Tenure-track position as Assistant professor in Building Technology

Updated: about 2 years ago
Deadline: 28 Feb 2022

Description of the subject area

The position is located at Department of Applied Physics and Electronics which has ca 100 staff members mainly working with undergraduate education, postgraduate education and research within the fields of building technology, electronics, energy technology, machine engineering and media technology. The ongoing research projects in building technology and energy efficiency investigate energy utilization in the life cycle of buildings, occupants’ behavior, indoor thermal comfort, (BIM) Building Information Modeling, and AI for a digitalized and sustainable built environment, among others. We are now looking for an assistant professor in the field of building technology. The last day to apply is 2022-02-28.


Duties within the employment

The assistant professor position is intended to strengthen the subjects of building technology, and become a strong contributor to the research and education activities at Department of Applied Physics and Electronics.

For research, the assistant professor will join the Digital Built Environment lab (DBE), which conducts cutting-edge research on immersive virtual environment, data-driven modelling and intelligent sensing networks to examine interrelations between human behavior and digital built environment. The assistant professor will carry out research on big-data driven building energy modelling, developing open-access platform in a digital built environment, simulating and optimizing life-cycle performance of buildings.

The tasks for education include teaching in the building technology program, which includes teaching and development work at both undergraduate, master and PhD level as well as supervision of PhD students and postdocs within the fields linked to the employment.

The employment is limited to 6 years, which consists of 65 % research and 35 % teaching or other meriting tasks. The position is a “tenure-track”, which makes it possible to develop and establish a long-term research program. An Assistant Professor has the right, upon request, to be considered for promotion to Associate Professor/ Senior Lecturer. The holder of the position is also expected to apply for external research funding. For further established criteria for promotion see the employment profile decided by the dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology on January 25, 2022.


Eligibility requirements

According to Chapter 4, Section 4 of the Higher Education Ordinance: A person qualified for appointment as an Assistant professor is a person who has been awarded a PhD or has the corresponding research expertise. Primary consideration should be given to a person who has been awarded a PhD or achieved the equivalent expertise within five years prior to the deadline for application for employment as an Assistant professor. However, a person who has been awarded a PhD or achieved the equivalent expertise at an earlier date may also be considered if there are exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances are sick leave, parental leave or other similar circumstances.

To be qualified for this appointment a doctoral degree in the fields of building technology, construction engineering and management, building energy efficient or other field of research that the department finds equal is required. Documented knowledge and proven research experience in big-data driven building energy modelling, simulation and optimization of life-cycle performance of buildings is required,

The position requires a good knowledge of English, both spoken and written.


Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria for appointment as an Assistant professor shall be the degree of such expertise required as a qualification for employment.

Thereafter the degree of pedagogical expertise as well as administrative and other experience of significance with regard to the employment’s research field and the employment tasks that may be included in the position. Furthermore, the capacity to ability to develop and manage activities and staff at the university and the ability to inform about research and developing work.


Scientific expertise

Scientific expertise shall be demonstrated through independent scientific productivity. The criteria for assessment are:

  • Breadth and depth of research – quality and extent
  • Originality in research
  • Productivity
  • Contributions to the international research community
  • Commissions of trust within the research community
  • Ability to competitively obtain research funding
  • Collaboration with the surrounding community

Primary weight in the evaluation of candidates is placed on the degree of scientific expertise assessed from scientific work published in internationally recognized academic journals and proceedings of academic conferences that apply a peer-review system. Particular emphasis shall be placed on the quality of the publications where the applicant is the first/lead or last/senior author.

Proven success in securing national funding and participation international research project are strongly meriting.

International research experience and a postdoctoral stay at a university other than the one at which the applicant received their PhD degree is strongly meriting.


Pedagogical expertise

The criteria for evaluation of pedagogical expertise are:

  • ability to plan, implement and evaluate teaching and an ability to supervise and examine students at every level of education
  • ability to vary teaching methods and examination forms in relation to anticipated study results and the nature of the subject
  • experience of collaboration with the surrounding society in planning and implementation of education
  • participation in the development of learning environments, teaching aids and study resources
  • a reflective approach to student learning and one’s own role as a teacher

Pedagogical expertise can be attained through education in university pedagogy, other education of relevance for teaching at a university level or documented and proven experience teaching at the university level.

Candidates who do not have the ability to teach in Swedish at the time of appointment are expected to learn to do so within two years from the start of the appointment


Other assessment criteria

A general basis for assessment for all teaching categories is both good cooperative skills and
the expertise and suitability in general required to complete the work duties satisfactorily.
The criteria for evaluation of administrative expertise are:

  • Experiences of supervision (students, postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows)
  • Participation in working groups or committees (department, faculty or university level)
  • Experiences of collaboration outside the academy
  • Experience of organizing research and educational activities

The applicant must have the ability to work systematically, thoroughly and independently as well as collaborating with others. Furthermore, the applicant should be familiar with theoretical engineering tools and know the research area mentioned above.


Assessment criteria and their weight

In the selection of candidates, the degree of research expertise shall be decisive. In addition, the degree of educational expertise as well as administrative and other competences of importance shall be taken into account with regard to the subject content of the employment and the duties to be included in the employment. Moreover, the degree of skill for development and leading activities and personnel at the university as well as the ability to cooperate and interact with the surrounding society and inform about research and development work will be considered.


Further conditions

Primary consideration for this position is given to those applicants who have fulfilled all the requirements for a doctoral degree, such as mandatory courses, oral defense and an approved doctoral thesis not earlier than 28 February 2017. For applicants with Swedish doctoral degrees, the award date (date of completed studies) listed in Ladok applies (February 28, 2017 at the earliest).

If you wish to claim deductible time the motivation, dates and extent must be clearly specified in the application. Applicants with older degrees will only be considered if there are not enough qualified applicants within the five-year period.

Read more about our department here.


Application

It´s important that the application follows instructions and is complete. The application must be submitted no later than 23.59 Central European Time on February 28, 2022, to be considered.

Please follow the instructions carefully. The applications will be reviewed by an international panel of reviewers. For that reason, all the submitted documents should be written in English.

  • A personal cover letter, including contact information
  • Copies of relevant university degrees and diplomas
  • Copies of five research publications relevant to the position, numbered according to the publication list
  • Attachments to a pedagogical portfolio (see p. 3.5 in Umu Application form).
  • CV/Umu Application form
    Fill in the required application template (word) . Submit it attached to your application in the Varbi system as your CV. The specified sections and headings in this standardised CV insure information is organised and presented in a similar format to facilitate reviewFollowing information must be provided in the application form:
    • basic information
    • an account of research experience (including a list of articles published and a brief research plan)
    • an account of pedagogical experience and activities
    • an account of experiences of developing and managing activities and staff
    • an account of experiences regarding interacting with the surrounding society and popularizing science
    • references, including contact details
  • The application is submitted through our electronic recruitment system. Documents sent electronically must be in Word or PDF format. Log in to the system and apply via the button at the end of this page. The closing date is February 28, 2022.


    Applying for promotion to Associate professor

    As assistant professor, upon request, can be promoted to Associate professor if he or she meets the requirements for employment as an Associate professor and upon review is determined to meet the qualifications for such employment according to the evaluation criteria that shall be applied for promotion to Associate professor. This promotion entails a permanent position as Associate professor.

    The application for promotion shall be submitted six months before the fixed-term appointment ends. If an Assistant professor after evaluation is not promoted, the fixed-term appointment ends.

    Established criteria for promotion can be found in the employment profile decided by the dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology on January 25, 2022.

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