项目介绍

2025年5月15日

About the position

The Department of Public Health and Nursing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is offering two fully funded Doctoral Research Fellowships, starting September 1, 2025. These positions are part of the international BetterNutrition4Adolescent project funded by The Research Council of Norway (https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/), addressing critical challenges in adolescent nutrition in low-resource settings.

Successful candidates will join a vibrant, interdisciplinary research team and collaborate closely with leading public health experts from Public Health Foundation of India (https://phfi.org/), Delhi and Institute for Implementation Science and Health, Nepal (https://www.iish.org.np/). This unique opportunity includes extensive fieldwork in urban communities in Delhi and Budhanilkantha in Nepal allowing candidates to gain hands-on experience in global health research and community-based intervention design.

The fellowships offer an immersive experience that combines rigorous training, real-world impact, and cross-cultural engagement—perfect for candidates passionate about global health, adolescent well-being, and sustainable development.

About the project

Malnutrition—encompassing both undernutrition and the growing prevalence of obesity—remains a critical public health concern among adolescents in low-resource settings such as India and Nepal. Poor nutritional status during adolescence significantly increases the risk of early-onset non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and mental health disorders, leading to lasting impacts on overall well-being. Schools have the potential to act as key platforms for promoting healthy eating habits. However, many existing school-based nutrition programs fall short by not adequately addressing the specific challenges faced by disadvantaged families or by failing to actively involve the broader school community in creating supportive food environments.

The BetterNutrition4Adolescent aims to fill these critical gaps by working with low-fee schools located in marginalized, peri-urban communities in Delhi (India) and Budhanilkantha (Nepal). The project will adopt a participatory, stakeholder-driven approach—engaging students, parents, teachers, school administrators, food vendors, and canteen staff—to identify the barriers and facilitators shaping the school food environment. Through this inclusive process, the project will co-design multicomponent interventions tailored to the local contexts. The project will also develop practical implementation strategies that consider logistical and cultural challenges to ensure the interventions are smoothly integrated into daily school routines. The interventions will be evaluated for their acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness in improving key health outcomes. 

This is a global health project hosted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), carried out in equitable partnership with experienced institutions: the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the Institute for Implementation Science and Health (IISH) in Nepal, and the University of Birmingham in the UK. 

The PhD candidate(s) will spend nearly two years conducting fieldwork in Delhi, India and Budhanilkantha, Nepal with the remaining one year based at NTNU in Norway. The research fellow is expected to submit a PhD thesis within three years from the date of commence. 

Duties of the position

• Complete the coursework and doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Conduct fieldwork at the study sites in Nepal/Delhi under close supervision of local supervisors
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment. 

Required selection criteria

• You must have a Master’s degree in Community Medicine, Global Health, Public Health, Epidemiology, Nursing, Health Sciences or equivalent. Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level. Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than 01.06.2025.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master’s degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered 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 Medicine and Health Sciences
• Good oral and written presentation skills in both English and Nepali/Hindi language equivalent to level 
• Documented experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods, either through a master thesis or previous academic publications
• Previous relevant research experience working in low-resource settings

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Familiar with SPSS, STATA, R, or Python for quantitative analysis
• Knowledge of NVivo or Atlas.ti for qualitative data analysis

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: 

• Ability to work independently and in an interdisciplinary team 
• Well-structured approach to work and time use 
• A collegiate attitude and willingness to collaborate across disciplines 
• Analyse data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions 

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• As a public employee, you have favourable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)

When in Norway you will be employed as a PhD Candidate at NTNU and will have access to employee benefits and discounts. 

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. 

Salary and conditions

The appointment of the PhD candidate will be made in accordance with current regulations and supplementary rules with guidelines for employment as PhD candidate appointments at universities and university colleges in Norway. Admission to a doctoral degree programme is a requirement for employment as a PhD candidate. 

While based in Norway, PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 536 200 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. 

During the candidate’s residence in Nepal or India, employment conditions will be established by respective partner institutes and the PhD position is subject to the salary agreements and personnel regulations stipulated there. The respective partner institutes will pay the PhD candidate his/her salary during their appointment in Nepal or India and provide office space and other infrastructure necessary for the research activities.

The employment period is 3 years. 

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the Medical Faculty`s Doctoral Programme 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 by the Research Council Norway.

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.

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: 

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
• CV 
• Copy of Master’s thesis. If you have recently 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.
• Short letter of motivation (500-600 words)
• Possibly publications etc. other relevant research work
• Possibly certificates
• Names and contact information of three relevant 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, 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 Dr. Abhijit Sen (Associate Professor), abhijit.sen@ntnu.no , Prof. Monika Arora, monika.arora@phfi.org or Dr. Tina Rawal tina.rawal@phfi.org and for IISH-Nepal implementationscienceinstitute@gmail.com 

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Anita Finserås Bretun, e-mail: anita.f.bretun@ntnu.no

Application deadline: 23.05.2025

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

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech 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.