项目介绍

2025年3月2日

About the position

This PhD position will be hosted at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics (ITK), holding peak competences in decision-making, optimization, control, and AI for cyber-physical systems. ITK is increasing its activities on energy, with a focus on the algorithmic aspects of the problem. This PhD position will be an aspect of this development. The position will be part of the Focus Area “AI and Digitalization in energy” within the NTNU Energy strategic area.

Our plan for this position is to work on core developments in energy integration, while maintaining a close contact with the industrial and practical aspects of the problem. The position will be supervised by experts in optimization, MPC, Reinforcement Learning, distributed agent optimization, energy economics and energy markets, and on the electric energy system. 

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate that opens up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia. 

Your immediate Line Manager and supervisor will be the Head of Department of ITK, Professor Sebastien Gros.

About the project

This position is funded by NTNU’s strategic research area on Energy. Additional opportunities linked to this initiative can be found at https://www.ntnu.edu/energy/announcements.

It will be part of a cluster of projects related projects in this Strategic Research Area and will be run in close collaboration with several of them. It will be hosted at ITK, but will have strong collaborations with and co-supervision from other departments such as The Department of Electric Energy, The Department of Industrial Economics, The Department of Process Technology, and even The Department of Social Science. 

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out and publish research of excellent quality within the framework described above
• Collaborate across departments at NTNU, seek interdisciplinarity
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions
• Participate in discussions with the industry and map the issues from their perspective

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must have an academically relevant background within energy integration, energy economics, energy optimization, or multi-agent decision making.
• You must have a Master degree in cybernetics, economics with a strong training in optimization, energy optimization 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. 
• 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 IE faculty’s Doctoral Program . 
• Solid oral and written presentation skills in English.
• Solid programming skills in Python, knowledge of standard optimization software is a plus (Gurobi, CasADi, etc).
• Strong skills in mathematics, fast understanding of new concepts, excellent capacity for mathematical formalism.
   

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

If you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 upon employment, you must complete Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this. 

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

The following criteria will guide our selection among candidates meeting the required criteria:

• Multi-disciplinary knowledge in the field
• Expertise of electric energy markets, especially in Northern Europe
• Expertise of the power grid, power flows, TSO/DSO coordination
• Expertise on renewable energies, energy storage, flexible demand, energy in buildings
• Expertise on distributed optimization algorithms

Personal characteristics

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

• Capable of independence, but seeks frequent feedback from supervisors
• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• Good communication skills, organized thinking processes
• Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity
•  Willingness to learn, show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject

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
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• As a public employee, you have favourable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)

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

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be from 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. If learning Norwegian (level A2 corresponding to at least 15 credits) is to be completed before the end of the employment period, the employment period can be extended by 10 weeks after completed and documented the Norwegian course.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to IE faculty’s Doctoral Program within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral program throughout the period of employment.

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 and diplomas upon request.

The application must include: 

• Short letter of motivation (400 words/1 page) clearly pointing to why you fit for the position
• CV 
• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
• 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
• Possibly publications etc. other relevant research work
• Possibly certificates
• Names and contact information of minimum two 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).

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.

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 Prof. Sebastien Gros, email: sebastien.gros@ntnu.no . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Berit Dahl, email: berit.dahl@ntnu.no .

Application deadline: 22.04.2025.

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.