About the position

A 100 % position is available at the University of Agder, Faculty of Engineering and Science as a PhD Research Fellow in integrated design and analysis of floating modular energy island affiliated to the Department of Engineering Sciences, University of Agder, for a period of three years. The position is located, at the present, at Campus Grimstad. The starting date is negotiable with the Faculty.

The Department of Engineering Sciences has more than 90 employees in scientific positions, and more than 1500 students at all levels. A variety of research is conducted within all the groups; Mechatronics, Renewable Energy, Civil Engineering and Industrial Economy, and we also welcome interdisciplinary projects within the department or with other research groups. This position will be associated with the Civil Engineering section. We have a broad international cooperation, and close collaboration with industrial partners and public services in the region. This is a benefit both for teaching and research. The partners contribute with assignments, competence and resources.

Responsibilities

Project Background

The land resource is very limited for many countries and there is a constant need for clean energy in Europe to faciliate green transition. To address this need, one possible alternative is to develop cost-effective concepts of floating energy islands that can produce renewable energy, e.g., wind and solar. To survive offshore conditions and to have good operability, the structural systems can be designed using lightweight materials with a smart use of moorings and mechanical connections.  A good design should address uncertainties in material properties, environmental load effects, and various internal and external conditions during the design lifetime.

Research objectives

This PhD study will focus on development of novel concepts of floating  energy islands. Advanced numerical simulation tools (finite element, multibody dynamics, and fluid dynamics programs), stochastic theory, optimisation methods, are expected to be applied during the study. The aim of this PhD study is to understand the technical and economic feasibility of interesting concepts for offshore conditions.

Required qualifications

• Applicants must have an MSc (or equivalent) degree in marine technology, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, renewable energy, or a similar engineering discipline. Fundamental knowledge is required of structural and fluid mechanics and design methods for offshore structures.
• Good knowledge of English, both written and oral, is also required.

A prerequisite for employment is that the candidate is to be admitted to UiA’s PhD programme at the Faculty of Engineering and Science. To be admitted into the PhD programme in Engineering and Science, the applicant must hold a master’s degree in a subject area relevant to the research area from a Norwegian university or qualifications approved as equivalent.

As a general rule, the following should normally apply:

• The average grade for courses included in the bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) should be C (or equivalent) or higher.
• The average grade for all courses (including the dissertation) in the master’s degree should be B (or equivalent) or higher.
• The master’s dissertation (or equivalent) should have the grade B (or equivalent) or higher.
• When the applicant’s average grades are lower than required, the hosting research group at the Faculty of Engineering and Science must document the probability of the applicant being able to complete the PhD programme. In such an event, the Faculty of Engineering and Science may recommend extra requirements to be included in the basis for admission.
• Competence in English is a requirement for all applicants to the PhD programme. International candidates that are not exempt from the English language requirements pursuant to the guidelines of the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT), must document this through one of the following tests with the stated results or better:
  • TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language with a minimum score of 600 for the Paperbased Test (PBT), or 92 for the Internet-based Test (iBT)
  • IELTS – International English Language Testing System, with the result of 6.5

Further provisions relating to the positions as PhD Research Fellows can be found in the Regulations Concerning Terms and Conditions of Employment for the post of Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Research Assistant and Resident.

Desired qualifications

• Work experiences within the offshore industry;
• Strong programming and analytical skills;
• A solid background in mathematics and physics;
• Previous research experiences and publications.

We offer

• membership and participation in Industrial Research School in Complex Systems,  ref. https://inrescos.usn.no/
• professional development in a large, exciting and socially influential organisation
• a positive, inclusive and diverse working environment
• modern facilities and a comprehensive set of welfare offers 
• membership of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

More about working at UiA.

The position is remunerated according to the State Salary Scale, salary plan 17.515, code 1017 PhD Research Fellow, NOK 501 200 gross salary per year. A compulsory pension contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund is deducted from the pay according to current statutory provisions.

