The Centre of Maritime Health and Society (CMSS) at the University of Southern Denmark (Esbjerg campus) invites applications for a three-year postdoc position within the area of risk and safety risks, or in Health, Safety and Environment management in socio-technical systems, starting March 1, 2023.

We invite candidates to apply who are interested in contributing to a project that will be focusing on energy islands which are seen as a paradigm shift in the green transition. The establishment of the world's first artificial islands will be supplying several countries with renewable energy. These mega-constructions will be offshore hubs and green power plants that will form part of the Danish and international critical infrastructure, including systems in constant development and continued innovation.

Maritime operations connected to the islands will be the main focus of the project. Challenges in these operations may involve limited navigational space, weather conditions and traffic density to, from and around the islands which can affect safety for crews and influence the efficiency of other operations and activities related to the islands. As any other new technology and activity, operation of the islands, the connecting wind farms and service vessels will come with new risks. The consequences of failing to predict and manage the risks of these complex systems can be immense. The project will contribute to overviewing the risk landscape, prediction of its dynamics, working out recommendations for risk sharing among stakeholders, risk acceptance, prevention, mitigation, and recovery strategies, should any risk materialize.

Responsibilities and required qualifications

As stated above, successful candidates hold a PhD degree or a documented track-record and/or experience in either analysing risks, in particular safety risks, or in Health, Safety and Environment management of socio-technical systems.

The candidate will be expected to collect qualitative and quantitative data from the relevant stakeholders, published sources, participate in workshops to elicit, and aggregate expert knowledge, and translate findings into operational guidance for risk management.

We seek a person who is self-motivated, who enjoys interaction with both team members and external collaborators and is motivated by both individual and team accomplishments. Good academic communicative skills will be an advantage as well as the knowledge of a Scandinavian language, although the latter is not a requirement.

Research environment
The Center of Maritime Health and Societyoffers a broad cross-disciplinary research environment. Our aim is to contribute with high quality research that is relevant to the maritime industry. We currently have 9 employees in the center, who all work within different research disciplines relevant to the main focus areas of the Centre: health and safety. The Centre has good relations across SDU faculties, with maritime researchers in Denmark and abroad, and with multiple actors in the maritime sector of Denmark and Europe.

We offer an environment where young researchers are fully integrated in the research environment, and we assist the candidate in establishing a good network.

About the project

The Postdoctoral position is funded by the SDU Maritime Research Platform, which was established in 2022 based on a donation from A/S Dampskibsselskabet Orient’s Fond.

The platform consists of maritime research projects in four faculties across the University of Southern Denmark (Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Humanities, and Faculty of Business and Social Sciences), mostly PhD and postdoc projects, and covers topics related to the maritime part of the offshore sector. The work packages, though separate in their research focus, are interconnected and important to the project, as the breadth and interdisciplinarity of the initiative is very important. The topics cover a wide range of disciplines as e.g., sustainability, safety, risk, human factors, history, logistics, business, regulation, naval architecture, and maritime operations.

All partners connected to the platform must be willing to be part of the interdisciplinary network and actively participate in knowledge sharing.

Further information

For further information please contact either Senior Researcher Igor Kozin (ph.: +45 65504834, email: [email protected] ) or the Head of the Research Centre, Senior Researcher Lisa L. Froholdt (ph.: +45 65507245, email: [email protected] )

Salaries for Postdocs employed at the Faculty of Health Sciences are in accordance with the approved agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the AC collective agreement.

Application

This position is also advertised as a Ph.D. position.

Application must include the following:

• A letter stating your specific interest, motivation, and qualifications
• A detailed CV, including personal contact information
• A complete and numbered publication list.
• Evidence of Master’s and Ph.D. degrees.
• A research plan
• A teaching portfolio

Only applications submitted online and written in English will be accepted for evaluation.

Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Applications may be shortlisted.

Living and working in Denmark

Foreign applicants will be offered Danish language training as part of the employment. The International Staff Office (ISO) at SDU provides a variety of services for new employees, guests and people who consider applying for a job at the University of Southern Denmark. Among other things, the staff answers questions concerning salary, taxation, housing and accompanying family.

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

Further details

How to apply