PhD Candidate in “Sleep and Pain among Young People”

In a PhD position, the goal is to complete a doctoral education leading to a PhD. The workplace for the position is at the Department of Public Health and Nursing (ISM), Øya campus, Trondheim. You will be part of the research group “Musculoskeletal Health, Sleep, and Activity” and “Work and Health”, both at ISM.

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

The research project will explore the association between sleep and work participation among patients with chronic pain.

People with chronic pain can be referred to a multidisciplinary pain clinic, and many of these report sleep problems. Sleep problems are considered a strong risk factor for sick leave and seem to predict return to work among those with chronic pain. In this PhD project, you will examine whether sleep problems influence work participation and prognosis in patients referred to the pain clinic. Additionally, you will contribute to developing treatment components for pain patients experiencing sleep problems.

This project will utilize patient registry data linked to sick leave records. Furthermore, the project will evaluate whether sleep therapy affects sleep quality, functional ability, and work participation. This is an interdisciplinary research project that involves the Department of Public Health and Nursing, the Department of Design, the Department of Computer Science and Informatics, Ungt Løft in Trondheim Municipality, the Pain Clinic at St. Olavs Hospital, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, and several international partners. You will have close contact with patient users during the project period. The project is funded by NTNU Health – strategic program.

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Participate in the research groups Musculoskeletal health, sleep, and activity og Work and Health
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

• You must have an academically relevant background within epidemiology, public health, medicine, nursing, human movement science or another field that may be relevant to the project.
• Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master’s degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s Doctoral Programme https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phmedhv
• Good oral and written presentation skills in English
• Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.

If you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 upon employment, you must complete Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

• Good oral and written presentation skills in Norwegian/Scandinavian
• Knowledge about the Norwegian health- and welfare systems
• Experience with at least one programming language (e.g., R, Stata, SPSS, Python)
• Experience working in an interdisciplinary environment

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:

• Work independently
• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals
• Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback
• Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity
• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject
• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions
• Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• As a public employee, you have favourable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)

You will be employed as a PhD Candidate at NTNU and will have access to employee benefits and discounts.

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population’s collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality. (delete if not applicable)

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 536 200 per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary.

The employment period is 3 years. If learning Norwegian (level A2 corresponding to at least 15 credits) is to be completed before the end of the employment period, the employment period can be extended by 10 weeks.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Medicine and Health Sciences within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary academic and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates

The application must include:

• Short letter of motivation (1/2 page)
• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
• CV
• Copy of Master’s thesis. If you have recently 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
• Possibly publications etc. other relevant research work
• Possibly certificates
• Names and contact information of three relevant 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. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.
NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU’s social mission).

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt 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 exemption is not granted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact researcher Eivind Schjelderup Skarpsno, telephone 97521297, email eivind.s.skarpsno@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Anita Finserås Bretun, e-mail: anita.f.bretun@ntnu.no.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

Application deadline: 04.03.2025