University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)

GTK in brief

At GTK, we aim to work for the Earth and for Us. We conduct objective research to find solutions to challenges posed by climate change, the energy transition, and the circular economy. Our 400 experts are specialists in the mineral economy, green energy, water management, the environment, and digital solutions. Together with our Finnish and global partners, we are building sustainable and carbon-neutral future. GTK is a research organization governed by the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy. www.gtk.fi/en

UEF in brief

The Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology operates on the Kuopio and Joensuu campuses of the University of Eastern Finland. The mission of the faculty is to carry out internationally recognised scientific research and to offer research-education in the fields of natural sciences, forestry and technology. The faculty invests in all of the strategic research areas of the university. The faculty’s environments for research and learning are international, modern and multidisciplinary. The faculty has approximately 2,650 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students and some 440 postgraduate students. The number of staff amounts to 650.

The University of Eastern Finland (UEF) is the most multidisciplinary university in Finland. Our university employs approximately 3,200 employees, and our community includes approximately 17,000 degree students and 16,000 adult education students. Our campuses are located in Joensuu and Kuopio. We represent the world’s cutting edge of research in many fields and produce research-based knowledge, which is made openly available to benefit everyone. Learn more about our university at www.uef.fi/en. Read also about UEF as a working community and employer and the career stories of our employees.

Homepage: https://www.uef.fi/en

The Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences

The Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) position in hydrogeology is open for applications. The Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) will be recruited for two consecutive but separate fixed-term employment contracts. The Doctoral Researcher (PhD Student) will start working at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), and after that, the position will continue at Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). The position will be filled for a fixed term from 1 April 2025 onwards (or starting date as agreed).

Please find more information below and submit your application no later than 24 March 2025.

Role and tasks

We are seeking for an independent, active and enthusiastic Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) to join the project “Nano-/Microplastic Mobility and Contaminant Co-Transport in Groundwater – A Multiscale Study with Finnish Perspective” (website) in short NOMAD, which is carried out jointly by GTK and UEF. The Doctoral Researcher (PhD Student) will start working at UEF in the Aquatic Ecotoxicology and Water Hygiene Research Group (website) and the Microplastic Research Group (website) and after that, the position will continue at GTK in the Energy and Construction Solutions Unit (website).

Nano- and microplastics pollution has emerged as a global concern and a critical environmental challenge of our time, because of their adverse environmental and health effects. They can enter groundwater from a variety of anthropogenic sources and pose a serious threat to drinking water quality. To date, little is known about the transport phenomena of nano/microplastics and how they carry dissolved contaminants in subsurface porous media and groundwater systems. This project will 1) systematically investigate the nano-/microplastic transport behaviour and their interactions with different traditional pollutants (metals/metalloids, organic pollutants) by performing laboratory and field experiments, and numerical modelling simulations, and 2) quantify the nano-/microplastic contents in Finnish groundwaters. The results will help to gain a better understanding of the movement of these emerging contaminants in the subsurface and will provide modelling tools to quantify groundwater pollution risks.

The main duty of the Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) is to work towards a doctoral dissertation. The PhD thesis has at least one supervisor from each organization.

The Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) will focus on controlled laboratory experiments (i.e., batch, column, and 2D flow-through experiments) as well as pilot and field experiments to study the transport behaviour of nano- and microplastics, plastic-soil interactions, and plastic-driven co-transport of contaminants in saturated porous media and groundwater aquifers.

Overall, the main tasks include laboratory and field work, development of conceptual and numerical models of transport of nano-/microplastic and co-transport of pollutants in laboratory/pilot environment and groundwater settings, model-based data analysis, presenting results in scientific conferences, and writing of scientific manuscripts, to which the doctoral thesis is based on, and other research/technical reports.

Furthermore, the Doctoral researcher (PhD student) is expected to take part in the international mobility (research visit) to the University of Tübingen, Germany and University of Padua, Italy for a period of a few months.

Positions and contracts

The Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) will be recruited for two consecutive but separate fixed-term employment contracts which, in total, last for the duration of the project. The Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) will start working at UEF, where the contract starts 1 April 2025 (or as agreed) until 31 August 2026. After that, the position will continue at GTK for the period 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2028. Both organizations draw up their own employment contract with the selected person at the end of the recruitment process.

