ASSISTANT PROFESSOR / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OR PROFESSOR

The internationally esteemed and highly successful Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki is Finland’s leading unit of research and teaching in Educational Sciences and Teacher Education. The Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki conducts research related to human growth, development and learning, multilingualism and justice in education, pedagogy and didactics. Research objects are educational systems, learning environments and learners.

Our research aims towards the realization of cultural and social possibilities for the wellbeing of an individual and a society in a changing world. We provide undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education that qualifies students for both the teaching profession and other positions requiring general academic expertise. We also offer the pedagogical studies required to qualify as a teacher to students majoring in other faculties’ disciplines.

Faculty of Educational Sciences invites applications for the position of 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OR PROFESSOR  

The field of the position is education within the Faculty’s Swedish-language class and subject teacher training.  

The position may be filled as assistant/associate professor (tenure track) or as full professor depending on the candidate’s merits and career stage. The appointment is planned to begin on 1 January 2025.

Swedish-language class and subject teacher training is integrated into the Faculty’s Swedish-language education. The language of instruction in this training is Swedish, and the profile areas are multilingualism, diversity and social justice.

The appointee is expected to establish a strong research environment, secure external funding, provide research-based teaching as part of Swedish-language teacher training and supervise theses at all levels. The appointee will contribute to the development and management of Swedish-language class and subject teacher training, and of the entire framework of Swedish-language teaching in education. They will contribute also to the development and management of the Faculty’s research, education and public engagement activities. The job description also includes administrative duties.

Qualification requirements and selection criteria  

An appointee to the tenure-track position of assistant or associate professor must hold an applicable doctoral degree, have the ability to conduct independent scholarly work and have the teaching skills necessary for the position. Applicants for assistant/associate professor shall demonstrate their capability and motivation for an academic career through publications and other means. Research with relevance to the profile area counts as a merit. When assessing the qualifications of applicants attention is paid to both scholarly and teaching qualifications as well as success in obtaining external research funding, international research experience and other international experience.

An appointee to a full professorship must hold an applicable doctoral degree, possess top-level scholarly qualifications, experience in the supervision of scientific research and provide evidence of international cooperation in the field of research that the appointee represents. Applicants are expected to have the ability to provide top-level research-based teaching as well as supervise theses and dissertations. The position also requires the skills necessary to serve as an academic leader. When assessing the qualifications of applicants attention is paid to both scholarly and teaching qualifications.

The successful candidate must have completed pedagogical studies for teachers (60 credits in Finnish university education) or other equivalent studies if educated in a country other than Finland.

Scholarly qualifications include scientific publications and other research results of scientific value, success in obtaining external research funding, international research experience as well as scientific commissions, positions of trust and international relations. When considering the teaching qualifications of each applicant, attention will be focused on teaching experience and pedagogical training, the ability to produce learning material, other teaching merits and, if necessary, a demonstration of teaching skills as well as participation in doctoral education. Applicants’ leadership and interaction skills, societal interaction and activity in the academic community will also be taken into account. Additionally, the recruitment committee shall examine the applicants’ views on development of research and teaching in the position field. As for short-listed applicants, the evaluation shall also include external expert assessments and an interview by the recruitment committee. 

According to the Government Decree on Universities, holders of professorships or assistant or associate professorships must be proficient in the language in which they provide instruction, in this case, Swedish. The recommended level of Swedish skills corresponds to level C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. In addition, applicants should have at least satisfactory oral and written skills in Finnish. Foreign citizens, non-native Finnish citizens or citizens who have not received education in Finnish or Swedish may be exempted from the Finnish language requirement without a separate application To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must also have good English skills. The university will support the appointee’s language studies. Further information on the language requirements and the demonstration of language skills is available on our website.

The chosen applicant is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki. The Faculty of Educational Sciences provides assistance in relocation.

What we offer

The salary will be based on level 7 (assistant professor) and levels 8-10 (professor) of the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. The annual gross salary of assistant/associate professor varies between 50,000 and 69,000 euros and of full professor between 64,000 and 96,000 euros depending on the appointee’s qualifications and experience. The employment contract will include a probationary period of six months.

The faculty’s administrative and technical staff, as well as your expert colleagues will support you in your role. The university takes care of your well-being by flexible work arrangements, comprehensive occupational health care and wide-ranging, low-cost UniSport services. Professional development is supported in different ways, i.e. by offering mentoring and versatile staff training. You can read more about these on our website . 

For international applicants we offer relocation services and support in settling-in, training and other events especially designed for our international staff members, a special UniBuddy-program and specialized support for spouses (HEI LIFE Spouse Network). Read more about reasons to move to Finland and work at our university on our website .

How to apply 

Applications together with attachments must be submitted through the University’s application system by clicking on ‘Apply now’. Applicants with a helsinki.fi username and a valid employment contract or a contract for grant-based or visiting researchers or visiting professors at the University should click on ‘Employee Login’.   

Please note that all application documents need to be in English language and submitted as one single pdf file. The file needs to be named as follows: lastname_professor_pedagogik. Make sure to attach the pdf to the position you’re applying for in the recruitment system. Kinldy see instructions for the attached documents here .

The application needs to include all of the following documents: 

• university portfolio according to the university instructions  

• a full, numbered list of publications (in which ten publications most relevant to the position are indicated in bold font) (see instructions above)   

• a plan for developing research and teaching (1-2 pages) 

• a report on the applicant’s scientific / research activities (1-3 pages including activities in scientific communities, the acquisition of research funding and international scholarly work) 

Additionally we request applicants to fill out a separate report on their teaching qualifications via on-line form .

Other attachments, such as references or certificates, are not required. The top candidates will be asked to attend an interview and give a demonstration of teaching skills. 

Candidates should prepare to submit 10 publications of their choice to be sent to the assessors after the application period. These publications will then be stored in the University’s electronic recruitment system as application attachments. 

Please note that the required doctoral degree and teacher qualification need to be obtained before the end of the application period. 

The University of Helsinki is committed to promoting equality and preventing discrimination in all its operations. We welcome applicants from a variety of backgrounds. 

The application deadline is 3 June 2024. 

Additional information 

For information about the Helsinki university tenure track -model, please visit our website .

For information about the position and working environment, please contact Professor Fritjof Sahlström, mobile +358 503247515, fritjof.sahlstrom(at)helsinki.fi 

For information on the recruitment process, please contact the faculty HR Specialist Hector Nystedt, hector.nystedt(at)helsinki.fi. 

Recruitment system support: rekrytointi(at)helsinki.fi 

The Faculty of Educational Sciences is a dynamic, inspiring and international working and studying environment that has invested in state-of-the-art research and teaching infrastructure. We encourage our staff to make bold and creative decisions while exercising high standards of ethical conduct in research, teaching and community relations.

Information about working at our university .