Professor, Urban and Regional Planning

The Department of Architecture at Aalto University is an internationally renowned education and research unit. With respect to Finland’s esteemed architectural heritage, we search for new solutions to the challenges of sustainable development. To us, architecture is an art form that requires practical skills and individual artistic development, as well as sustainability knowledge relevant to design and planning. We educate critical thinkers who accept their responsibility to research and design a socially, culturally, and ecologically sustainable built environment. The Department of Architecture offers degree programmes in architecture, landscape architecture and interior architecture. Currently, the BA level courses are taught primarily in Finnish whilst MA and doctoral level studies primarily in English. For more information, please see: http://architecture.aalto.fi/en/                                                                               

We are seeking:

Assistant, Associate or Full professor in Urban and Regional Planning (Yhdyskuntasuunnittelu / Samhällsplanering)

The call is open for all levels of the Aalto University tenure track system . The position will begin 1 August, 2023 or as agreed. The professorship is full-time.

Job description

The professorship focuses on the teaching of urban and regional planning and researching the field, bridging the gap between planning research and planning practice. The field includes the planning, development and research of neighbourhoods, zones, policies, standards and regulations for cities and regions. The professor leads the field’s activities at the school of Arts, Design and Architecture towards sustainable areas and places that improve the quality of life for the users, as well as protects heritage and nature.

The professorship is responsible for education on all academic degree levels with colleagues at the Department and beyond, and especially with an already existing lecturer in the field. The education gives skills for orchestrating planning projects with experts from other fields. Compared to design, the focus of planning is rather on planning system and governance and takes place on theoretical, strategic, structural, and policy levels. Most of the students of this professorship will graduate as architects and landscape architects. The professor leads the multidisciplinary Urban Studies and Planning Master Programme and participates actively in its education activities.

The role also involves an obligation towards societally and ecologically beneficial activities. External fundraising, multidisciplinary collaboration as well as the development and management work within the Department of Architecture are part of the work. We expect professors to be proactive members of the Aalto and the international academic community. Collaboration with national and international partners will be important.

Requirements
A holistic understanding of the contemporary and historical background of urban and regional planning is necessary to successfully lead the field at Aalto University. The field of urban and regional planning requires understanding of systems thinking and skills to use knowledge from various other fields: geospatial knowledge, heritage management, sociology, urban studies, urban economy etc.

The applicants will be reviewed based on the quality and potential of their research, relevant planning projects in urban and regional scale, teaching merits, academic leadership skills and societal impact. A master’s degree in architecture, landscape architecture or urban and regional planning and a doctoral degree relevant to the position is mandatory.

A successful candidate is expected to have broad knowledge of urban and regional planning, and the related Nordic context. Peer-reviewed publications, participation in research projects, teaching and supervision experience, architectural and planning publications and contribution to the advancement of sustainability in the field will be considered indications of the applicant’s suitability for the position.

The candidate is expected to be internationally networked and fluent in English. Knowledge of Finnish and/or Swedish is an advantage. The position will require moving to Finland for candidates not already located in the country.

Please find more information on the School of Arts, Design and Architecture’s tenure-track criteria here .

What we offer

We offer you a possibility to work within a well-resourced learning, research and art & design community. The School of Arts, Design and Architecture has well-equipped infrastructure for research and artistic activities, including a number of top-class workshop premises. We are located on the Aalto University campus in Otaniemi, Espoo, with several other neighboring research institutions and organizations.

The salary will be defined based on the applicant’s qualifications and level of position and will follow the Aalto University salary system . In addition to the salary, Aalto University provides its employees with occupational health care and excellent learning and development opportunities.

Ready to apply?

The following materials should be submitted in English and in PDF format through our recruitment system Workday . Maximum size per document there is 5 MB. (Please note that the portfolio with your most significant publications and/or architectural works should not be submitted via Workday due to the file size restrictions, and therefore separate instructions are provided below for the specific delivery of the portfolio file).

• a motivation letter, including your vision for research and teaching in the applied position (max. 3 pages)
• a curriculum vitae, according to the instructions of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity
• publication list
• a teaching portfolio that follows Aalto University guidelines (attachments for teaching portfolio can be added as extra)
• A project portfolio of max 10 (5+5) items presenting your most significant publications and/or selected architectural and planning projects (max. 20 pages and 30 MB). Please upload your portfolio document, as a single PDF file, to our portfolio uploading service .

We kindly ask you to submit your application materials through our recruitment systems no later than midnight on 17 August, 2022. (UTC +2). 

If you already work at Aalto University or are a visitor here, please apply for the position by using your existing Workday user account! Please see how to do it here .

After the application period closes, the Departmental Committee will draw a shortlist of candidates who will be invited to a site visit at the Department of Architecture. During the site visit they will be interviewed and asked to deliver a teaching demonstration. The site visit will take place in fall 2022, if this is possible in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic at the time (if not, the teaching demonstrations and interviews will be delivered remotely). In addition, the shortlisted applications will be reviewed by external experts.

Aalto University reserves the right to leave the position open, to extend the application period or to ask for supplementary materials.

Enquiries

For additional information, please contact Chair of the Departmental Committee, Professor Antti Ahlava: +358 50 324 1179, antti.ahlava (at)aalto.fi
In questions related to the recruitment process, please contact HR Specialist
Satu Pöyhönen: satu.poyhonen(at)aalto.fi

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