General information

A good working environment is characterised by its diversity. We therefore encourage all qualified candidates to apply for the position, irrespective of gender, age, disability or cultural background. The University of Agder is an IW (Inclusive Workplace).

The successful applicant will have rights and obligations in accordance with the current regulations for the position, and organisational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities of the position must be expected. Appointment is made by the University of Agder’s Appointments Committee for Teaching and Research Positions.

Short-listed applicants will be invited for interview. With the applicant’s permission, UiA will also conduct a reference check before appointment. Read more about the employment process.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act § 25 (2), applicants may request that they are not identified in the open list of applicants. The University, however, reserves the right to publish the names of applicants. Applicants will be advised of the University’s intention to exercise this right. 

Application

The application and any necessary information about education and experience (including diplomas and certificates) are to be sent electronically. Use the link “Apply for the position”.

The following documentation must be uploaded electronically:

• CV with a complete list of scientific publications.
• Transcripts for Master and Bachelor study. When attaching a non-Norwegian academic transcript that does not include a description of the grading system (e.g. maximum grade and minimum passing grade) used by the issuing institution, a (preferably official) description should also be attached. The description may simply contain a link to an official website where the grading system is explained.
• Master thesis or link.
• Up to five representative publications or links.
• English certificate (IELTS or TOEFL) for international candidates who are not exempt from the English language requirements.
• Project description on modular floating energy island with a maximum of 2 pages, including reference list. The outline should present and discuss possible research questions, theory perspectives, material, and a progress plan.
• Any other relevant documentation

The applicant is fully responsible for submitting complete digital documentation before the closing date. All documentation must be available in a Scandinavian language or English.

Application deadline: 09.04.23

Contact

For questions about the position:

• Associate professor Zhiyu Jiang, tel. +47 451 01 672, e-mail: zhiyu.jiang@uia.no
• Head of Department Paul Svennevig, tel. 37 23 32 54, e-mail: paul.r.svennevig@uia.no

For questions about the application process:

• HR Advisor Linda Marie Anderstrøm, tel. +47 37 23 34 55,  e-mail  linda.m.anderstrom@uia.no

University of Agder

The University of Agder has more than 1500 employees and almost 14 000 students. This makes us one of the largest workplaces in Southern Norway. Our staff research, teach and disseminate knowledge from a variety of academic fields. Co-creation of knowledge is our common vision. We offer a broad range of study programmes in many fields. We are situated at two modern campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad respectively.

We are an open and inclusive university marked by a culture of cooperation. The aim of the university is to further develop education and research at a high international level.

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply for this job

Deadline

9th April 2023

Post expires on Sunday April 9th, 2023

About the position

The University of Agder invites applications for a full-time fixed-term appointment as PhD candidate in Technology/Information and Communication Technology for a period of three years. The position is currently located in Grimstad, Norway. The starting date is as soon as possible or to be negotiated with the Faculty.

The department has three large and active research groups in Information and Communication Technology including eight Professors, 20 Associate Professors/Assistant professors and about 20 Research Fellows on the PhD programme in ICT. The Department of ICT pursues a variety of research interests, focusing especially on ICT and crisis management, artificial intelligence, eLearning and eHealth. The department has successfully led a number of large research projects funded by the Research Council of Norway, the EU research programmes FP7 and H2020 as well as national and international industries.

This open position is in association with the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research.

Research topics

Explainability of machine learning models is essential for transparency, fairness, safety, accountability, and acceptance of AI in society. This imperative particularly applies to reinforcement learning (RL) where an algorithm learns without human intervention.

We have recently introduced a novel, general RL paradigm that is inherently explainable where agents learn strategies that are partially decoupled from reward functions. Affinity-based RL (ab-RL) aims at (1) a parsimonious method based on a regularization of the objective function with a distinct action distribution that encourages RL agents (“prototypes”) to globally choose preferred actions based on desired agent traits, (2) an inherent interpretability which overcomes the challenges of opaque RL models that rely on post-hoc explanation and interpretation, and (3) creation of mixed strategy agents thru fuzzy time-variant compositions of prototypical policies that are globally interpretable.

