Norwegian version
Tre kvinnelige kolleger i samtale ute foran bygg med OsloMet logo som en trekant med OsloMet i gul skrift

PhD Fellowship position in Sustainability Studies through Artistic Practice and Indigenous Perspectives

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with almost 22,000 students and over 2,500 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

The Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD) offers higher education and research and development (R&D) activities within technical subjects, arts and design. The Faculty has approximately 4.000 students and 400 staff members and is situated at Pilestredet Campus in downtown Oslo and at Kjeller Campus in Viken.

The Department of Art, Design and Drama (EST) is developing rapidly and is facing exciting changes in the next few years. The department has approximately 900 students and 58 employees. We offer study programmes at bachelor's and master's level in design, arts and crafts, drama and theatre communication, art dissemination, and fashion and production. In addition, we have a new PhD program: Innovation for sustainability, and number of further education programmes and practical pedagogical programmes in design, arts and crafts and drama and theatre communication. Most of the study programmes have an element of outreach practical training as an integral part. The department has four research groups and a high level of activity in external activities. This is affiliated with the department's unit for lifelong learning

The Department of Art, Design and Drama has a vacant PhD fellowship position. We are looking for a contemporary artist with indigenous competence who wish to explore and problematizes place, landscape, life, and environments from a sustainable perspective, through artistic research methods and interventions.

Area of research

Artistic research methods and Indigenous perspectives offer a unique approach to address issues of sustainability. Combined they provide a different lens to understand, interpret, and critically discuss the complex problems our planet faces today. What is called the 6th mass extinction, the fourth industrial revolution, and the era of the Anthropocene is a situation that demonstrate how humans across the globe are co-dependent, and how we are all inter-related and entangled: between humans as well as with the more-than-human world.  

We invite artists, and artistic researchers, with Indigenous competence to think and act in dialogue with other strands of theoretical approaches. It may be feminism, posthumanism, new materialism, sustainability studies, and social sciences.  

The contemporary art field engage with philosophical innovations connected to posthumanism, new materialism, and object-oriented thinking to experiment with speculative approaches to how humans can live in this world in more sustainable ways, taking the more-than-human into consideration in new ways. 

It is increasingly acknowledged how Indigenous cosmologies, theory, and culture have lived with this knowledge for millenniums. Indigenous perspectives can challenge dominant Western paradigms of growth and progress, which often prioritize short-term economic gains at the expense of long-term environmental health. Indigenous cultures remind us that sustainability require long-term thinking and active relations and collaboration between humans and nature, and between present and future generations.

The position is advertised as a 3-year position with 100% research, or a 4-year position with 75% research and 25% other tasks (teaching, supervision and/or administrative work). The goal must be to complete the PhD program/degree within the decided time frame. The decision on a 3- or 4-year position will be discussed as part of the interviews in the hiring process.  

Qualification requirements and conditions

The following grade requirements are a condition for employment in the position:

Admission to the doctoral program Innovation for Sustainability at the Faculty of Technology, Art and Design within three months of employment is a prerequisite for the position. If you already have a doctorate in a related field, you will not qualify for the position.

In assessing the applicants, emphasis will be placed on the department's overall needs and the applicant's potential for research within the field.

General criteria for employment in academic positions are covered by the Regulations on employment conditions for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, scientific assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

Personal suitability will be emphasised.

It is important to OsloMet to reflect the population of our region, and all qualified candidates are welcome to apply. We make active endeavours to further develop OsloMet as an inclusive workplace and to make adaptations to the workplace where required. You are also welcome to apply for a position with us if you have had periods where you have not been in employment, education or training.

We can offer you

Practical information about relocation to Oslo and living in Norway (oslomet.no/en/work)

Application

To be considered for the position, you must upload the following documents by the application deadline:

The following language tests are approved documentation: TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). In these tests, you must have achieved at least the following scores:

We only process applications sent via our electronic recruitment system and all documents must be uploaded for your application to be processed. The documents must be in English or a Scandinavian language. Translations must be authorized. You must present originals at any interview. OsloMet checks documents, so that you as a candidate will get a real evaluation and fair competition.  

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. A background check may be conducted to verify information in submitted CVs and available documents. Background checks are not conducted without the consent of the applicant and relevant applicants will receive further information about this.

Other information

If you would like more information about the position, feel free to contact:

The position is paid according to the pay scale for Norwegian state employees, position code 1017 PhD fellow, NOK 532 200 per year.

If you have documents that cannot be uploaded electronically, please contact hrtkd@oslomet.no. 

If you would like to apply for the position, you must do so electronically through our recruitment system.

Deadline for applications: August 20th 2024

Ref.: 24/19731

OsloMet is a Charter & Code certified institution by the EU Commission holding the right to use the logo HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R). OsloMet is a member of the EURAXESS network supporting a positive work environment for researchers in motion.

OsloMet has signed The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). DORA recognizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated.

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 are seen to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter law will not be considered for the position.

Visit OsloMet at LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram