16 Doctoral Researchers, the Digital Waters (DIWA) doctoral pilot (disciplines Geography, Geology, Water Engineering, Information Technology and Computer Science)

19 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

University of Turku

Research Field

Computer science » Other
Engineering » Other
Environmental science » Earth science
Geography » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Finland

Application Deadline

15 Apr 2024 - 13:00 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

38

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

The Digital Waters (DIWA) doctoral pilot, the University of Turku, is inviting applications for 16 fixed-term doctoral researcher positions at the Department of Geography and Geology and Department of Computing (disciplines Geography, Geology, Water Engineering, Information Technology and Computer Science and other applicable fields in the mathematical, scientific and technological fields). 14 fixed-term doctoral researcher positions are open in spring call: March 15 - April 15, 2024. The autumn call will be organised in August 2024. The expected starting date in the position is at the latest on 1st of January 2025 and the duration of the position is three years.

DIWA doctoral pilot positions funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Doctoral Researcher Position research themes are linked to DIWA Flagship funded by Research Council of Finland. The DIWA flagship is a leading research and innovation ecosystem, developing research excellence to support decision-making and pave the way for the next re-evolution in the water sector – digitally. DIWA enables a transition towards the digital representation of real-world water systems (Digital Twin) to reproduce hydrological storages, their states, fluxes and processes, as well as ecosystem responses with novel options for improved scenario analyses, planning and governance.

The DIWA is coordinated by the University of Oulu. In total, 60 doctoral researchers will be employed within the DIWA doctoral training pilot project. Of these, a total of 16 doctoral researchers will be employed by University of Turku. The applicant must indicate at the application form to which dissertation project they are applying for. Applicants may apply for only one doctoral project in the call, but during the assessment they may be offered a position in another project, taking into the account the field of their previous degree. List of the doctoral projects open at the University of Turku in this call are as follows:

Disciplines: Geography and Water Engineering   

• Hydromorphological stage and river habitats classification. Principal supervisor: Petteri Alho
• Flow characteristics and habitat mapping in littoral zone. Principal supervisor: Ville Kankare
• Climate change and land use effects on flow magnitudes and nutrient loads. Principal supervisor: Elina Kasvi
• Co-benefits of nature-based solutions in urban water management applying participatory 3D digital environments. Principal supervisor: Nora Fagerholm
• Integrated hydrological modeling using Physical-based models and Physical informed neural networks. Principal supervisor: Carlos Gonzales-Inca
• Bed-form scale fluvial geomorphology of boreal rivers: effects of changing hydro-climatic regime. Principal supervisor: Elina Kasvi

Discipline: Geology

• Linking water quality and estuarine processes to sedimentation. Principal supervisor: Saija Saarni
• Improved digital management of significant aquifers in Finland. Principal supervisor: Antti Ojala

Disciplines Information Technology and Computer Science:

• Precise, robust, and resilient Localization in a remote environment. Principal supervisor: Tomi Westerlund
• Situational awareness for a reliable collaborative multi-robot system. Principal supervisor: Tomi Westerlund
• A sensor fusion framework for intelligent navigation and control of autonomous robots. Principal supervisor: Wallace Moreira Bessa
• Machine learning based data fusion algorithms development. Principal supervisor: Jukka Heikkonen
• Coordination and Control of Mobile Multi-Robot Systems in Unstructured Environments. Principal supervisor: Juha Plosila
• Perception sensor data analysis for real-time target identification and sensor localization. Principal supervisor: Tomi Westerlund

The detailed descriptions of the doctoral projects (abstract of the research plan), supervisors and secondment positions can be found on the DIWA flagship website: https://www.digitalwaters.fi/ .

Doctoral researchers working closely with the supervisors, researchers and partner organisations of the DIWA ecosystem including numerous companies, research organisations and NGOs, totally more than 200 organisations. Doctoral researchers will collaborate with them and having secondment periods.

The doctoral pilot offers systematic doctoral training and access to excellent research infrastructure. In addition, pilot provides courses, workshops and secondments, which to improved working life skills, networks and research project management skills.

Job Description

The position starts at the latest on January 1, 2025 and lasts for three years. Doctoral researchers are committed to carry out research and doctoral postgraduate studies according to rules of their Doctoral Programme.

