PhD Fellow in Computer Science - Energy Informatics, Smart Energy and Power Systems Modelling

Jonatan Ottesen
20th April 2023
Languages
English

• English

English
Faculty of Science and Technology
PhD Fellow in Computer Science - Energy Informatics, Smart Energy and Power Systems Modelling
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The position

UiT The Arctic University of Norway has a PhD position in Computer Science, with focus on Energy Informatics – Smart Energy and Power Systems Modelling, vacant for a candidate committed to take a doctoral degree (PhD). The position is organized under the Department of Computer Science .

The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The position’s field of research

The PhD position is created within the new AURORA Center that has been established at UiT, called MASCOT, which stands for Mathematical Structures in Computations. The Aurora Center MASCOT aims at unifying and advancing research frontiers in the interplay of pure mathematics and computations by exploring fundamental mathematical structures and their increasing significance for modern algorithms and novel program architectures.

Within the AURORA Center, the successful candidate will work on computer science and mathematical optimization applications for a relevant class of problems within power and energy systems.

The topic of the position can be summarized as follows. The project aims at developing computing architectures and algorithms for optimal power networks islanding and restoration within large-scale technology-oriented energy and power systems models. The class of problems of power networks islanding and restoration presents modelling, methodological, and computational challenges that can be addressed with a combination of computer science and mathematical techniques. Therefore, the successful PhD candidate will develop architectures and algorithms to identify novel ways to solve this class of problems, with a particular focus on large-scale and technology-oriented models. 

The main advisor for the PhD project will be Associate Professor Chiara Bordin, Department of Computer Science, UiT. The PhD candidate will also be co-supervised by both internal and external professors and/or researchers with who ongoing collaborations within power systems modelling have already been established. In addition, the PhD candidate will have the opportunity to be engaged within the AURORA center network and deliver and discuss the research progress with the relevant involved people in the center.

Applicants must submit a minimum three pages motivational technical document discussing your understanding and visions for the topic outlined here. Based on your background and understanding, discuss: why the overall topic is important for research and industry, what is the role of mathematical optimization in it, what is the meaning of the different keywords that appear in the topic description of this announcement, why and how these keywords can be connected with each other. Also identify and discuss three relevant works in literature that are connecting a subset of these keywords.

Contact

Further information about the position is available by contacting Associate Professor Chiara Bordin: 

• email: [email protected]

For administrative questions, please contact Head of administration Svein Tore Jensen:

• phone: +47 77644036
• email: [email protected]

Jon Terje Hellren Hansen, Ingun A.Mæhlum
Qualifications

This position requires a Master's degree or equivalent in Computer Science or other relevant fields such as Power and Energy Systems, Operations Research, or Industrial Engineering.

The successful candidate must demonstrate a strong interest and motivation towards the topics outlined in the position fields of research section of this announcement. The successful candidate must also demonstrate a good interdisciplinary knowledge of computer science, mathematical modelling, power systems, and energy economics. Preferably the candidate has adequate skills in programming with open-source programming tools such as Julia-lang or Python.

The PhD candidate is expected to work self-sufficiently on research tasks that directly contribute to the research focus agreed with the supervisors during periodic supervision meetings. Research tasks can be of various types, some of them are pleasant and others may be boring/stressful/frustrating. Therefore, the candidate must demonstrate the ability to work on any type of tasks that are necessary to reach the research goals, whether they are enjoyable or not. From this point of view, priority will be given to candidates who can demonstrate mental strength, versatility, and adaptability.

Within the timeframe of the position, the PhD candidate is expected to produce a PhD thesis that is a collection of minimum three peer-reviewed scientific papers. These works are to be developed under close regular discussions with the supervisors. The research group regards active supervision as a necessary and substantial contribution naturally leading to co-authorship of the supervisors in scientific publications. However, it is a requirement that the PhD candidate must be the first author and main contributor of the peer-reviewed works produced during the PhD period. Therefore, priority will be given to applicants who already can demonstrate the ability to develop and publish scientific papers in relevant scientific journals, as well as the ability to successfully discuss research questions and advanced research topics with more experienced professionals, like it normally happens during supervision meetings.

