PhD Research Fellowship in Circular Battery Strategies

About the position

Center for Research on Digitalization and Sustainability (CREDS), part of Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, University of Inland Norway (INN), invites candidates to apply for a three-year PhD research fellowship. The position is connected to the field of innovation studies with a specific focus on sustainability transitions, circular economy, business model change and value chains related to electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the context of energy storage and mobility. This may include research on the circular resource flows, reuse and recycle strategies, and competing end-of-life pathways for batteries and battery materials. 

Admission to INN's PhD program, Innovation in Services in the Public and Private Sectors (INSEPP), is a condition for employment as a research fellow. The candidate is expected to participate actively in INSEPP’s activities. After commencement, the candidate must apply for admission to the PhD programme within three months. An agreement for admission to the PhD programme must be in place within six months after commencement. 

As a PhD research fellow, you will be an integral part of CREDS and actively contribute to one or both of its research groups. In addition, the candidate will be employed at a department of the Business School. The position preferably commences as soon as possible, and will conclude with the award of the Degree of Doctor upon successfully completing the program. 

The position is based at CREDS in Innlandet Science Park in Kongsvinger. A high degree of on-site presence is expected. 

For further information, please contact: 

• CREDS Professor Johan Kask, +47 62 43 01 82, johan.kask@inn.no  
• CREDS Director and Professor Bård Tronvoll, +47 90 78 55 68, bard.tronvoll@inn.no  
• Head of INSEPP PhD Program Marit Engen, +47 61 28 81 07, marit.engen@inn.no 

About the project

Project overview 

The PhD research fellow will join an international team of researchers at CREDS, Inland School of Business and Social Sciences. We seek a highly motivated candidate to research circular battery strategies and future applications from a business and innovation perspective. CREDS’s overarching academic objective is accelerating research on the transitions enabling sustainable businesses and societies. The primary focus is to understand transitions at the level of ecosystems and markets and at the intersection between digitization and sustainability, for instance linked to new or changed business models, value chains and practices. 

The candidate’s PhD project should address how scarce resources in circular value chains related to energy and mobility are organized and governed across competing end-of-life pathways. Relevant topics include sustainable value creation, reuse and repair strategies, recycling systems, and business models that extend the useful life of batteries and battery materials. The project may examine how such arrangements work in practice, how they develop over time, and how different pathways can be assessed in relation to sustainability, loop extension, efficiency, resilience, and other relevant criteria. It may also focus on market formation, ecosystem dynamics, governance arrangements, power relations, and the role of technology in handling resource tensions across systems, as well as on how firms and other actors develop circular strategies under competing demands, regulatory change, and uncertainty about future resource use. One particularly relevant empirical example is end-of-life EV batteries, where tensions may arise between reusing or repurposing batteries for second-life energy storage and recycling materials back into battery production or other industrial uses. Norway provides a promising context for studying such issues due to its early and extensive adoption of battery-electric vehicles. 

Candidates are encouraged to define their own research design within this theme. This includes developing the specific research questions, theoretical perspective, empirical focus, and methodological approach in dialogue with the supervisory team and the academic environment at CREDS. A broad range of methodological approaches is relevant for the theme, including qualitative case studies, optimization models, system dynamics modelling, and agent-based modelling. Please note that the project may later be modified in accordance with the supervisors’ advice and the academic research agenda of CREDS. The successful candidate will have a primary supervisor among CREDS’ academic staff.

