PhD Candidate in water and environmental engineering

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

We have a vacancy for a PhD candidate at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The appointment has a duration of 3 years, and the goal is a completed doctoral education and to obtain a doctoral degree.

The topic of this specific PhD project is to explore the impact of information gain achieved from autonomous robots as a data source on sewer asset management. This research will be part of the Horizon Europe Project PIPEON – Robotics and AI for Sewer Pipe Inspection and Maintenance.

Currently, wastewater utilities install flow monitors only in places that sewer workers can reach. Robot manipulation in confined pipes with high dexterity helps fill data gaps increasing the precision of hydrodynamic models at least an order of magnitude. Those manipulators can also fix small leakages before it becomes necessary to dig up and replace pipes (often closing the traffic on highways) before they damage properties and roads. Information gathering will be boosted by autonomous inspection, detection and classification of pipe features and defects. Currently, inspection is done visually and with tethered platforms with a limited range (ca 100m). Currently, 1-10% of sewer networks is inspected annually, so models based on this data are always outdated. PIPEON would develop autonomous inspection technologies which allow to model and predict the deterioration and plan maintenance in advance. We increase the temporal and spatial resolution of data, contributing to a digital twin for the sewer system. The increase in resolution of data will also allow a paradigm shift for the management of the sewers, going from a replacement strategy to a repair-based asset management approach, where repairs are scheduled on-the-fly, based on recent information gathered from the network, leading to better condition of the system and longer service life. More information gives a better understanding of how sewer systems function and enhance hydrodynamic network performance and deterioration modelling.

The PhD student will be working in an international project and environment on cutting edge research topics like:

• Data management for digital twinning when using high-frequency data
• Deterioration modelling under the new robot induced information paradigm
• Hydrodynamic modelling and flow monitor placement under the new information paradigm
• Formulating adaptive asset management strategies – reactive to proactive maintenance

Your immediate leader is Associate Professor.

The appointed PhD candidate will be required to work in Trondheim, together with the rest of the Water and Wastewater group at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Duties of the position

The following duties and responsibilities are associated with the position:

• Complete a PhD project within 3 years, with scope as described in this announcement
• Complete the PhD training consisting of courses (minimum 30 ECTS credits)
• Prepare scientific journal articles and conference papers under supervision
• Present results from research at international conferences and in a dissertation
• Collaborate closely with the other partner in the PIPEON project

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in Hydraulic/Environmental/Sanitary engineering or equivalent
• 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.
• Must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme)
• Strong capabilities in analytical thinking, mathematical and physics-based modelling
• Strong knowledge about urban water systems and their management
• Experience in mathematical modelling (e.g., hydraulic simulations etc.)
• Knowing at least one programming language (e.g., Python, R, Matlab or similar) with strong programming skills
• Excellent written and oral English language skills

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

• Work experience in project management and/or research
• Understanding a Scandinavian language and/or strong motivation to learn Norwegian
• Experience/knowledge about asset management approaches

Personal characteristics

• Highly motivated, ambitious and diligent
• Analytical, eager to learn and think “outside the box”
• Respectful and both skilled and motivated for collaboration, particularly in a multidisciplinary context
• Open-minded and able to take initiatives, be able to work independently and in teams, with a high degree of personal responsibility
• Eager to disseminate knowledge, both nationally and internationally

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 PhD candidate (code 1017) 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 civil engineering, https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme  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, certificates and diplomas
• Motivation letter
• A research proposal (maximum 5 pages), briefly explaining the candidate’s suggested background and preliminary research methodology for the project (e.g. what are the main research questions and how do you want to address them?)
• Academic works – published or unpublished – that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 works)
• 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.
• Name and contact information of three 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. 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 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.

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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 Associate Professor Franz Tscheikner-Gratl (email: franz.tscheikner-gratl@ntnu.no) or Associate Professor Marius Møller Rokstad (email: marius.rokstad@ntnu.no). If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Tone Måsøval Arntzen, e-mail: tone.m.antzen@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: 05.11.2024

DIVERSE INFO

Kilde: NAV stillingsannonser
https://arbeidsplassen.nav.no/stillinger/stilling/8b8b2dc7-a597-4758-9f09-ff2340c857d7
IMPORTAPI
https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/269115