Vacant job

About the Workplace

The University of Gävle is one of Sweden's most popular universities.

We offer around 60 educational programs and 330 independent courses in the humanities, health and medicine, social and natural sciences, and technology. We have 19,000 students, 750 employees, and a cohesive campus in beautiful surroundings.

The university has four strategic research areas focusing on societal challenges: Sustainable urban development, health-promoting work, innovative learning, and intelligent industry.

We offer, among other things:

• A good work environment, employee surveys show high satisfaction and joy at work
• Generous wellness allowance, among the best in Sweden's higher education institutions
• Flexible working methods

Job Responsibilities

The Department of Building Technology, Energy Systems, and Environmental Science at the University of Gävle is seeking a PhD candidate to conduct research on energy resilience. The PhD project is part of the project Innovative Solutions for Increased Energy Resilience. The project aims to create robust and fossil-free solutions to maintain critical societal functions during prolonged power outages, taking a holistic approach to both technology, organization, and collaboration. The PhD project focuses on organizational issues and collaboration to increase energy resilience rather than the technical aspects of the project.

This project will be conducted in close collaboration with Samarkand2015, which is the project owner, as well as Smedjebacken Municipality, VB Kraft, and the Dalarna County Administrative Board. More information about the project can be found on Samarkand's website: Samarkand2015 (https://www.samarkand2015.com/sv-SE)

Research Subject: Energy Systems

Project Description

Sweden's power system is undergoing transformation through increased electrification and digitalization, which, despite high operational reliability, can increase vulnerability to accidents, sabotage, technical failures, and extreme weather events. In Ludvika, Krafttanken, a central battery storage facility, was established in 2019 that can supply critical infrastructure with electricity during power outages and enable a black start of a nearby hydropower plant during longer outages. The electricity is then distributed via the local grid in so-called island operation. The facility is currently owned by VB Kraft.

The project Innovative Solutions for Increased Energy Resilience includes three test beds: fossil-free island operation in Smedjebacken, further development of Krafttanken in Ludvika, and the development of a regional collaboration model for energy supply during major crises. Digital resilience and cybersecurity are integrated parts of the work.

The PhD project focuses on the collaboration model and aims to scientifically develop and evaluate organizational solutions that strengthen the crisis capability of the energy system. By following the project's implementation and using surveys and interviews, challenges such as knowledge gaps, resource shortages, and legal obstacles are identified. Local experiences are placed in a regional and national context in collaboration with the national competence center RESILIENT, in which the University of Gävle participates. Experiences from the war in Ukraine are included through literature studies and interviews with key individuals in a Ukrainian city.

Here you can read more about the competence center RESILIENT: RESILIENT (https://sites.mdu.se/resilient)

The PhD Position Includes:

• Conducting the scientific project
• Completing courses equivalent to at least 60 credits
• Teaching and performing administrative tasks
• Regularly participating in academic activities such as seminars and meetings

Qualifications

To be admitted to the doctoral program, the applicant must meet both general and specific eligibility requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, § 35).

General eligibility is met by those who have obtained a master's degree, completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at the master's level, or who have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge within or outside the country.

Specific eligibility for admission to the doctoral program in energy systems (the research subject) is for those who have obtained a master's degree in energy systems or another field deemed equivalent by the employer, e.g., environmental science.

To succeed in your doctoral studies at the University of Gävle, you need to be goal-oriented in your work. Furthermore, it is a requirement for the position that you have the ability to:

• Independently drive your work forward,
• Collaborate with others,
• Maintain a professional attitude,
• Analyze and work with complex issues,
• Discuss and explain research to individuals not active in the subject area.

Furthermore, it is a requirement that you have a good ability to express yourself in both Swedish and English, both orally and in writing.

Admission and Assessment Criteria

To be admitted to the doctoral program, the applicant must be assessed to have the ability to benefit from the education (Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, § 35). Admission is based on individual assessment. Read more about doctoral education and our admission and assessment criteria at: University of Gävle (https://www.hig.se/forskning/forskarutbildning)

Conditions

After admission to doctoral education, an employment as a doctoral student will be offered (Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, § 3). The position is a fixed-term full-time employment (initially one year, which can then be extended for a maximum of two years at a time).

The total employment period must not exceed what corresponds to full-time doctoral education for four years. An employed doctoral student may, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within e.g., education and administration.

Application

You apply via HiG's recruitment system. As an applicant, you have the primary responsibility for ensuring that your application is complete when submitted.

Contact

Mattias Gustafsson
Supervisor and project manager from HiG
026-64 81 81, 070-238 19 61
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Mathias Cehlin
Department Head and Node Leader RESILIENT
072-299 53 52
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Other

The University of Gävle strives for a balanced gender distribution and active work with equal opportunities in all parts of the organization.

In preparation for this recruitment, the University of Gävle has taken a position on recruitment channels and marketing. We therefore kindly decline contact with media sellers and similar.