PhD Candidate – Netnography-Driven User-Centered Design for the Green Energy Transition

The Department of Design has a vacancy for a PhD candidate within the field of Design for Sustainability. The Department is part of the Faculty of Architecture and Design, which also incorporates the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art. The department has staff both in Trondheim and Gjøvik, and offers design programs in fields such as industrial design, graphic design, interaction design, service design and web development. The department’s strategic research areas include design for sustainability, digitalisation and health, and it participates in various national and international projects, several of which are related to design for sustainable behaviour and practices.

The PhD student will be formally positioned at the Department of Design, but also have access to a co-located working space for all NOTRAP PhD students at the Department of Psychology. The NOTRAP project will be organized and coordinated in a way that secures cooperation between all involved PhD students and their supervisors. Travelling with respect to conferences, meetings, workshops will be
expected as part of the position.

The position will be supervised by Prof. Casper Boks from the Department of Design and Dr. Stepan Vesely from the Department of Psychology.

The Head of Department will be your immediate superior.

The candidate will work within the VISTA center for Norwegian Transformative Energy Policy development – NOTRAP which aims  to establish Energy Policy Incubators (EPIs), which co-construct transformative, contextualized energy policies with citizens, policymakers, industry, scientists, and other stakeholders. NOTRAP is a cooperation between eight departments from four different NTNU faculties, and will house eight PhD students to be recruited in 2025, in the fields of design, psychology, sociology, social anthropology, economics and political sciences.

Within NOTRAP, the Department of Design will contribute with two PhD students to establishing EPIs by developing and using innovative design methods to extend the space of imaginable policy pathways. This vacancy concerns one of these two PhD positions.

The PhD candidate is expected to address one or more of the following research questions:

1. How can netnography be used to extract actionable insights about citizens’ attitudes, needs, perceptions, motivations, and barriers toward adopting green energy solutions?
2. To what extent can netnography be of additional value in comparison to more conventional qualitative and quantitative methods used by designers and psychologists to uncover psychological and behavioral factors (e.g., trust, risk perception, social identity) that influence user engagement in sustainable behaviour and engagement in the green energy transition?
3. How can user-centered design methods leverage netnographic data to co-create more effective, inclusive, and user-friendly green energy products/services?
4. How can relevant narratives about the green energy transitions which are present in social media (and media in general?) be identified and exploited to shape public attitudes toward green energy policies and technologies?

• 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 center NOTRAP
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions

• You must have 120 ECTS master’s degree in design, or another field deemed relevant for the position. Current master’s students are encouraged to apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position
• 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
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken
• The ability to be creative and work and think in a cross-disciplinary manner
• Have the potential to conduct and disseminate high quality scientific research

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

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.

• Experience with research in the domains of design, (n)etnography, psychology, media studies
• Experience with interdisciplinary research challenges and approaches
• Affinity with research topics related to sustainability, and in relation to the Green Energy Transition in particular
• Familiarity with advanced methods for analysis of qualitative data
• Communication skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language, both written and spoken
• A relevant existing national or international professional networkIf you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 upon employment, the department will offer the opportunity to complete Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this.

We are searching for candidates who are:

• Curious, investigative, positive, creative, result oriented and enthusiastic
• Able to contribute to the department with new knowledge and perspectives
• Able to cooperate in interdisciplinary teams, as well as work independently
• Able to communicate information and results with clarity and ease, both orally and in writing

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

• An open, inclusive and multidisciplinary work environment with dedicated colleagues
• An existing local, national and international network of relevant scientists, designers and artists
• Exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• Working capital that can be used to implement the projectAn exciting job with an important mission in society
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• 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.

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 after completed and documented the Norwegian course.

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

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 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.

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English. Candidates are required to include the following:

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 upon request.

The application must include:

• A Curriculum Vitae
• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
• A pdf copy of your Master’s thesis, or a draft of the thesis if you are close to completion. Documentation of a completed Master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position
• A motivation letter (max. 750 words) which addresses their motivation, suitability, and ambitions for the position
• Up to three proposals (max. 750 words each) for a focused research plan, including main research question(s), thematic application area, target group, research methods, and expected scientific and societal contributions
• 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.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.

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).

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

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Casper Boks, email: casper.boks@ntnu.no

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR executive Marion Wohlen, e-mail: marion.s.wohlen@ntnu.no.

Application deadline: 03.08.2025