Qualifications

• The candidate must have a master’s degree and thesis on a relevant topic. Relevant academic backgrounds may include business and management, innovation studies, energy systems, industrial ecology, system dynamics, systems modelling, sustainability transitions, science and technology studies, topic-related forms of engineering, and other related interdisciplinary fields. 
• The master's degree must normally constitute 120 ECTS credits. INN’s PhD regulations require that the qualifying education includes a master’s thesis of 30 ECTS. As a rule, the average grade at master’s level must be B. 
• The qualifying degree(s) must be awarded from institutions in Norway, the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or from an international institution accredited by AACSB, AMBA and/or EQUIS. Where applicable, candidates should specify such accreditation in the application.
• Candidates who have not yet obtained the master’s degree at the time of application may apply. In this case, candidates must have submitted their master’s thesis by the application deadline. Temporary transcripts and the master’s thesis must be submitted with the application. The final diploma must be available by the time of employment. 
• Candidates with a master’s degree from a university abroad must attach “Recognition of foreign higher education” from NOKUT. Instructions for obtaining this assessment are available from NOKUT, https://hkdir.no/en/foreign-education/education-from-outside-ofnorway/recognition-of-foreign-higher-education-bachelor-master-and-phd . 
• Since the project is likely to involve extensive empirical research, dialogue with practitioners, meetings, and field-based data collection involving Norwegian and other Nordic actors, the ability to work effectively in Nordic industry and institutional contexts will be important. Relevant professional experience from industry or other practice-based settings in the Nordics, or in a comparable context, is therefore considered a strong merit. 
• Oral and written English is required. Applicants from non-English speaking countries must document their English proficiency in accordance with the Supplementary Regulations for Admission to the PhD Programme at INN University. A command of a Scandinavian language is a strong merit. 
• Expertise in relevant ICT software for research is an advantage. 
• Research experience acquired after completion of the master’s degree is considered an advantage, but is not required. 
• The candidate must be able to work independently and purposefully, and engage confidently with external actors to carry out empirical fieldwork. The role also requires the ability to collaborate well on academic research and publishing.

Evaluation of candidates for the position will be based on a total assessment of educational background, experience and personal suitability, as well as motivation and other eligibility requirements, as defined in the advertisement. In addition, the following will be emphasized: quality of the project description, documented independent research and development work or experience relevant to the project.

The position and associated tasks must be carried out in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations for government employees, including also the Act on Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology, etc. Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, come into conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to take up the position at University of Inland Norway. Necessary approvals must be maintained throughout the employment relationship.

How to apply

Relevant applications will be considered by an expert committee. The application and all attachments are to be submitted electronically and must include the following: 

• The applicant must submit a project proposal with a progress plan (in Norwegian or English, 5-7 pages) that explains how the research work will be carried out and addresses academic relevance, challenges and possibilities within the project. The PhD research fellow hired will, in collaboration with a supervisor, prepare a complete project proposal creating the basis for admission to the PhD program. The project proposal plays an important part in evaluating applicants and must show how the project will lead to a successful completion of a doctoral degree within three years. 
• Application letter 
• CV (summarizing education, job positions, and academic work) 
• Other work that is relevant for the application 
• Certified copies of transcripts and diplomas for the whole bachelor and master’s degree. An English translation of all education documents is required unless the documents are in Norwegian/Scandinavian. 
• Names and contact information of at least 2 reference persons. 
• A copy of the master’s thesis (in PDF)

Attachments must be uploaded as separate files. If the attachments exceed 30 MB, they must be compressed prior to upload. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all attachments are uploaded. Documents submitted after expiry of the deadline will not be considered in the evaluation of your application.

We offer

• An academically stimulating and supportive work environment at a developing institution. 
• Possibility of professional development in an exciting academic research environment. 
• Position is paid and placed in position code PhD candidate 1017 in the Government Salary Scale. 
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension, with among other things, good pension and insurance schemes.

For more information about INN University as an employer, please see here.

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General information

INN believes that there is strength in inclusion and diversity. We desire employees with different competencies, professional combinations, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to an even better way of solving problems. We will facilitate for employees who need assitance to realise their goals. Relevant adaptations can be, for example, technical aids, adapting furniture or adjusting routines, work tasks and working hours.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, gaps in the CV or immigrant background, we shall call at least one applicant in each of these categories for an interview. In order to be considered as an applicant in these groups, the applicants must meet certain requirements. You can read more on this here: https://arbeidsgiver.difi.no/positivsaerbehandling.

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