The applicant should in addition be able to document proficiency in English equivalent to Norwegian Higher Education Entrance Qualification.

During the assessment, emphasis will be put on your potential for research, organization, motivation and personal suitability for the position. In particular, we are looking for a candidate that is responsible, consistent, motivated, hard-working, and stress resistant. Willingness to learn new things outside your comfort zone is important, as well as self-discipline and ability to work independently.

As many as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme 

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Science and Technology  and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:  

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 

UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

In order to gain admission to the programme, the applicant must have a grade point average of C or better for the master’s degree and for relevant subjects of the bachelor’s degree. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here . 

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from NOKUT .

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position. 

The application for final admission consists of a research proposal of about 10 pages written by the applicant in close consultation with the supervisors. The research group sees the research proposal as a vital and serious document that will help create a solid research strategy for the duration of the PhD. The candidate is expected to think about the research proposal similarly and to put in a lot of time and effort to finalize it before the start of the position.

The research proposal's content must be consistent with the overall framework of the position mentioned in this announcement and must be agreed upon with the supervisors. The candidate is expected to describe in detail the research topics to be addressed, their relevance, the motivation for the proposed activities, the methodologies to be used, the tentative list of planned papers (with tentative titles), the planned courses to follow, the timeline, and the overall management of the project in the research proposal.

As a result, applicants are strongly encouraged to start thinking about such matters early on, since they will be part of the interview process.

Applicants recruited for this role should expect a heavy workload from the start, and they should demonstrate their desire and devotion during the interview.

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

UiT
We offer

• An exciting international academic environment with dedicated colleagues
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund
• The possibility to balance professional development with a location to experience the liberating arctic nature: ski under the northern lights, hike and bike along the fjords
• PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 501 200 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

Application 

Your application must include: 

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and interest in the position and your suitability to the position (max one page)
• Curriculum Vitae
• Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
• Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Minimum three (3) written references
• Contact information to minimum four (4) references
• Master’s thesis
• Any academic work that is relevant to the position, preferably scientific publications

• A minimum three pages motivational technical document discussing your understanding and visions for the topic outlined in the “position’s field of research” section of this announcement. Based on your background and understanding, discuss: why the overall topic is important for research and industry, what is the role of mathematical optimization in it, what is the meaning of the different keywords that appear in the topic description of this announcement, why and how these keywords can be connected with each other. Also identify and discuss three relevant works in literature that are connecting a subset of these keywords.

Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcripts for the master’s degree with your application.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline. 

General information 

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants . 

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no .

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years. 

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure. 

Charter & Code - Torger Grytå
Eallju - Developing the High North

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus comprehensive university at the international forefront. Our vision is to be a driving force for developing the High North. The Northern Sami notion eallju, which means eagerness to work, sets the tone for this motive power at UiT. Along with students, staff and the wider community, we aim to utilise our location in Northern Norway and Sápmi, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio and interdisciplinary advantage to shape the future.

Our social mission is to provide research-based education of high quality, perform artistic development and carry out research of the highest international quality standards in the entire range from basic to applied. We will convey knowledge about disciplines and contribute to innovation. Our social mission unites UiT across various studies, research fields and large geographical distances. This demands good cooperation with trade and industry and civil society as well as with international partners. We will strengthen knowledge-based and sustainable development at a regional, national and international level.

Academic freedom and scientific and ethical principles form the basis for all UiT’s activities. Participation, co-determination, transparency and good processes will provide the decision-making basis we need to make wise and far-sighted priorities. Our students and staff will have the opportunity to develop their abilities and potential. Founded on academic integrity, we will be courageous, committed and generous in close contact with disciplines, people and contemporary developments.

We will demonstrate adaptability and seek good and purposeful utilisation of resources, so we are ready to meet the expectations and opportunities of the future. We will strengthen the quality and impact of our disciplines and core tasks through the following three strategic priority areas.

Apply for this job
Deadline

20th April 2023

Employer

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Municipality

Tromsø - Romsa

Scope

Fulltime (1 positions) Fulltime (%)

Duration

Fixed Term

Place of service

UiT in Tromsø

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