The successful candidate will advance the ab-RL paradigm through the development of novel functionalities that extend the scope of its applications through a blend of theoretical and practical research.

The ideal candidate will have expertise in the following areas:

• Machine learning
• Reinforcement learning
• Explainable AI
• Documented experience, including courses, in reinforcement learning programming
• Some mathematical sophistication will be helpful

Required qualifications

Applications from applicants who already hold a PhD will normally not be considered. The candidate must hold a master’s degree in ICT, Computer Science or a similar/related field and document competence in areas relevant to the position.

Furthermore, the applicant must have:

• Strong academic credentials
• Written and spoken English proficiency
• Communication and teamwork skills

In return, we offer the opportunity to contribute to the strategic capabilities of a world-class research organization, along with intensive PhD supervision. You will collaborate with top scientists in your field and have excellent prospects for personal development in an innovative working environment for aspiring researchers. Applicants will be assessed on the basis of academic background and results, attainment, and any previous research and development work. The PhD Research Fellow must be admitted to the PhD Programme in Technology, with ICT as specialization, within three months of appointment.

The following admission requirements apply to the PhD programme:

• The average grade for courses included in the master’s degree (or equivalent) must be B (or equivalent) or higher
• The master’s thesis (or equivalent) must have a grade B (or equivalent) or higher
• The successful applicant must have written and spoken English proficiency. Applicants from some countries must document their English proficiency through one of the following tests or certificates:
  • TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language with a minimum score of 600 on the Paper-based Test (PBT), or a minimum of 92 on the Internet based Test (iBT)
  • IELTS – International English Language Testing System, with a result of at least 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5. (only Academic IELTS test accepted)
• CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) certificate of at least Level B2

Further provisions relating to the position as PhD Research Fellow can be found in the Regulations Concerning Terms and Conditions of Employment for the posts of Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Research Fellow, Research Assistant and Resident.

Personal qualities

Personal suitability, good teamwork skills, inventiveness, and a proactive approach, will be emphasized in the evaluation as well as relevant practical experience. The PhD Research Fellow will be expected to contribute to an active research community that promotes the personal and professional growth of the doctoral candidate. The position places great demands on the applicant’s capacity for independent goal-oriented work, ability to concentrate and attention to detail.

We offer

• professional development in a large, exciting and socially influential organisation
• a positive, inclusive and diverse working environment
• modern facilities and a comprehensive set of welfare offers 
• membership of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

More about working at UiA.

The position is remunerated according to the State Salary Scale, salary plan 17.515, code 1017 PhD Research Fellow, NOK 501 200 gross salary per year. A compulsory pension contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund is deducted from the pay according to current statutory provisions.

General information

UiA is an open and inclusive university. We believe that diversity enriches the workplace and makes us better. We, therefore, encourage qualified candidates to apply for the position independent of gender, age, cultural background, disability or an incomplete CV.

Women are strongly encouraged to apply for the position. 

The successful applicant will have rights and obligations in accordance with the current regulations for the position, and organisational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities of the position must be expected. The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Appointment is made by the University of Agder’s Appointments Committee for Teaching and Research Positions.

Short-listed applicants will be invited for interview. With the applicant’s permission, UiA will also conduct a reference check before appointment. Read more about the employment process.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act § 25 (2), applicants may request that they are not identified in the open list of applicants. The University, however, reserves the right to publish the names of applicants. Applicants will be advised of the University’s intention to exercise this right. 

Application

Submit your application and CV online. Please click on the link “Apply for this job”. The following documentation should be submitted as attachments to the online application:

• Certificates and/or grades for all post-secondary education, up to and including the bachelor’s level
• Master’s degree/higher degree certificate, with a summary of the courses/subjects included in the degree
• Applicants with a foreign higher education must attach an official description of the grading system used at the issuing institution Summary (approximately 1-2 pages) of the master’s thesis
• Applicants who are required to document their English proficiency must submit their TOEFL or IELTS test results (these may be forwarded after the closing date)
• Summary or links to the applicant’s scientific publications (if any)
• A description of the candidate’s research interests and background for the project applied for

Original documents must be presented for verification to the University of Agder together with the copies by the appointed research fellow upon arrival at UiA. Successful candidates will be asked, normally during the interview, to ensure that the issuing university submits documents in a sealed envelope directly to UiA or provide access to their documents online, which allows UiA to verify the authenticity of these electronic documents via a secure website hosted at the issuing university (contact person at UiA will be provided later for certain candidates).

The applicant is fully responsible for submitting complete documentation within the deadline. Without complete documentation we cannot, unfortunately, include you in the assessment process.

All documentation of education must be in the original language and in English, and the translation should preferably be from the issuing university. Additional documentation must be in English.

Closing date: 01.04.23

Contact

For questions about the position:

• Head of Department Folke Haugland, tel.: +47 37 23 31 12, e-mail: folke.haugland@uia.no
• Professor Christian Omlin, tel.: +47 432 59 144, e-mail: christian.omlin@uia.no

For questions about the application process:

• Linda Marie Anderstrøm, HR Advisor, Tlf: +47 37 23 37 03,  e-mail linda.m.anderstrom@uia.no

University of Agder

The University of Agder has more than 1500 employees and almost 14 000 students. This makes us one of the largest workplaces in Southern Norway. Our staff research, teach and disseminate knowledge from a variety of academic fields. Co-creation of knowledge is our common vision. We offer a broad range of study programmes in many fields. We are situated at two modern campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad respectively.

We are an open and inclusive university marked by a culture of cooperation. The aim of the university is to further develop education and research at a high international level.

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply for this job

Deadline

1st April 2023

Post expires on Saturday April 1st, 2023

About the position

A 100 % position is available at the University of Agder, Faculty of Engineering and Science as a PhD Research Fellow in Mechatronics, affiliated to Top Research Centre Mechatronics at the Department of Engineering Sciences, for a period of three years. The position is located, at the present, at Campus Grimstad. The starting date is negotiable with the Faculty.

Responsibilities

This research fellow will be part of the R&D project PHMHydro – Performance and Health Monitoring for Hydroelectric Powerplants. PHMHydro is a collaboration among the University of Agder, Norwegian research centre AS (NORCE), Agder Energi AS, and Volue Industrial IoT AS in Norway. The main objective of PHMHydro is to improve the longevity and profitability of Hydro Electric Powerplants (HEPs) by accelerating the penetration of data analytics in operations and maintenance (O&M). This position focuses on the development of novel sensing solutions, enhanced diagnostics and prognostics for hydrogenerators. Expected subtasks include designing sensing methods, developing advanced diagnostic and prognostic methods for high priority failure modes and remaining useful life estimation, validating the proposed methods on scaled setups, and demonstrating the developed solutions at Agder Energi’s pilot HEPs, with Volue Industrial IoT AS.

A close cooperation with other researchers working in the PHMHydro consortium and Top Research Centre Mechatronics is highly expected.

Required qualifications

• Master’s degree within mechatronics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or renewable energy. This year’s candidates/candidates, who are in the closing stages of their master’s degree, can also apply. 
• English proficiency, both written and oral. International candidates that are not exempt from the English language requirements pursuant to the guidelines of the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT), must document this through one of the following tests with the stated results or better:
  • TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language with a minimum score of 600 for the Paperbased Test (PBT), or 92 for the Internet-based Test (iBT)
  • IELTS – International English Language Testing System, with the result of 6.5

A prerequisite for employment is that the candidate is to be admitted to UiA’s PhD programme in Engineering and Science, Specialisation in Engineering Sciences, Scientific Field in Mechatronics.

