and email address of at least two people who will provide reference for you.

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.

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 Ole Andreas Alsos, telephone +47 73 59 14 63, email [email protected] .
If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Ina Renate Erichsen, e-mail: [email protected] .

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: 19.03.2024

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 .

Questions about the position

Ole Andreas Alsos
Associate Professor
+ 47 73591463
[email protected]

Ina Renate Erichsen
HR Consultant
+47 73 55 98 41
[email protected]

Requirements

Research Field

Technology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Country

Norway

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/258653/phd-candidate-designing-u…

Contact

City

Trondheim

Website

http://www.ntnu.no

Street

Skippergata 14

Postal Code

N-7042

STATUS: EXPIRED