Associate Professor in Integrated Circular Design of the Built Environment

The Onsager Fellowship programme – 16 tenure-track positions

The Onsager Fellowship programme at NTNU is designed to attract talented early-career scholars with documented excellent supervised work, ready to work independently and with the potential to become a research leader.

The tenure-track associate professor’s duties will primarily include research, but also include supervision, teaching, and other duties necessary to qualify for a permanent professor position within 6-7 years.

In the NTNU tenure-track programme, associate professors are subject to two types of review during the tenure-track period:

• a mid-career assessment after 3-4 years
• a final tenure assessment at the end of the tenure track period.

If the ‘final tenure assessment” is positive, s/he will be employed as a full-time professor.

The overall purpose of the review system is to ensure and maintain the high academic standards of the university’s senior faculty staff. To help meet these standards, the associate professor is offered an international mentor and favourable terms.

NTNU is now announcing 16 tenure-track positions.

The Department of Architecture and Technology has a vacancy for a tenure-track position as part of the Onsager Fellowship Programme.

About the position

A tenure-track position in integrated circular design of the built environment is now open at the Department of Architecture and Technology . 

We are looking for a candidate wishing to pursue innovative research on solutions, methods, and strategies centered around the concept of circularity in the built environment to support the green transition.

The desired candidate shall enable technical solutions and circular design practices that meet social, historical, and architectural quality of buildings and neighborhoods. An important focus shall therefore be placed on applying circular design principles to support the transformation, and re-use of buildings and/or neighborhoods.

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate that wants to become an important player in the national and international research arena, and actively work to expand the existing academic and industrial network of the department. We consider experience in collaborating with interdisciplinary research and/or design teams a very important requisite for the desired candidate.

The Department is heavily involved in research on zero emission neighborhoods and climate positive circular communities. It hosts the National Research Centre on Zero Emission Neighborhoods (ZEN Centre ) in Smart Cities, which has a total budget of 385 million NOK over 8 years. The main goal is to enable the transition to a low carbon society by developing sustainable neighbourhoods with (net) zero greenhouse gas emissions. The Department is currently also leading the two EU Horizon 2020 projects Syn.ikia – Sustainable Plus Energy Neighbourhoods and ARV – Climate Positive Circular Communitie s that expands the goals of the ZEN Centre.

State-of-the-art research infrastructure and pilot projects available at the Department offer a unique opportunity to combine theoretical research with experimental and demonstration activities (e.g. www.zeblab.no ).  

Your immediate leader is head of department.

Duties of the position

• Research within the Department’s areas with a focus on integrated circular approaches for the design and transformation of the built environment
• Teaching, both in the master program of architecture and in the international master program on sustainable architecture
• Project development and grant writing towards both national and European funding agencies, with a specific focus on programs targeting scientific excellence
• Continuous collaboration with different discipline units both within the department and faculty, and with other faculties at NTNU
• Engaging with industry and different stakeholders in the value-chain of circular practices for the built environment
• Communication activities targeting a wide audience beyond traditional scientific dissemination in academic journals
• Supervise the PhD Fellow connected to this position, as well as guide other PhD and Postdoctoral Fellows linked to this topic, together with the team

Required qualifications

The Onsager Fellows programme is designed to attract talented early-career scholars, with documented excellent supervised work, with ambitious research plans to work independently and with the potential for scientific breakthrough. 

You must have the qualifications required for the position of associate professor in the field of integrated circular design of the built environment, as outlined in the the regulations concerning appointment and promotion to teaching and research posts .

• Your Ph.D., or comparable academic work, must be within the field of architecture, civil or environmental engineering (or a comparable relevant field). The PhD should have been awarded no more than 5 years prior to the application deadline, excluding law entitled leave.
• You have experience from research and/or design of high performance, zero-emission, climate-positive, and circular buildings and/or neighborhoods
• You have experience with dissemination and communication of your research and/or practices through publications in internationally acknowledged journals
• You have worked in and contributed to interdisciplinary projects that span across multiple fields
• Proficient in written and oral communication in English

You must document relevant basic competence in teaching and supervision at a university/higher education level, as referenced in the Norwegian National Regulations . If this cannot be documented, you will be required to complete an approved course in university pedagogy within two years of commencement. NTNU offers qualifying courses.

