PhD-fellow associated with the research environment in European Studies

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About the job

The Department of Historical and Classical Studies (IHK) at the Faculty of Humanities, NTNU, is looking for a PhD-fellow associated with the research environment in European Studies. In its research, the environment explores the process of European integration, and political, economic, societal and security developments in Europe and the EU, with a particular emphasis on cooperation and conflict. As such, the European Studies environment conducts research on some of the most timely and relevant questions Europe is currently faced with, namely, how to promote democratic governance and resilience, as well as security in Europe and its surrounding countries.

To further strengthen the work of the research environment, we are seeking a PhD-fellow working on European Union foreign policy in a broad sense. In accordance with the research interests of the selected candidate, the PhD project may address one or more of the following three dimensions of EU foreign policy:

• The sources of EU foreign policy;
• The processes underpinning EU foreign policy decisions and actions, related in particular to democracy promotion and security and defence cooperation;
• The impact/outcomes of EU foreign policy, with a particular focus on – but not limited to – the EU’s eastern neighborhood.

The PhD-fellow will work with Dr Madalina Dobrescu, Associate Professor and Onsager Fellow in European Studies and Principal Investigator of the Horizon Europe project REDEMOS - Reconfiguring EU Democracy Support? Towards a sustained demos in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood. Dr Dobrescu is also Work Package leader in the context of a second Horizon Europe project, REUNIR -Resilience, Enlargement, Union, Neighbourhood, International Relations: Future-proofing EU security, Enlargement and Eastern neighbourhood policies for a new age of international relations. In these capacities, she is keen to provide the Phd candidate with the unique opportunity to be affiliated with two timely research projects that bring together scholars, policy makers, civil society actors, and citizens from within the EU and its Member States and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.

The position is for a period of three years.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is to obtain a doctoral degree.

You will report to the Head of Department.

Duties of the position

The successful applicant is expected to develop and complete a Phd project that engages with European Union foreign policy in a broad sense. This includes:

• Complete the obligatory coursework in the PhD program in Historical and Cultural Studies;
• Conduct independent and collaborative research activities leading to a PhD thesis, including high-quality publications;
• Present, communicate and disseminate work at relevant national and international conferences;
• Be an active participant in the day-to-day activities at the department and the European Studies research environment

The project may address one or more of the following three dimensions of EU foreign policy:

• The sources of EU foreign policy;
• The processes underpinning EU foreign policy decisions and actions, related in particular to democracy promotion, and security and defence cooperation;
• The impact/outcomes of EU foreign policy, with a particular focus on – but not limited to – the EU’s eastern neighbourhood

The candidate is encouraged to shape the project according to their own strengths and research interests and further co-develop the process under the supervision of Dr Madalina Dobrescu.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in Political Science, International Relations, European Studies, or related Social Sciences or Humanities
• 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. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented by the closing date of the application period
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program
• Fluency in English, both written and oral.

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

• Previous research experience within (international) research projects will be considered an advantage

Personal characteristics

• Independence and initiative
• Cooperative skills
• High level of personal responsibility.
• Willingness and ability to contribute to a good work environment

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

Salary and conditions

As a Doctoral Research Fellow, code 1017 (PhD-fellow), you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 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 PhD programme in Historical and Cultural Studies within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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:

• Statement of academic purpose describing your academic interest in, understanding of, and suitability for the Phd position, as well as your objectives in undertaking this Phd degree.
  In your statement, you may wish to discuss the following:Motivation for applying for the PhD position
  Academic interests, strengths and background
  Any professional aspirations, and how the PhD position might help you realise such aspirations
  Other relevant information, work or experience that has informed your decision to apply for the PhD position
  

and

• CV and certificates
• 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 (max. 2.000 words)Describing your research objectives and focus and how these relate to the research areas outlined in the advertisement and the supervisor’s research profile. Your research proposal should present your general topic; the research question(s) you are addressing; the key literature and its limitations; the main hypotheses of the work; the methodology you intend to use; your case studies, if any, and your case selection criteria.
  
• Name and contact information of two referees
• Academic works (if any) - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items).

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.

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

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 Dr Madalina Dobrescu, email: madalina.dobrescu@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR representative Martin Jakobsen, e-mail: martin.jakobsen@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: 30.09.2024