项目介绍

2025年3月2日

About the position

The department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering has a vacancy for PhD candidate. For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. 

Maritime organizations are facing new possibilities and challenges with the increasing digitalization of the industry and the introduction of alternative fuels such as hydrogen and nuclear propulsion. Technologies such as digital twins, remote control and low orbit satellite communications have enabled new ways to operate ships, involving technology suppliers and customers in the daily operation. 

Such changes to the operations can affect safety and the efficiency of the operations both positively and negatively, and further knowledge is needed to better understand and potentially improve the organization of operations. NTNU’s department of ocean operations and civil engineering is therefore looking for a PhD candidate that can conduct a research study into this situation.

A proposed research case is to investigate a complex offshore operation using remote operations involving customers, shipowner and subcontractors. When a complex offshore operation is carried out it is the result of careful planning, choosing a skilled crew, establishing procedures and work plans and defining roles and responsibilities. Introducing a concept where key personnel is located onshore will require focus on communicative skills, changes to work and procedures and new responsibilities.

Duties of the position

The PhD candidate’s objective is to investigate the organizational implications for the organizations involved in remote operations. These implications can happen at different levels, from the execution of individual work task to groups of professionals that suddenly needs to cooperate through digital media. Changes to the structure of the organizations themselves and even between organizations as required competence and technology is only found outside the organizations. The candidate will design a research strategy that can investigate the involved organizations and contribute to the knowledge on maritime operations.

The candidate will work in a multidisciplinary research environment located at the heart of the maritime industry in Ålesund. Working at the NTNU department of ocean operations and civil engineering at NMK ensures close contact to the industry and research communities. 

The data collection will be carried out at relevant ship owners, technology suppliers and the clients of the shipowners. Primarily data will consist of qualitative interviews and observations, but quantitative surveys can also be found useful. 

Your immediate leader is the head of department.

Required selection criteria

• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, 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. 
• Master’s students can apply, but the master’s thesis must be submitted and meet the requirements for be obtained and documented before 31.08.2025
• If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education. if you have not completed your master’s degree yet, you must prove its imminent completion.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to PhD in Engineering.
• High proficiency in written and oral English

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate 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 

Preferred selection criteria

• You have a professionally relevant background from operations in the maritime industry, oil and gas industry or similar types of operations. 
• A master’s degree from organizational studies or similar scientific fields.
• High proficiency in written and oral Norwegian language.

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work independently and in research teams Enthusiastic and the ability to take ownership of your research 
• A strong capacity for doing independent work 
• Being solution oriented and capable of problem solving 
• Having good interpersonal skills that contribute to a friendly and inclusive work environment
• Enthusiastic and the ability to take ownership of your research

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities as well as motivation for the position.

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

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross 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.

The period of employment is 3 years

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the Doctoral Programme – PhD – Faculty of Engineering Science – NTNU within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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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 daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates
• Letter of motivation
• 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.
• Project proposal for this Ph.D.-project (maximum two A4 pages)
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

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 Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short 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.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

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The city of Ålesund, with its population of 50 000, will provide you with plenty of opportunities to explore a region of Norway that is famous for its beautiful scenery with high mountains and blue fjords. Ålesund itself, with its Art Nouveau architecture, is by many considered to be the most beautiful city in Norway! The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world.

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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.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself 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 reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Assoc. Prof. Bjarne Pareliussen email bjarne.pareliussen@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Synnøve Sunde, e-mail: synnove.sunde@ntnu.no. 

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 27.03.2025