Further provisions relating to the positions as PhD Research Fellows can be found in the Regulations Concerning Terms and Conditions of Employment for the post of Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Research Fellow, Research Assistant and Resident.

Desired qualifications

• Good experience/knowledge in electrical machines, hydrogenerator, applied signal processing, fault diagnosis, instrumentation, applied mathematics and applied machine learning.
• Programming experience in coding e.g. Python, or MATLAB
• Strong writing skills for research papers.
• Laboratory test and development.
• Good knowledge in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is an advantage

Personal qualities

• Proactive, adaptive and open-minded
• Excellent communication (both written and oral) and teamwork skills
• The candidate must have the ability to work independently and with a critical attitude.

Personal qualities and suitability for the position will be emphasised.

We offer

• professional development in a large, exciting and socially influential organisation
• a positive, inclusive and diverse working environment
• modern facilities and a comprehensive set of welfare offers 
• membership of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

More about working at UiA.

The position is remunerated according to the State Salary Scale, salary plan 17.515, code 1017 PhD Research Fellow, NOK 501 200 gross salary per year. A compulsory pension contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund is deducted from the pay according to current statutory provisions.

General information

UiA is an open and inclusive university. We believe that diversity enriches the workplace and makes us better. We, therefore, encourage qualified candidates to apply for the position independent of gender, age, cultural background, disability or an incomplete CV.

Women are strongly encouraged to apply for the position. 

The successful applicant will have rights and obligations in accordance with the current regulations for the position, and organisational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities of the position must be expected. The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Appointment is made by the University of Agder’s Appointments Committee for Teaching and Research Positions.

Short-listed applicants will be invited for interview. With the applicant’s permission, UiA will also conduct a reference check before appointment. Read more about the employment process.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act § 25 (2), applicants may request that they are not identified in the open list of applicants. The University, however, reserves the right to publish the names of applicants. Applicants will be advised of the University’s intention to exercise this right. 

Application

The application and any necessary information about education and experience (including diplomas and certificates) are to be sent electronically. Use the link “Apply for this job“.

The following documentation must be uploaded electronically:

• Certificates and certified transcripts for bachelor’s-, and master’s degree. Applicants with foreign higher education must attach an official description of the grading system used at the issuing institution.
• List and links of the applicant’s scientific publications, if any.
• A one-page summary of Master’s thesis
• References (referee names and contacts)
• A short tentative research proposal of not more than 2 pages, including reference list, highlighting the background and research for the intended study that meets the research topic.  

Please do not submit large documents, like thesis or publications. If any additional information is required, the applicant will be informed later.

The applicant is fully responsible for submitting complete digital documentation before the closing date. All documentation must be available in a Scandinavian language or English.

Application deadline: 27.03.23

Contact

For questions about the position:

• Prof. Khang Huynh, tel. +47 37 23 34 21, mobile: +47 905 99 263 e-mail huynh.khang@uia.no
• Prof. Kjell G. Robbersmyr, tel. +47 37 23 32 79, mobile +47 994 61 613, e-mail kjell.g.robbersmyr@uia.no

For questions about the application process:

• Linda Marie Anderstrøm, HR Advisor, Tlf: +47 37 23 37 03,  e-mail linda.m.anderstrom@uia.no

University of Agder

The University of Agder has more than 1500 employees and almost 14 000 students. This makes us one of the largest workplaces in Southern Norway. Our staff research, teach and disseminate knowledge from a variety of academic fields. Co-creation of knowledge is our common vision. We offer a broad range of study programmes in many fields. We are situated at two modern campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad respectively.

We are an open and inclusive university marked by a culture of cooperation. The aim of the university is to further develop education and research at a high international level.

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply for this job

Deadline

27th March 2023

Post expires on Monday March 27th, 2023