Doctoral student (licentiate) in norm-critical design of the smart home

Project description

Third-cycle subject:  Planning and decision analysis, with specialization in strategies for sustainable development.

The project focuses on flexibility in the electricity system of the future, which is assumed to be achieved through increased automation of homes. Goal conflicts are examined between ecological and social sustainability that arise in the gap between the ambition of technical efficiency and issues connected to our designed living environment which include equality, democracy, power and trust. The analysis takes place from an intersectional perspective, where societal structures that risk standing in the way of a democratic future electricity network are visible. The project collaborates with private and civil society actors with the aim of transferring the project's results into practical work.

The doctoral (licentiate) position is located at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Technology (SEED), at the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

The work is carried out as part of the interdisciplinary project "The role of the home in an automated electricity network - A norm-critical perspective", funded by the Energy Agency. It includes a series of field studies in people's homes that form the basis of a design-driven norm-critical and speculative process. Physical prototypes are designed with the intention of making visible power structures that arise in relations between practices and products and propose alternative product/practice relations that challenge and expand prevailing discourse around smart homes and power grids. Desirable educational background is in the fields of design and sustainable development.

Supervision: Docent Cecilia Katzeff, Dr. Loove Broms and Dr. Karin Ehrnberger,  School of Architecture and the Built Environment is proposed to supervise the doctoral student. Decisions are made on admission.

What we offer

• The possibility to study in a dynamic and international research environment in collaboration with industries and prominent universities from all over the world.Read more
• A compulsory individual study plan to support your development in your area of interest.
• A workplace with many employee benefits and monthly salary according to KTH’s Doctoral student salary agreement.
• A postgraduate education at an institution that is active and supportive in matters pertaining to working conditions, gender equality and diversity as well as study environment.
• Work and study in Stockholm, one of Europe’s fastest growing capitals, which is close to both nature and the sea.
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH.
• The group offers an interdisciplinary and international context, consisting of researchers engaged in sustainable development.

Admission requirements

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second cycle degree (for example a master's degree), or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or
• acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6, read more here

Selection

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional approach,
• analyse and work with complex issues and
• speak Swedish fluently since it is essential for the daily work.

Meritorious qualifications

• Experience of interdisciplinary research.
• Experience from ethnographical methodology.

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal competency. 

Target degree: Licentiate degree

Information regarding admission and employment

Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. In the case of studies that are to be completed with a licentiate degree, the total period of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education for two years.

Union representatives

You will find contact information for union representatives on KTH's website.

Doctoral section (Students’ union on KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

You will find contact information for doctoral section on the section's website.

To apply for the position

Apply for the position and admission through KTH's recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Applications must include the following elements:

• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Application letter with a brief description of why you want to pursue research studies, about what your academic interests are and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Maximum 2 pages long)
• Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above). Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages.Copies of originals must be certified.
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.

Other information

The service may include security-sensitive activities. To become authorized, you therefore need to pass a security check.

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process please read here.

We firmly decline all contact with staffing and recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

About KTH

KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy. Read more here

1. Loove Broms, loove@kth.se