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.
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 (Transformer Liquid Dielectric Withstand Performance – 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.
Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.
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.
To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:
Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Logg inn for å skrive en kommentar