Tenure Track Assistant/Associate Professor in Food Design

Tenure Track Assistant/Associate Professor in Food Design

University of Helsinki - Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry

Helsinki, Finland

From € 55,000 up to € 70,000 per year gross

Job Description

The associate/assistant professor will strengthen the research and teaching of food sciences and related fields within the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The appointee must have diverse knowledge of food design to create high-quality, sustainable, and safe food solutions. The position focuses on the fields of food chemistry (chemical safety), food technology, food processing technology, sensory and consumer research. The appointee should have comprehensive expertise in research methods based on the aforementioned fields and appropriate evidence of research activities that relate to future sustainable food systems. The appointee must have extensive knowledge of the food sector and the technologies used in it, as well as sufficient experience in the food industry, legislation, and the specific characteristics of food production in local and international contexts.

The associate/assistant professor is expected to promote the development of multidisciplinary methods and solutions to support a sustainable and profitable food system and future food security. The appointee must have demonstrable research experience in at least two of the following themes:

• Food design, which may combine, for example, design, natural sciences, food sciences, food culture, and nutrition to create food and food experiences;
• Reactions of macromolecules and other compounds in various food matrices, the effects of processing on macromolecular interactions, and subsequent impacts on food quality (structure, flavour, and safety);
• Food safety, particularly related to chemical factors in food;
• Development and utilization of food innovations.

Research expertise and experience in several themes, as well as the utilization of domestic and international research, development, and innovation funding (RDI), are considered advantages. Experience in national and international business collaboration is also regarded as an advantage. This position is new within the faculty, and thus the appointee has the opportunity to develop a groundbreaking, nationally and internationally unique research and education profile at the University of Helsinki. The appointee will also engage in public discussions relating to their scientific field.

The appointee will contribute to teaching and supervision of theses in food science within the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. The appointee is also expected to collaborate with other MSc programmes of the faculty (e.g. Master's Programme in Technologies for Sustainable Use of Renewable Resources). The appointee will also supervise theses within these programmes and provide discipline-specific teaching in relevant doctoral programmes. The appointee participates in the development of teaching at the faculty and is also expected to work in the management teams of the degree programmes.

REQUIREMENTS

An appointee to the position of assistant professor or associate professor in the tenure track system shall have:

• a doctoral degree
• the capability to conduct independent scholarly work
• the teaching skills required for the position
• the capability and motivation to pursue an academic career, as demonstrated by publications and other means

The degree requirement (doctoral degree) must be met by the end of the application period.

When considering the candidates’ qualifications, attention shall be given to research and teaching merits. In addition, the candidates’ leadership and interaction skills, as well as activity in the scientific community and public engagement shall also be taken into account.

Scientific merits include:

• scientific publications and other research results of scholarly value;
• success in securing external research funding;
• engagement in international scholarly work;
• other international experience.

Teaching merits include:

• teaching experience;
• pedagogical training;
• the ability to produce learning material;
• other teaching merits;
• a teaching demonstration;
• participation in doctoral education.

Successfully performing the duties of the position requires good spoken and written proficiency in Finnish or Swedish and satisfactory proficiency in the other national language. Foreign citizens, non-native Finnish citizens or citizens who have not been educated in Finnish or Swedish may be exempted from this requirement without a separate application. If you do not yet speak Finnish or Swedish, we expect you to achieve moderate language proficiency within a reasonable time after being selected for the position in either language. The University provides support for language learning and time for language studies can be included in annual work plan. To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must have good English skills.