Postdoctoral Fellow in Software Engineering/Software Development Competencies in IT Education

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 42,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here .

We have a vacancy for a postdoctoral fellow in software engineering/software development competencies in IT education at the Department of Computer Science. The position is linked to the Excited Centre for Excellent IT Education (Excited). The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions. 

The vision of Excited is to bring Norway to the forefront of innovative IT education and to provide IT education for a sustainable and digital future. Approaches include increased focus on project- and team-based education, earlier involvement of students in research and development activities, increased focus on critical thinking, and self- and peer-assessment and -reflection, both among students and teachers. To achieve its vision, Excited addresses the challenges of IT education through three activity clusters: Learning outcomes and structure; pedagogy; and tools and infrastructure.

The postdoctoral fellow position is in the context of learning outcomes and structure (Cluster 1). This cluster of activities aims at contributing to evidence-based guidelines for course and study program design, professional skills development and assessment, development of life-long learning skills, and teaching staff involvement in study program design.

Within Cluster 1, the postdoctoral fellow is expected to research the development of professional computing skills across courses and contexts. We are interested in researching the diversity of work-life expectations of computing graduates and in how learning activities and courses should be structured within a study program to facilitate a gradual and consistent development of professional skills throughout the program. The candidate is expected to work also in close relation with Cluster 2 on pedagogics for professional skills development and with Cluster 3 on tools and infrastructure for professional skills development.

The research will typically be based on a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and design research methods with the aim of producing evidence-based designs for learning outcomes and structures. This implies that design will be grounded in specific educational and work-life contexts for relevance and in related work/theories for rigor. Development of the designs will need to consider the complex organizational context of higher education and the diversity of work-life expectations of computing graduates.

The research must be aligned with the overall goals of the Excited Centre. The postdoctoral fellow is expected to cooperate with the other members of the cluster to conduct research and disseminate the results in high-quality venues selected in cooperation with project team members.

Your immediate leader is the centre leader of Excited. 

• Conduct research, including systematic literature reviews; designing and conducting empirical investigations; and evaluating results.
• Contribute to the work at the centre as a whole and the other centre clusters.
• Contribute to the state of the art by developing models and frameworks based on the findings.
• Publish in high-quality international conferences and journals.
• Engage with professional communities relevant to the position, including participation in national and international dissemination events.

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in software engineering, computer science, or IT education.
• Good language skills in English, oral and written, are required.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate.

• Documented research in an area relevant for the position.
• Study and/or work experience within the following areas:
  • Software engineering/software development practices;
  •  IT Education;
• Hands-on experience with conducting user studies and with collecting and analyzing data.
• Pedagogical training and/or experience.
• It is desirable with language skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language

• Develops effective, sensible and practical solutions to problems
• Prefers cooperation to individual or competitive work, shares responsibility and helps the group to get the job done
• Communicates information with clarity and ease, both orally and in writing
• Works together with others across established reporting lines
• Initiates activities and projects without needing support from others

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK  563 500 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years with teaching duties or 2 years without teaching duties. The teaching duty option is negotiable.

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 you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

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 information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil 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.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates 
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 6 items)
• A short research plan suggesting research activities that the candidate finds relevant for the position
• Name and contact information of three referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well. 

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation. 

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. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. 

Working at NTNU 

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 at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

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.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Rune Hjelsvold, telephone +47 918 60 974, email [email protected] .If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR, e-mail: [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: 15.08.22 

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 Computer Science 

We are the leading academic IT environment in Norway, and offer a wide range of theoretical and applied IT programmes of study at all levels. Our subject areas include hardware, algorithms, visual computing, AI, databases, software engineering, information systems, learning technology, HCI, CSCW, IT operations and applied data processing. The Department has groups in both Trondheim and Gjøvik. The Department of Computer Science  is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering  .