Key Responsibilities of doctoral researchers:

• The doctoral researcher commits to long term and challenging work and to follow the schedule as agreed.
• The doctoral researcher is responsible for planning their doctoral studies and research and implementing the plan with the collaboration of their supervisors. The doctoral researcher has the primary responsibility for the progress of their dissertation.
• The doctoral researcher report on the progress of their studies and research to Supervisors at regular intervals. They come well-prepared to Supervisory Meetings, and in accordance with the schedule agreed upon. The doctoral researcher must consider the suggestions given by the Supervisor based on their experience and knowledge. They immediately notify the Supervisors if the work is notably delayed.
• The doctoral researcher will complete the agreed amount of studies to be included in the doctoral degree per year and participate in the DIWA doctoral pilot activities and training.
• The doctoral researcher is entitled to Supervisory Meetings and to receive feedback from the Supervisors concerning their studies and research in accordance with the schedule agreed upon.

Who we are looking for

The applicant must have completed a higher education degree or otherwise demonstrated the ability to pursue postgraduate studies and complete a doctoral degree according to the research plan. The applicant is required to have completed a relevant (discipline depends on the selected doctoral project) Master’s degree awarded by a university or a university of applied sciences, or a relevant study programme abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for the corresponding level of higher education (Universities Act 558/2009, 37§). The total grade of the Master’s degree must be at least on the level good (i.e. the weighted average grade of all courses and a Master’s degree must be at least 60% of the maximum grade). An applicant whose previous degree has not yet been completed must graduate according to the schedule of the doctoral degree application call for study rights at the University of Turku in the autumn of 2024.  

Applicant must hold the right to study for a doctoral degree at the Doctoral Programme in Biology, Geography and Geology (BGG) or Doctoral Programme in Technology (DPT), University of Turku, which must have been granted no earlier than November 1, 2023. If the applicant does not have the above-mentioned right to study for a doctoral degree, they are expected apply for the right to study for a doctoral degree separately at the latest in autumn 2024 application call via the Studyinfo.fi service. The right to study is a prerequisite for starting the employment position. For more details regarding the right to study call and eligibility criteria, please see Doctoral Programme in Biology, Geography and Geology (BGG) or the Doctoral Programme in Technology . From the perspectives of both the progress of studies and research and integration into the academic community, the people selected for postgraduate education are required to possess fluent oral and written communication skills in English. Please carefully check the language requirements on the website of the University of Turku Graduate School: https://www.utu.fi/en/research/utugs/how-to-apply/language

The position cannot be filled by an individual who has already completed a doctoral degree or has been granted the right to study for a doctoral degree before November 1, 2023.

In addition to meeting the above requirements, applicants are expected to have a research statement that aligns with the themes of DIWA. Furthermore, applicants should demonstrate the ability and enthusiasm to work as part of a multidisciplinary research and expert network.

The doctoral researcher employment position requires working in Finland, the place of work is Turku.

Our workplace values equality and diversity, and therefore, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for our open positions.

 

Evaluation of the applications

The applications will be evaluated by the by three main criteria in addition to the eligibility criteria:

• Quality of the applicant,
• Applicant’s motivation, and
• Quality of the research statement.

Applications are reviewed by the DIWA team and University of Turku staff. Applications may also be sent for an external evaluation to national and/or international reviewers. Shortlisted applicants may be interviewed. The decisions will be made by June 2024 at the latest and the selected applicants will be informed of the decisions without delay.

Benefits

We offer you responsible and interesting tasks and the opportunity to develop your skills in a dynamic and international environment. You will be supported by a professional and inspiring group of experienced and committed supervisors. In your work, you will become part of a wide network of doctoral researchers, researchers, and supervisors within the DIWA Flagship Project. We care about your well-being and the functionality of your everyday life through flexible working hours and our well-being services.

Please read more about University of Turku as an employee from Come work with us!  pages.

The European Commission has awarded the University of Turku the right to use the HR Excellence in Research logo . The logo is a token of the University's commitment to continuous development of the position and working conditions of researchers according to the guidelines set forth in the European Charter for Researchers. 

The university offers good support and orientation for international hires. Please learn more about the Finnish culture and relocation to Finland:

• City of Turku ,
• Welcome visitor ,
• Career in Southwest Finland ,
• International House of Turku
• Working culture: infoFinland.fi
• This is Finland
• Careers in Southwest Finland
• Finland - a superpower of education and innovations | University of Turku (utu.fi)

Salary and probationary period

The salaries are determined in accordance with the University salary system for teaching and research personnel. It consists of a task-specific salary component and a personal performance salary component. The task-specific salary component of a doctoral researcher is at level 2–4, depending the progress of the doctoral project. The personal performance component, added on top of the task-specific base salary is also paid. For a doctoral researcher, the salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and will be approximately 2500–3300 €/month, depending on the progress of the doctoral project. The position has a probationary period of six months.

The positions are intended for full-time doctoral dissertation research and postgraduate studies. The employment contract is based on the total working time of 1612 h per year, which gives the doctoral researchers’ freedom to plan their working hours. Duties other than those related to doctoral dissertation research, such as teaching duties, must be proportioned so as not to compromise the completion of the doctoral dissertation within the planned schedule. As a rule, up to 5% (a maximum of about 80 hrs per academic year) of the annual working time of the doctoral researcher can consist of departmental duties including teaching.

How to apply

Please submit your application through our electronic recruitment system by April 15, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. The application link can be found on the university's website at the beginning of the advertisement "Aply for this position".

The application form cannot be saved as a draft. However, after submitting you can return to edit your application via the link you receive by email. The application can be edited until the application deadline. You have six hours to complete your application before the timeout.

Please write your application and accompanying documents in English and send all attachments in the form of a PDF file. Applicants should enclose with their application:

A motivation (cover) letter (max. one page) is a free-form document, where an applicant is expected to describe their motivation for pursuing DIWA-doctoral studies and for conducting research, as well as their research interests. Applicant is asked to indicate their preferences in case of applying multiple positions between the partner universities of the DIWA doctoral pilot (University of Oulu, University of Turku, Aalto University, Åbo Akademi University and/or University of Eastern Finland - https://digitalwaters.fi/ )

Curriculum Vitae (max. two pages) of the applicant. A recommended template for the curriculum vitae is available on the website of the Finnish National Board of Research integrity: https://tenk.fi/en/advice-and-materials/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae .

List of publications.Link to list of publications template.  

Degree certificates and study transcripts. Scanned original Master’s degree certificate and transcript of study records (in the language that the degree was completed in). If the original degree certificates or transcripts of study records are not written in English, Finnish, or Swedish, official translations to one of these languages must also be submitted. If the degree that gives eligibility for the study right for a doctoral degree is not completed by the deadline of application time, an up-to-date transcript of study records must be attached to the application.

Research statement of the selected research topic (max. two pages). A research statement is a short research plan or idea paper in a research topic, where you briefly describe how you plan to implement your chosen doctoral project. The research statement can be checked with the Turnitin Originality Check plagiarism detection software. The use of artificial intelligence to assist in the preparation of the research statement should be clearly indicated. Attach the Research statement to the application under attachment “Research plan”.

List of references. List up to three references with full contact information to the application form.

 

For Further Information

For further information about the DIWA doctoral researcher positions regarding the Department of Geography and Geology, the University of Turku, please contact Professor Petteri Alho . For further information about the DIWA doctoral researcher positions regarding the Department of Computing, the University of Turku, please contact Professor Tomi Westerlund . You can also contact the principal supervisor of the doctoral project of your interest, if you wish.

For information related to the application process or right to study a doctoral degree, please contact coordinator Sari Järvi ([email protected] ).

 

 

DIWA – Digital Waters Flagship

Digital Waters – Securing water resources with digital twins

DIWA flagship is a leading research and innovation ecosystem, using research to support decision-making and pave the way for the next reevolution in the water sector – digitally.

Do you want to develop new innovations to solve problems related to climate change,water resources, and the water sector?

We invite you to join our doctoral pilot!

We offer you the necessary skills and knowledge to develop game-changing innovations and find career opportunities in the water sector.

DIWA doctoral pilot, the University of Turku, is inviting applications for 16 fixed-term doctoral researcher positions at the Department of Geography and Geology and Department of Computing.  We offer a structured doctoral education path that equips you with the necessary skills to become a game-changer in water research and innovation. The duration of the DIWA doctoral researcher position is three years. The expected starting date in the position is at the latest on 1st of January 2025.

The University of Turku is an inspiring and international academic community of 25,000 students and staff in Southwest Finland. We build a sustainable future with multidisciplinary research, education, and collaboration. With us, your work will have a significant impact and relevance in the changing world.

See our open vacancies

Phone:
+358 29 450 5000
Email:
[email protected]

Location: 20014 Turun yliopisto

Information for the applicant

The application form cannot be saved as a draft. However, after submitting you can return to edit your application via the link you receive by email. The application can be edited until the application deadline.

You have 6 hours to complete your application before the timeout.

Instructions for submitting a job application

Requirements

Research Field

Computer science

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Research Field

Engineering

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Research Field

Environmental science

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Research Field

Geography

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Additional Information

Website for additional job details

https://academicpositions.com

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

16

Company/Institute

University of Turku

Country

Finland

City

Turku

Postal Code

FI-20014

Street

TURUN YLIOPISTO

Where to apply

Website

https://academicpositions.com/ad/university-of-turku/2024/16-doctoral-researche…

Contact

City

Turku

Website

http://www.utu.fi/en/

Postal Code

FI-20014

STATUS: EXPIRED