About the position
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 Department of Electric Energy (IEL) at NTNU is seeking a highly motivated candidate for a full-time (100%) PhD position for 3 years as part of the project “Experimental investigation of electrical breakdown of alternative insulating liquids”. You will join the research group High Voltage Technology at IEL, where we foster an open, inclusive, and collaborative working environment.
Our working environment is characterized by its friendly and supportive atmosphere, with regular gatherings such as professional meetings within the research group, shared lunches, and “Friday coffee” sessions to wrap up the week. These informal occasions provide opportunities to exchange ideas, celebrate milestones, and strengthen connections. Beyond work, PhD Candidates arrange social activities, open to everyone who wishes to join, creating a welcoming and inclusive community.
About the project
Liquid-insulated transformers are keystones of the electrical transmission and distribution system. A significant increase in the development of innovative insulating liquids is being witnessed, with these products promoted for their superior properties, such as biodegradability, reduced fire risk, and cooling properties, compared to conventional crude oil-based mineral oils. However, there are presently no established standards for properly evaluating and documenting the most critical functional property of the insulating liquids – the dielectric withstand performance – which is characterized by breakdown and pre-breakdown phenomena.
The PhD Candidate will perform streamer experiments, applying step-pulses of high-voltage (0.5 / 1700 µs, up to 600 kV) to an 80-mm needle-plane liquid-insulated electrode gap. Current, light emission (PMT), streamer images (high-speed camera), and pressure waves measured/captured during pre-breakdown will be studied and compared for a selection of liquids. Effects of varying the step-voltage rise time, the inhomogeneity of the electric field, and electrode gap distance should be investigated.
Results from other work packages in the project, e.g. molecular modelling, high-field conductivity measurements, and small-scale breakdown, will support and complement the findings of this PhD research on large-scale experiments, and vice-versa.
The work of this project will be associated with the project LiPe (LiPe – Transformer Liquid Dielectric Withstand Performance – SINTEF, – see also here for information), which is a collaborative project involving NTNU, SINTEF, and several national and international industry partners. The prospective candidate will be part of a project team that works in close collaboration with SINTEF and industry partners. The PhD Candidate will be employed at NTNU, and the workplace will be in Trondheim, in connection with this research project.
The main supervisor will be Professor Kaveh Niayesh (NTNU) and the co-supervisor will be Dr. Inge Madshaven (SINTEF Energy Research).
Your immediate Line Manager will be the Head of Department.
Duties of the position
- Develop an appropriate experimental setup and utilize suitable methods to characterize the streamer discharge in different insulating liquids.
- Perform parameter study to investigate the impact of applied voltage waveform as well as electric field inhomogeneity on the streamer initiation and propagation in different insulating liquids.
- Participate in the research group High Voltage Technology (HVT).
- Complete academic training consisting of coursework corresponding to a minimum 30 ECTS.
- Disseminate scientific findings via journal publications and international conferences, workshops, or similar events and thus take part in academic discussion in the international academic community.
- Participate in international activities such as research stays at foreign educational institutions
Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.
Required selection criteria
- You must have an academically relevant background in Electric Power Engineering, Physics, Material Science, or Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
- You must have a Master’s degree in Electric Power Engineering, Physics, Material Science, or Electrical Engineering or equivalent. Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level. Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than 31 August 2025.
- You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master’s degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education, i.e. by having relevant work experience and/or published/publishable scientific papers.
- You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s doctoral program.
- You must have Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish language skills corresponding to the scale A2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). If you cannot document those skills upon employment, you must take Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this. The Norwegian training comes in addition to the scholarship holder’s three-year doctoral work. The language requirements only apply if a decision on employment in the position takes place from 1 August 2025.
- You must have English language skills, both written and spoken, corresponding to the scale B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Applicants from non-English speaking countries outside EU/EEA/Switzerland must provide preliminary documentation of English language proficiency, in terms of an approved test. One of the following test scores could be documented for this purpose:
- TOEFL internet-based test (iBT) – Score equivalent to the B2 level: 79 – 101.
- IELTS – Score equivalent to the B2 level: 5.5 – 6.0
- Cambridge English: Score equivalent to the B2 level: 160 – 179.
Further assessment of both written and oral English language skills and the ability to communicate fluently will be conducted in the continued selection process and during any interviews for all applicants.
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.
Preferred selection criteria
- Work and/or research experience in high voltage engineering
- Experience in building and/or running lab test setups
- English language skills, both written and spoken, corresponding to the scale C1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). See which scores are equivalent to the C1 level here.
Personal characteristics
To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:
- Work independently and structured, set goals, and make plans to achieve them
- Present and discuss your research with other professionals
- Engage and contribute constructively with feedback
- Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity
- Show curiosity and have a strong motivation for the subject
- Analyze data, assess different perspectives, and draw well-founded conclusions
- Are flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed
Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.
We offer
- An exciting job with an important mission in society
- Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
- Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
- Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
- working capital that can be used to implement the project
- training during working hours and company sports 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
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.
Salary and conditions
As a PhD Candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
The period of employment 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. The language requirements only apply if a decision on employment in the position takes place from 1 August 2025.
For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Electric Power Engineering 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 at campus Trondheim on a daily basis.
About the application
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:
- A cover letter where the applicant describes personal motivation, summarizing scientific work, and how the applicant sees her/his background as suitable (400 words/1 page)
- CV
- Possibly recommendation letters
- Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not yet completed your master thesis, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the submission of the master thesis, or confirmation that your master thesis has been submitted.
- Applicants from universities outside Norway are requested to send a diploma supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study programme and grading system. See also specific documentation requirements for education obtained outside of Norway, applicable to certain regions/countries, here.
- A copy of the master’s thesis. If you recently submitted your master’s thesis, you are encouraged to attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position.
- Project outline containing proposals for an overall description of research questions, theoretical perspectives, methodological design for the project, and progress plan (maximum 1500 words/4 pages, including references). This proposal will be neither final nor binding for the project.
- If you have publications or other relevant research work, submit them.
- English language proficiency documentation
- Name and contact information of three 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.
General information
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 Kaveh Niayesh by e-mail at kaveh.niayesh@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR consultant Sven Robert Storø by e-mail at sven.r.storo@ntnu.no.
Application deadline: 28.02.2025