项目介绍

2025年4月19日

About the position

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a career in Higher Education and research within and beyond academia.

The Norwegian Research Centre for Renewal of Hydropower Technology, RenewHydro, has a vacancy for a PhD Candidate. RenewHydro is hosted by the Department of Energy and Process Engineering at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway, and it is funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian hydropower industry. The research is both experimental and numerical and it is mainly focused on hydraulic turbine. However, the market, environmental impact and social acceptance is also part of the research.

The candidate will work with hydraulic turbines for future flexible operation. It involves both numerical and experimental work in the Waterpower laboratory. The work will be part of the research program “Sustainable upgrading and expansion of the hydropower system” in the new centre for renewable energy, FME RenewHydro.

The project aims to enhance efficiency and performance through advancement of hydropower technology (pump-turbine). This includes hydropower technology through innovative approaches, including turbine, generator and converter design, storage solutions, and operational enhancements. Pump-storage schemes in existing hydropower plants can increase the storage capacity by increased utilization of the reservoir volume.  

The research will focus on investigating the turbines under highly flexible operation. The candidate will require close collaboration with team members who work in the parts of the project including the tunnels, surge shaft oscillation, generator performance, variable speed operation, fish behaviour, etc. 

The position reports to Associate Professor Chirag Trivedi at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering.

Duties of the position

• Plan and execute comprehensive, independent research under supervision
• Interact and collaborate with researchers and project partners
• Communicate results effectively through research journal publications, conference presentations and other forms of communication to a diverse range of audiences

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in mechanical engineering or equivalent education
• 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 faculty’s doctoral program.
• Proven skills/track record in the relevant areas of research (hydropower, fluid mechanics, turbomachinery)
• Interest in communication and dissemination of research results, including participation in project related activities and fulfilling the obligations.
• Excellent written and communication English language skills
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

As a result of the new Act relating to universities and university colleges with associated regulations of 01.08.2024, NTNU has, during a transitional period (for decisions on employment in recruitment positions before 1 August 2025), chosen to use the terms of employment in the old regulations of 31 January 2006 no. 102 on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, research fellow, scientific assistant and specialist candidate

Preferred selection criteria

• Knowledge of hydro turbine and the experiments
• Knowledge of turbine optimization technique is advantageous
• Knowledge of programming/software, MATLAB, Python, OpenFOAM, LabView, ANSYS, etc.
• Research quality and publications – Journal papers
• Genuine interest in research and willingness to learn and carry out high quality research

Personal characteristics

We are looking for a highly dedicated, well-organized, team player with excellent communication skills, motivated to contribute in the RenewHydro project by conducting high quality research.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• Exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• An open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• Favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Employee benefits that we recommend you to read more about

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population’s collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality. The Department of Energy and Process Engineering (EPT) has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female Research Assistants, PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the academic careers of female employees, and is also made visible to our student body, to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we continue to build on our international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK  536 200,-  per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 3 years for the doctoral work.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Engineering within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary academic and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates The application must include:

• 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.
• Academic works (publications), if any – you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 3 works)
• Name, current affiliation and email address of three referees. Note: If the referee does not respond to our request within two days, your application may not be shortlisted.

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. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well. 

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

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU’s social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt 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 exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Chirag Trivedi chirag.trivedi@ntnu.no. 

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Megan Norris (HR Advisor) megan.norris@ntnu.no.

Application deadline: 16.05.2025

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 

The city of Trondheim has a population of 200 000. It is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene and is known as the tech capital of Norway. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is among the best of its kind in the world. Professional, subsidized day-care for children is easily available, as is children`s education (including two international schools). Trondheim has low crime rates, clean air quality, and offers great opportunities for enjoying nature, culture and family-life.