Tenured Professor of WATERWAYS SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Workload: full-time (40 hours a week)
Type of contract: permanent
Taking up employment: ASAP, but preferably no later than 1 March 2023
Application deadline: 31 October 2022

TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy invites applications for a professor position in Waterways Safety Management.

Estonian Maritime Academy is a school of Tallinn University of Technology, and provides multi-level education and conducts professional research in maritime sciences and fields related to them, making it the only competence centre of its kind in Estonia. There are 4 higher education programmes of professional higher education studies, one master’s in maritime and doctoral studies maritime main speciality in engineering.  As one of the schools of TalTech, we have established a base for creating synergies with other research fields and cooperation with the maritime sector.

 

Job description

The objective of the Waterways Safety Management professorship is to lead research and develop activities related to hydrography, aids to navigation, waterways design and cartography in Estonia and at the international level, to apply science-based solutions in managing the safety of waterways and ensuring maritime safety.

The tenured post is created with an aim of developing a new research group and direction based on the existing researchers and experts in the field, the graduates and current students of the study programme waterways safety management (former Hydrography)

Main responsibilities:

  • Establish, lead and manage a high-level research group in the field of waterways safety management;
  • Ensure continuity of know-how related to the speciality at TalTech, in Estonia and beyond;
  • Lay the foundation for science-based teaching, research and development and the development of innovative solutions in the fields of hydrography, waterways design, marine cartography, aids to navigation, safety management of on-shore and off-shore hydrotechnical facilities;
  • Improve the quality of research and development in the field and interdisciplinarity with other research fields and institutions, thereby contribute to the improvement of the technology and knowledge of maritime society, economy and industry;
  • Maintain existing partnerships and expand the existing research network and to make sure the international cooperation is developed and sufficient;
  • Initiate high-level scientific and R&D&I projects with Estonian and European leading partners through competitive research grant applications;
  • Publish high quality research papers in top-level journals, with high impact level (evaluated in term of citations);
  • Involve students (BSc, MSc, PhD) into research and development projects, and supervise professional higher education, masters’ and doctoral theses;
  • Conduct science-based teaching in the professional higher education study programme Waterways Safety Management, in the master’s study programme Maritime, in the main speciality of Maritime in doctoral studies (specialised study) as well participate in the development of study programs at all levels of higher education;
  • Participate in the work of international research organisations, journals and research councils

The research fields include:

  • hydrography, marine cartography and aids to navigation;
  • designing and marking of high seas routes, port water areas and access channels;
  • interactions between other offshore activities and water traffic;
  • aspects of navigation safety related to the abovementioned areas, the impact and risks of digitalization and automation

Courses topics potentially taught by the person holding the tenured post:

Waterway Safety Management, professional higher education
a) VMV0590 Aids to Navigation
b)VMV0540 Hydrographic Surveys
the main speciality in Maritime Studies, master’s studies:
a)VME0410 Waterway and Shipping Safety and Maritime Risk Management
b)VME0420 Maritime Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization
the main speciality in Maritime, engineering doctoral studies (see the maritime section)
a)VMD9010 Design, Development and Maintenance of Ports, Waterways and Coastal Areas

The selected candidate will focus on the development of a new research group in the field of waterways safety management and will be offered an opportunity to use the one-time research group development grant of 100,000 € and annual tenure grant of 50,000 €. The TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy offers basic gross salary to a successful candidate starting from 48,000 € per year (included in the development and tenure grant), with high growth potential in case of successful research funding. In general, Estonia is well known of its low taxes and excellent living environment.

For more information about the position, please contact Madli Kopti, Director of Development, Estonian Maritime Academy, madli.kopti@taltech.ee, phone +372 55662133.

Benefits of joining TalTech

  • Our tenure-track career system enables building a successful academic career and creates opportunity to be an internationally known and valued tenure professor in the maritime field;
  • Opportunities to build international networks, through established collaboration with industry, exchange programs and research visits to other universities, and support to attend research conferences;
  • Innovative, ambitious and multidisciplinary cooperation-oriented research groups in Estonian Maritime Academy and in TalTech;
  • Professionally provided administrative support (project applications writing, submission and projects implementation, HR, HPC, etc.) – our professors can mainly focus on RDI;
  • One of the most compact and sufficient maritime community in Europe that is surrounded by technology, digitalization and many high-tech companies and start-ups (Skype, Starship Technologies, Bolt, Pipedrive, etc.);
  • An informal and inclusive international working environment, modern ergonomic working conditions, green campus approach, a flexible schedule and modern office facilities located in Tallinn;
  • To support high-quality research, it is possible to use the numerous possibilities offered by our state-of-the-art Simulator Centre and our modern laboratories infrastructure
  • Individual development and training opportunities;.
  • Our digital and small society – everything is doable digitally and in a smart and quick way;
  • A competitive salary with high growth potential in case of successful research funding;
  • Relocation assistance;
  • Wellness and work-life balance.

Qualification requirements

  • Doctoral degree in a research direction related to the field;
  • Previous international work experience in the research field;
  • Research and development experience as the principal applicant and principal investigator of a research topic;
  • Pedagogical experience, incl. experience in supervising master’s and doctoral theses;
  • Level of research papers and number of citations should be comparable to the ones of the professors in the same field at the reference universities (Aalto University, Chalmers University of Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, universities belonging to the EuroTech Universities Alliance);
  • Record of successful supervision of doctoral thesis;
  • Required qualifications for a TalTech tenured professor post laid down in the Regulation on Academic Career Management, terms and levels established for academic posts as well Academic Evaluation Matrix
  • Language skills: English (advanced), basic Estonian is useful for conducting teaching and necessary in the longer perspective.

Application instructions

To apply for this position please send the following documents in English by 31 October 2022 at the latest by using the link “Apply”:

  • an application (a cover letter detailing how the candidate meets the qualifications of the position);
  • documents proving that the candidate holds the required academic degree (PhD or an equivalent qualification) and has acquired the required education;
  • a curriculum vitae and a list of publications;
  • an academic portfolio , including a motivated self-evaluation regarding compliance with the requirements for the tenured professor post set out in the Academic Career Management Regulation Annexes 3 “Academic Evaluation Matrix” (required in case of university staff) or a free format evaluation of the academic activity undertaken so far and the competencies required for work (required form external applicants);
  • a vision or an action plan for the following period of employment (the maximum total length 1500 words);
  • other documents considered to be important by the applicant.

Regarding further information on the application documents and recruitment process please contact TalTech HR konkurss@taltech.ee.

Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) is the only flagship in engineering and IT science and education in Estonia, providing higher education at all levels in engineering and technology, information technology, economics, science, and maritime. TalTech’s mission is to be a promoter of science, technology, and innovation and a leading provider of engineering and economic education in Estonia.

Further information about working and living in Estonia: euraxess.ec.europa.eu and
workinestonia.com/living-in-estonia.