New employees who do not speak a Scandinavian language by appointment is required, within three years, to demonstrate skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language equivalent to level three of the course for Norwegian for speakers of other languages at the Department of Language and Literature at NTNU.

Preferred qualifications

• Use of advanced digital tools for the design of buildings and/or neighborhoods
• Development and applications of methods and approaches for environmental and sustainability assessment of the built environment
• Development and applications of methods and tools to support the design for disassembly and the reuse of building materials and building components
• Experience with life cycle management and sustainable transformation of the built environment
• Broad understanding of sustainability for built environment spanning from the technical/environmental dimension to the socio-cultural and economic dimensions
• Experience in bridging technical competences about environmental performance of buildings with performance of energy, materials and social, historical, and architectural values of the built environment
• Experience with application for competitive national and international research grants
• Good pedagogical skills

Personal qualities

• A strong commitment to help create good buildings and neighborhoods with high architectural and environmental quality
• A desire to contribute to sustainable development through teaching and research
• Ability to work both independently and in groups
• Good collaboration skills and desire to contribute to a good working environment
• Ability to work with external partners and build networks
• Ability to inspire and motivate students and create engagement

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

Salary and conditions

As an Associate Professor (code 1011) you are normally paid from gross 604 700 – 825 900 NOK per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. As required by law, 2% of this salary will be deducted and paid into the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

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.

It is a prerequisite that you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

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 follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on the information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfill the criteria specified above.

If for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result. Leave to which the candidate is entitled by law or collective agreement shall be excluded when calculating the time since finishing the PhD.

Your application must include:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• A teaching portfolio, in which your teaching competence is compiled and presented systematically,   (See guidelines for applicants: Documentation of teaching qualifications in applications and appointments to academic positions at NTNU )
• Academic works – published or unpublished – that you wish to be considered during assessment of your application (up to 5 items)
• A description of the scientific/artistic /architectural works you consider most relevant, which you particularly wish to be factored into the assessment
• A list of your previous works, with details on where they have been published
• A research plan
• Details of projects for which you have served as project manager or in which you have collaborated, including information on financing, duration, and scope
• Names and contact information for three relevant referees

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your specific input to a joint project, you must include evidence of your contributions.

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. Our assessment of the pedagogical skills will be based on documented pedagogical material, forms of presentation in your academic works, teaching experience, Ph.D., and Masters supervision, and any other relevant pedagogical background. Both quality and scope will be taken into consideration.

NTNU is obliged by the evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA .  This means that we will pay particular attention to the quality and academic range demonstrated by your scientific work to date. We will also pay attention to research leadership and participation in research projects. Your scientific work from the last five years will be given the most weight.

Your application will be considered by an expert committee. Candidates of interest will be invited to an interview, and to deliver a trial teaching session.

General information

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions, and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

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 continually maintain and improve your professional development and be flexible regarding any organizational changes.

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.

For the sake of transparency, candidates will be given the expert evaluation of their own and other candidates. As an applicant you are considered part of the process and is stipulated to rules of confidentiality.

If you have any questions regarding the position, please contact Professor Arild Gustavsen  or Professor Francesco Goia .  

If you have questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact HR advisor Natalia Swahn, email [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: 01.02.2023

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 Architecture and Technology

Our goal is to develop coherent and sustainable architecture of high quality. We work with form, theory and history, building materials and building structures, and energy-efficient and sustainable buildings. Our activities also include the preservation and development of traditional building craft skills. The Department of Architecture and Technology is one of four departments in the Faculty of Architecture and Design .

Deadline 1st February 2023
EmployerNTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary