Doctoral Researcher (Sustainable and Green Electronics for Circular Economy)

9 May 2023
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Tampere University

Research Field

Economics » Environmental economics
Engineering » Industrial engineering
Economics » Management studies

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Finland

Application Deadline

17 Jun 2023 - 20:59 (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

Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences create a unique environment for multidisciplinary, inspirational and high-impact research and education. Our universities community has its competitive edges in technology, health and society. www.tuni.fi/en

We are looking for a highly motivated Doctoral Researcher to join the Center for Innovation and Technology Research Center (CITER) in the Industrial Engineering and Management Unit , at the Faculty of Management and Business .

In this position, you will be part of a project team working on the development of eco-designed smart electronic systems supporting the Green Deal objectives of the European Union. The main objective of the Sustronics project is to become 'the' European flagship project for sustainable electronics by building an ecosystem to demonstrate how the electronics industry can benefit from sustainable materials and manufacturing, eco-design, energy efficient products, and circular business models. The overall target of Sustronics is to bring the electronics sector closer to meeting Green Deal objectives while at the same time improving its competitiveness and strategic autonomy. 

The research is conducted with EU Horizon funding and there is an extensive consortium of partners included in the project from different European countries, in addition to Finland, there are researchers and companies from the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Spain, France, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland. In the project, you will also have the possibility to engage with experts from different engineering fields (materials, production processes, software).  

Job Description

The position of a Doctoral Researcher offers you the opportunity to concentrate full-time on your doctoral studies while receiving high-quality supervision and encouragement to develop your ideas within an innovative and multidisciplinary research environment. In addition to conducting research for your dissertation, your position may include some teaching or other duties in the faculty related to your studies. 

The doctoral research focuses on the development of circular economy concepts and circular business models (CBM) tailored for electronic devices from a scientific perspective. The models will be developed on a generic level, but they will highlight differences and similarities between the different pilots in the project. The project pilots will serve as test cases for the CBM development. CBM innovation and CBM experimentation approaches will be combined with stakeholder engagement and co-creation approaches. This will be done with targeted seminars, open research events, and sharing initial ideas for testing more specialized technical use cases. The target groups are consumers and industrial end-users. Means of engaging stakeholders include user surveys, interviews, and workshops on the needs and requirements regarding the developed product concepts. The engagement will be done in 3 phases: (i) awareness raising on the new technology and possibility of new solutions, (ii) user requirements collection, and (iii) verification of initial solutions with end users to get first feedback for developers.

In this position you can develop your personal expertise on the development of circular business models for firms transitioning to a circular economy. As many companies still have challenges in implementing them, more research concerning the practical implementations of CBMs, and specifically of innovative CBMs has been called for. Companies also need to renew their internal capabilities by developing circular business and engineering processes with a focus on the CBM implementation. After this project, you will have the possibility to consider either an academic career or a more practice-oriented career in the field of circular business development for high-tech products. 

In this position, 20% of the work will be conducted at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd with the Flexible sensors and devices research group. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with the research conducted at one of Europe’s leading research institutions that is owned by the Finnish state. The aim of VTT is to turn large global challenges into sustainable growth for businesses and society through scientific and technological means. The work conducted at VTT will focus on integration of digital product passport (DPP) aspects – prerequisite for efficient product circularity as proposed by the EU – into the CBMs.

Requirements

• A suitable higher university degree in industrial engineering and management, or equivalent with excellent grades.
• Demonstrated competence and motivation to pursue postgraduate studies.
• A very good command in both spoken and written English; a good Finnish language skill is desirable but not a requirement.
• Possibility to work at Tampere University’s Hervanta campus.

In addition to the above, the following are additional relevant criteria: 

• Up-to-date and in-depth knowledge about the circular economy and sustainability, especially related to business development.
• Ability to work in a team as well as independently and communicate clearly in a multidisciplinary and international environment.
• Creative, inquisitive, independent and critical thinking and a sustainability mindset, ability to adapt to emerging challenges in the research circumstances.
• Ambition to do academic studies, scientific curiosity, innovative and open mindset to conduct research in a large international consortium.
• Adequate methodological and theoretical capabilities.
• Interest in qualitative and quantitative research, conducting of literature reviews and in working with companies and end users of products.

During the application phase, you do not yet need a study right within the faculty's doctoral program, neither approved study nor detailed research plan, but they are required before starting in the position. Please visit the admissions webpage for more information: Doctoral Program in Business and Technology Management 

Tampere University is a unique, multidisciplinary and boldly forward-looking, evolving community. Our values are openness, diversity, responsibility, courage, critical thinking, erudition, and learner-centeredness. We hope that you can embrace these values and promote them in your work. 

We offer

The position will be filled full-time for a 34-month fixed-term period starting from the beginning of August 2023, or as mutually agreed. 

The salary will be based on both the job requirements and the employee’s personal performance in accordance with the salary system of Finnish universities. According to the criteria applied to teaching and research staff, the position of a doctoral researcher is placed on level 2-4 of the job requirements scale. A trial period of six months applies to all our new employees.  

Tampere University offers many benefits to its employees, e.g., occupational health services, flexible working hours, high-quality sport services and affordable lunch opportunities on campus. Please read more about Working at Tampere Universities . You can also find more information about us and working and living in Tampere by watching Tampere Higher Education Community - our academic playground .   

Read more about Finland and Tampere:    

• Visit Finland
• This is Finland
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment: Welcome to Finland
• Visit Tampere

How to apply 

Submit your application through our online recruitment system (link below). Please write your application and all the accompanying documentation in English. 

The closing date for applications is June 16, 2023 at 23:59 EEST / UTC +3. 

Please only attach the following documents to your application in one PDF-format named as “Lastname_Firstname”: 

• Curriculum Vitae according to TENK guidelines
• A letter of motivation (max. 1 page) setting out your suitability to undertake the PhD as well as what you would bring to the CITER research group and the Sustronics project consortium.
• Copy of your MSc and BSc degree certificates, including transcripts of records and their English translations (Finnish certificates are accepted).
• Evidence of a very good command of the English language for academic purposes. You have two options of demonstrating your English language proficiency: language tests or previous studies. More information here: https://www.tuni.fi/en/study-with-us/programmes/doctoral-programmes/language-requirements

For more information: 

Please contact Senior Researcher Ulla Saari (email: [email protected] )

Application period starts: 2023-05-08 10:33 Application period ends: 2023-06-16 23:59

Requirements

Research Field

Economics

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Research Field

Engineering

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Research Field

Economics

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Additional Information

Website for additional job details

https://academicpositions.com

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Tampere University

Country

Finland

City

Tampere

Postal Code

33100

Street

Kalevantie 4

Where to apply

Website

https://academicpositions.com/ad/tampere-university/2023/doctoral-researcher-su…

Contact

City

Tampere

Website

https://www.tuni.fi/en

Postal Code

33100

STATUS: EXPIRED