The Department of Informatics at the University of Bergen wishes to recruit a tenure track associate professor in the field of Informatics with specialization on Visualization / Visual Data Science. This is a 6 years fixed term position, with a possible promotion to a full professor position at the end of this period.
About the Department
The digitalization of businesses, industry, public administration, and education gives informatics an increasingly important role in the development of tomorrow’s society. Research and education in informatics are crucial for the success of the digital transformation of our society. UiB’s Department of Informatics contributes to this through seven research groups that deliver research and education at a very high international level in algorithms, bioinformatics, information security, machine learning, optimization, programming theory and visualization. We also develop a group in computer science didactics. The Department offers computer science education at the Bachelor, Master and PhD levels. The Department grows rapidly in its number of students, research directions, and employees. Today, we have about 900 students and about 150 employees among which 37 are Faculty members and 70 are PhD candidates. Our Center for Data Science (CEDAS) is an important extension of our research and education activities, facilitating interdisciplinary cooperation in the domain of data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Work tasks/research field:
All employees of the Department are expected to contribute high-quality research and education to our excellence. The working environment for this position is the Visualization research group (https://vis.uib.no/) with relevant ties to CEDAS. The group is internationally highly recognized and researches new visualization solutions for users from different domains to enable the effective and efficient exploration, analysis, and/or presentation of data.
Regarding to this position, the group is particularly interested in applicants who are qualified to further strengthen our activities in one of the following two directions:
(1) “user in the loop” approaches to visual data science (i.e., where computational methods, for ex., based on optimization / machine learning / etc., are integrated with interactive visual solutions, where the user stays “in charge”, resulting in mixed-initiative solutions with an interactive visual component)
(2) visualization for communication (as a currently important new research direction, alternative to the more traditional focus on interactive visual data exploration and analysis that mostly is focused on experts, addressing topics of current interest such as visual storytelling, narrative visualization, interactive illustrative visualization)
Applicants are expected to explicitly outline in which way their profile fits one or both of these areas, and how they will be able to complement the current research profile of the group.
Qualifications and personal qualities:
Applicants
- must hold the degree of a Norwegian PhD or an equivalent degree within computer science or a closely related field, obtained within the last 5 years (may be extended due to any leave of absence related to birth or similar),
- have research and education experience in Visualization, Visual Analytics, Visual Communication, Visual Computing, and/or Visual Data Science,
- have had a promising early stage research career,
- have experience from international research collaboration,
- can document past research in terms of strong publications,
- are able to work independently and have strong collaborative skills,
- are able to contribute to research teams, both as leader and as participant,
- are expected to contribute to externally financed research activities,
- can document her/his ability to acquire external research funding, and
- have excellent skills in oral and written English.
Personal and relational qualities will also be emphasized. Research experience, ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.
Educational competence requirements
Basic training in teaching and experiences from the supervision of students at the University level are a requirement for the position of an Associate Professor. Applicants should document
- their completed pedagogical training (relevant courses in combination with actual teaching experience can possibly compensate for a completed, formal course in teaching and learning in higher education),
- their skills in planning, implementation, evaluation and the development of teaching and student supervision.
The applicant’s educational qualifications must be documented in an educational portfolio which should include a documented overview of practical experiences and qualifications as well as a brief reflection statement. The statement should primarily describe the applicant’s own teaching philosophy and an evaluation of own teaching in relation to his/her knowledge of students’ learning at a higher education level. More information about the criteria and documentation requirements for assessing educational competence can be found here.
Applicants who are unable to document an adequate educational qualifications upon appointment, will be required to meet these requirements within two years of assuming office.
The teaching language will normally be Norwegian. The successful applicant must be able to teach in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language within 3 years of assuming office.
The University of Bergen emphasizes the importance of educational qualifications for the appointment to scientific positions.
About the tenure track position
The aim of an employment into a tenure track position is to recruit a candidate for a full-time permanent position as professor. The Faculty and the Department are committed to facilitate the development of qualifications within teaching, research, dissemination and innovation of the successful applicant.
- Applicants should have obtained their PhD degree within the last 5 years. This time limit may be extended due to leave of absence in connection with birth or adoption.
- A mid-term evaluation will be carried out at the start of year 4.
- A final evaluation will be carried out at the start of year 6.
- The promotion to a full professor position is subject to a satisfactory evaluation.
- The successful applicant will carry out the same tasks as a permanent Faculty member.
- A PhD student will be assigned to the position in year 2.
- Senior Faculty members will assist with mentoring in the first half of the period.
An Associate Professor shall participate in research and education similarly to our current academic staff. This includes teaching and the supervision of Bachelor and Master students, as well as the supervision of at least one PhD student in order to achieve the required qualifications as a full professor by the end of the 6 years appointment.
