ASSOCIATE PROFESSORSHIP IN BIOLOGY (SYSTEMS BIOLOGY) AT THE NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, TRONDHEIM , NORWAY

The Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) announces a vacant position as Associate Professor in Systems Biology. The Department of Biology has at present 25 professors, 10 associate professors, 2 adjunct professors and approximately 60 research fellows.

The major part of the teaching responsibilities in systems biology will be within the framework of the educational curriculum of the department.

The department has a wide range of academic and research activities in the following disciplines: cell biology, molecular biology, plant physiology, dendrochronology, zoophysiology, neurobiology, ethology, systems biology, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, biodiversity, population genetics, ecotoxicology, aquaculture, marine zoology, botany and pedagogy. The department has research activity within many biological disciplines and several international focus areas.

The position has special responsibility for teaching and research in systems biology and genomic research in eukaryotic organisms, including cell- and molecular biology and systems biological aspects of these areas. The assessment will emphasize experimental qualifications in genomic and molecular biological research and the competence related to systems biology, bioinformatics and computational biology.

The position will be integrated within the field of cell and molecular biology where the aim is to create a good environment for basic research. Within systems biology and close related areas the department of Biology has activities in functional genomic research, molecular biology and biotechnology. The department has in general responsibility for research and education of candidates for basic and applied research, and the civil service.

The person's individual work must document scientific expertise in one or more parts of the discipline, particularly the specialist fields the associate professorship has specific responsibility for. The appointed person should preferably have research activities within the sections present activities. Emphasis will be placed on the ability to initiate and supervise research and to take part in teaching in the field of systems biology.

This position is one of three positions in The Faculty of Natural sciences and Technology's interdisciplinary priority area in Systems biology. The two other positions will be at the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Biotechnology. The Associate Professor is expected to take an active part in the development of systems biology at NTNU. The Department of Biology and NTNU strongly encourage the development of integrated research groups where researchers within related fields together establish research and teaching units. The research profile of the new position should complement and correspond with ongoing activities within the section and the department as a whole, and also as a part of the total priority area within The Faculty of Natural sciences and Technology.

The position will include teaching from primary to advanced levels, including supervision of master-level and post graduate students. The department would like to increase the number of subjects within prioritised fields and the new staff member will be expected to participate in this process.

Emphasis will be placed on teaching and communication skills. Evaluation of the applicant will be based on documented material, including pedagogical training, presentation of academic work, experience from supervision and teaching of master-level candidates and post graduate students, as well as other related skills. Quality and scope will be evaluated.

Academic staff that is unable to document formal pedagogical qualifications in university-level teaching is required to successfully complete a recognized course that gives a pedagogical qualification in university-level teaching within two years of taking up the appointment . Courses are available at the University.

Applicants short-listed for the position will normally be invited for interview. A demonstration of teaching ability, usually in the form of a trial lecture, is also required.

The Associate Professor will be jointly responsible for the development of the discipline together with other scientific staff in the department and will also participate in teaching activities, in accordance with the relevant curriculum, and assist in developing the teaching program, including advanced and postgraduate courses. The Associate Professor will also be required to participate in administrative work.

The Associate Professor is required to comply with regulations concerning developments within the discipline and organisational changes at the University.

Newly employed academic staffs who do not already master a Scandinavian language are required to obtain knowledge of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language within three years of taking up the position. This must be of a standard equivalent to Level Three in the Norwegian for Foreigners courses provided by the Department of Linguistics. Courses are available at the University.

The Associate Professor will be required to take up residence in Trondheim or in the relative vicinity of the Department of Biology.

The appointment will be made in accordance with current regulations concerning State Employees and Civil Servants. The work force of Norway should reflect the diversity of the population. It is thus the aim to obtain a balance with respect to age and sex, and to recruit immigrants. Women and those with an immigrant background are therefore encouraged to apply.

The position as Associate Professor is remunerated at level 56-82, on the government salary scale for university employees, with a gross salary from NOK 403.700, - to NOK 704.800,- a year. The usual start salary is NOK 403.700, - a year. Two per cent of the salary will be deducted at source as an obligatory premium to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

For further information, please contact the Head of Department, Eivin Røskaft, tel. + 47 73 59 60 73, e-mail: roskaft@bio.ntnu.no or the Deputy Head of Department, Berit Johansen, tel +47 73596107, e-mail: bejo@bio.ntnu.no . More information about the department can be found on http://www.bio.ntnu.no/eng .

Applicants are asked to describe their pedagogical qualifications in accordance with “ Documentation of an applicant's pedagogical qualifications”, which can be found at http://www.ntnu.no/administrasjon/avdelinger/personal/momentliste_ped_kval_e.html

Applicants must submit 5 copies of their application and enclosures within the closing date. The application and the description of academic works for evaluation must be submitted in English. The application should include:

Complete CV with certified copies of relevant certificates and diplomas, together with a brief description of the applicant's research and teaching profile and administrative experience. This should also include the applicant's visions for the position

Academic work - published or unpublished - that has relevance to the evaluation of the applicant's qualifications by the evaluation committee (up to 10 examples)

A description of the academic work that the applicant feels is most significant and that he/she feels the evaluation committee should pay particular attention to

A complete publication list with bibliographical references
A research proposal (maximum 10 pages)

Name and address of 3 potential referees.Joint work will be evaluated. If it is difficult to identify the contributions from individuals, applicants should enclose a short descriptive summary of their work in this connection.

The application should be sent to NTNU, Faculty of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway.

The application should be clearly marked with the reference number NT-40/06. Closing date is 01.12.06.