Doctoral student in Physics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description

The Faculty of Health, Science and Technology invites applications for a doctoral studentship in Physics at the Department of Engineering and Physics.  The research area is materials physics.

The Department of Engineering and Physics is a diverse and international workplace with a friendly and inspiring atmosphere. The department has a research group that focuses on industrial type Si-based solar cells (se https://www.kau.se/en/physics/research/materials-physics/solar-energy-materials/silicon-solar-cell-research). Our research and development concentrates on new and advanced production technologies. The research will be embedded in the newly started center of excellence “SOLVE” (https://uu.se/forskning/solve), where about 50 companies and six academic partners are joining their efforts to enable a rapid and sustainable expansion of photovoltaics in Sweden.

Next generation solar cell modules will utilize new concepts to reduce silver consumption and increase the power conversion efficiency. In this project, research will focus on the contact formation between the solar cell and its contact grid as well as between the grid and the interconnection wires or tapes. The research will include different solar cell types, mainly based on silicon, but also new tandem devices (possibly including perovskite structures). Measurement techniques to determine the electrical contact resistance have to be developed. Characterization of samples will include electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) as well as IV-curve measurements and topographical imaging techniques.

The work will partly be carried out in collaboration with companies working on new contacting concepts and interconnection techniques as well as new module technologies nationally and internationally.

Duties

Main duties are to participate in the research described above. The duties comprise setting up new experimental tools or extend present measurement techniques. The applicant is also expected to take an active part in writing publications as well as collaborate with partners from industry and academia.

A doctoral student is mainly expected to engage in doctoral studies. The doctoral programme consists of 240 higher education credits, including the doctoral thesis, and 120 higher education credits for a Degree of Licentiate. A doctoral student works independently and and is prepared to contribute to the subject’s and department’s activities, as well as teaching and administration duties. Such duties may not constitute more than 20% of full-time.

You are expected to actively participate in the day-to-day activities and the workplace community to promote a positive work environment and operational development.

Qualification requirements 

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Ch. 7 sect. 35).

To meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification (a Degree of Master), satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were at master’s level, or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 39).

To meet the specific entry requirements for third-cycle studies in Physics, the applicant must have completed a second-cycle level degree in Physics, with a specialization in a relevant area for doctoral studies in physics. Eligible are also applicants with other degrees at second-cycle level, with at least 60 higher education credits in a relevant area for third-cycle studies in Physics, for example, a degree of Master of Science in Engineering Physics or teacher degree with relevant specialization in Physics.

A good command of English, in written and oral, is a requirement.

Admission and assessment criteria

To be eligible for doctoral studies the applicant must be deemed to have the ability required to pursue the programme successfully (Higher Education Ordinance, Ch. 7, sect. 35). Admission is based on individual assessment.

The assessment will focus on the applicant’s results in previous studies, the quality of any independent written work included in these studies, language skills, and the applicant’s intent with regard to being a present and active part of the research community.

The assessment is also based on the relevance of the applicant’s merits to the research program in silicon solar cell technology.

Qualifications that are of a special weight:

• Experience of silicon-based crystalline solar cell production and characterization.

A positive attitude, good interpersonal skills and good written and oral communication skills are of special weight.

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies, or five years of 80% studies and 20% teaching or other departmental duties. The position is fixed-term — one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time. Start date as negotiated.

The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students at Karlstad University.

Application

Submit the application via the University’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi.
Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.

The application should include:
• a cover letter with a brief description of the applicant and interest in the position
• a list of qualifications (CV)
• copy of degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates,
• copy of Master thesis or similar,
• if applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications
• possibly letters of recommendation,
• two references
• information of language skills (English)

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to the following address:
Karlstads universitet
HR department / Josefin Rönnkvist
651 88 KARLSTAD
Sweden

Application deadline: 1 December 2022

State the ref.no: REK 2022/182

We look forward to your application!

Karlstad University has chosen advertising channels for this recruitment and firmly declines any contact with advertising or recruitment agencies.