In particular, the successful applicant is expected
to teach Bachelor, Master, and PhD students in Visualization and related topics, including Computer Graphics and Visual Data Science,
when needed, for instance when new study programs are established, develop and teach new courses, complementing the current portfolio, and/or contribute to this,
- to supervise PhD and Master students in Visualization and related topics,
- to do research within the field of Visualization / Visual Data Science,
- to develop a substantial international collaboration network,
- to disseminate scientific results at highly recognized conferences and in top-ranked journals,
- to develop the Visualization group / Visual Data Science at CEDAS jointly with other Faculty members in the group to become leading in research and teaching,
- to take an active leading role in writing applications for external funding of research, and
- to do public outreach activities within the field of Visualization / Visual Data Science
We can offer:
- A good and professionally challenging working environment,
- Salary at pay grade 70–74 (code 1011) in the state salary scale. This currently amounts to an annual salary of 661 400 – 714 000 before taxes. A further increase in salary will depend on seniority. A higher salary may be considered for a particularly well qualified applicant.
- Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
- Good welfare benefits
Your application must include:
- the applicant’s CV and application letter,
- relevant diplomas and references,
- the complete list of publications,
- a brief outline of the applicant’s interest and motivation to apply for this position, as well as a summary of her/his most important research results (2–3 pages),
- a complete list of all teaching experience,
- a list with appendices that document pedagogical qualifications,
- a list of academic work that the applicant believes should be taken into consideration in the assessment, including information about where this work was published, and
- the names of three referees, where at least one is familiar with the applicant’s tutorial skills, including ideally also the PhD advisor.
The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge by 30.11.2022.
Applications sent to individuals per email, will not be considered.
General information:
Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting:
Head of Department, Professor Inge Jonassen.
For HR related matters, please contact Lene Sørheim.
Employment is subject to approval with respect to the Norwegian export control legislation.
The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.
We encourage women to apply. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply.
The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.
Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.
For further information about the recruitment process, click here.
Qualifications needed to get a permanent position as professor at the end of the tenure track period
The contract of employment, along with the announcement text and the description of the position, determine the results, demands and criteria that the applicant should fulfill during the tenure track period in order to get a permanent position as professor.
In addition to the demands following the “Rules for employment in scientific positions and academic/administrative management positions” should the following requirements be fulfilled in order to get a permanent position:
a Research:
- Be able to demonstrate good progress in developing her/his own research career.
- To have the capacity for independent research, interdisciplinary collaboration and research management.
- Documented co-publication with other researchers in highly rated international journals.
- Documented active participation and presentations at national and international research conferences.
- Have supervised at least one PhD-candidate who has attained her/his PhD-degree.
- Have a good reputation as research supervisor.
b Teaching:
- Have participated in regular teaching, supervision and examination procedure.
- Have achieved satisfactory student evaluations of her/his own teaching within the tenure track period.
Dissemination:
- Be able to demonstrate both professionally oriented and general communication of her/his own research through articles, lectures, chronicles and other instruments.
d Academic leadership:
- Have participated actively in the academic development at the departmental, faculty and university level.
- Be able to demonstrate good communication and cooperation skills and participation in various public administrative bodies, expert committees, other bodies in the sector, and to cooperation with other relevant institutions.
- Be able to demonstrate assignments with peer review of scholarly works.
e International cooperation:
- Active participation in international cooperation, implementation of joint projects, and publications with international co-authorship.
Requirements for employees holding a tenure track position as associate professor
During the tenure track period the applicant should qualify for a permanent position as professor. Within four years of the tenure track period a mid-term review will be carried out in which the applicant will be assessed regarding the progression of her/his work according to the requirements for professor competence. The evaluation will be conducted on the basis of the contract of employment, and should guide the applicant regarding the tasks to be prioritized in the rest of the tenure track period to meet the requirement for a permanent position as professor.
The applicant will also be evaluated before the end of the tenure track period to see if the requirements that were set in the contract of employment have been met. Within 12 months before the tenure track period ends, the Faculty Board will appoint an expert committee and set a deadline for submitting the work from the applicant and the committee. The applicant will then be informed about deadlines and the expert committee.
The applicant will be informed about the outcome of the final evaluation at the latest six months before the end of the tenure track period. The applicant may submit remarks to the evaluation and additional information to those parts of the evaluation will be given.
Based on the final evaluation, the Faculty Board determines whether the candidate should obtain a permanent position as professor.
To get a permanent position as professor at the Department of Informatics (cf. § 2 in the regulations on the employment and promotion in teaching and research positions) after the end of the tenure track period, the candidate must, through a final evaluation, have achieved the current requirements for professor competence as approved by the Faculty Board at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
The opportunity to apply for personal promotion for professor competence is not valid for the period the candidate is employed in the tenure track position as associate professor.
Reference is made to the University’s General Regulations which state that as part of the normal duties of the position, the successful applicant may also be required to undertake teaching, supervision and work in connection with examinations in her or his particular field outside the organisational unit to which the appointment belongs
About The University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad.
There are seven departments and several centres at Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Read more about the faculty and departments.