PhD Candidate in Multimodal Remote Sensing, with a Focus on Visualisation

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

A three-year PhD position is available at the Department of Computer Science in Gjøvik. The position will focus on developing new methods to enhance, fuse, and interpret image data captured from a drone (including ground-penetrating radar, hyperspectral and LiDAR) to produce high-quality visualisations.

The PhD position will contribute to the research project “High-Resolution Underground Imaging with Airborne Ground-Penetrating Radar”, in which NTNU is a partner. The project is led by Massey University in New Zealand. It aims to develop a drone-based platform to assist the detection and mapping of sub-surface features for applications in archaeology, agriculture and civil engineering. 

The platform is centered around a ground-penetrating radar, which has two major issues (especially airborne): low spatial resolution and poor interpretability. The selected candidate will work in collaboration with the project team to address these issues.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. 

The position is complementing the state-of-the-art research performed at the Norwegian Colour and Visual Computing Laboratory .

You will report to Head of Department. 

• Conduct a stand-alone research project on multimodal remote sensing.
• Participate in the general activities of the Colourlab.
• Participate in the general activities of the department.
• Complete a training component as part of the PhD of a minimum of 30 ECTS.
• Participate in international activities such as conference attendance and research stays at educational institutions abroad.

• You must have a professionally relevant background in remote sensing, signal processing, image processing, or similar.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale . If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the PhD programme in Computer Science .
• Good programming knowledge and experience.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and an ability to communicate effectively.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants  and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant  

• Experience with data fusion and/or visualisation
• Experience with statistical analysis

• High motivation for research work and ability to work independently.
• Well organized.
• Ability to work both individually and in a (virtual) team environment with a high level of personal responsibility, initiative, and leadership skills.
• Flexibility and ability to take direction and accommodate feedback from diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to meet deadlines and produce work of a consistently high standard.
• Eager to disseminate research results through publications and presentations at international conferences.

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 491 200 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.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in computer science within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period. 

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 applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

The application must include:

• A cover letter where the applicant describes his/her personal motivation and relevance with respect to the requirements of the advertisement.
• CV, certificates and diplomas.
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees.
• If you have publications or other relevant research work (up to 3 items).

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, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher 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

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.

The city of Gjøvik has a population of 30 000 and is a town known for its rich music and cultural life. The beautiful nature surrounding the city is ideal for an active outdoor life! The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world.

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.

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Prof. Steven Le Moan, telephone +47 459 14 826, email [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Stine Terese Ruen Nymoen, e-mail: [email protected] .

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI) .

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number 2021/57270 when applying.

Application deadline: 30.11.21

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  .