The position will be filled for a fixed term due to it pertaining to the Doctoral Researcher’s (PhD student’s) own doctoral dissertation work and studies. A probationary period is applied to all new members of the staff at UEF and GTK.

UEF and GTK are responsible for providing a working environment at the agreed work location and equipment in accordance with their employment contracts. The position will be situated on the Kuopio campus during the UEF contract, and on GTK’s Kuopio office during the GTK contract. Occasional remote work may also be possible. During the GTK contract the employee will also participate in work-related travels to GTK’s Outokumpu and Espoo offices, depending on the tasks, no more than 60 days/year.

At UEF, the job title will be Doctoral Researcher, and the salary is determined in accordance with the salary system for Finnish universities. The salary comprises two components: a job-related salary element and a personal salary element. For a Doctoral Researcher, the job-related salary element is based on levels 2–4 of the job requirement level chart for teaching and research staff depending on the stage of the applicant’s doctoral research and postgraduate studies. The personal performance salary element is 6–50% of the job-related salary element. At the beginning of the employment the total salary will be approximately EUR 2585–2720 /month.

At GTK, the job title will be Research Scientist, and the task-specific salary part will be determined according to difficulty class VL8 with the existing salary system. The task-specific salary part is supplemented with a personal salary part, the extent of which is 0–50% of the task-specific part. At the beginning of the employment, the personal salary part is between 7-14 % determined by the competence of the person selected for the position, and the total salary will be EUR 3,770-4,017/month.

Our requirements and expectations

Requirements

• a master’s degree in hydrogeology, (hydro-)geochemistry, environmental science/engineering, applied geology, environmental chemistry, fluid dynamics, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, or another related field
• a person to be appointed as a Doctoral Researcher shall be qualified to pursue postgraduate studies, i.e., the Doctoral Researcher must be eligible to apply for and must have been granted the right to pursue postgraduate studies in the Faculty’s Doctoral Programme LUMETO
• a good command of written and spoken English

For selected candidate who does not yet have a study right for doctoral studies at the University of Eastern Finland, the appointment to a Doctoral Researcher position will be conditional until they have been granted a study right for doctoral studies at the University of Eastern Finland.

Other requirements

• a meticulous approach to working in a laboratory and to conducting research
• proficient skills in data analysis and reporting

The following will be considered an advantage

• a strong interest in interdisciplinary and international research work,
• experience in laboratory-based flow-through experiments, sorption experiments, or associated laboratory analytical techniques,
• experience in hydrogeological fieldworks and investigation techniques,
• experience/knowledge in emerging contaminants such as microplastics or PFAS,
  background/knowledge in fluid flow and solute/colloid/nanoparticle transport processes in porous media and/or subsurface environments,
• hands-on experience in any groundwater modelling software (e.g., MODFLOW, FEFLOW, Hydrus etc.), geochemical/reactive transport modelling tools (e.g., PHREEQC, MIN3P, CrunchFlow, TOUGHREACT, PHT3D, FLOTRAN etc.), or CFD codes (e.g., OpenFOAM, StarCCM+ etc.),
• programming skills in any common languages (e.g., MATLAB, Python, R, C/C++),
• demonstrated publication record

Your benefits

You will have access to the university’s staff benefits (website), including

• the opportunity for flexible multi-location work
• extensive occupational health care
• a broad selection of staff training
• staff discount on lunch in our campus restaurants, as well as on a range of other services
• affordable sports services and a tax-free bike benefit

You will have an opportunity to work in an interesting and diverse role as part of our international, creative, participatory and inclusive academic community.

Please read more in the Work at UEF section on our website.

Enjoy your life in Finland! Known for its cleanliness, welfare know-how, modern technology and superb education system, Finland is an exotic and safe country to work in. Please visit the Life in Finland section on our website to learn more.

GTK is an international and diverse work community where everyone’s input is valued. Our work community is made up of more than 20 different nationalities, which is one example of our diversity. Our employees have the opportunity to influence their own work and work remotely in Finland. At GTK we are committed to renew our operations and expertise. We take care of our employees’ wellbeing with our wide range of activities that support wellbeing at work. In addition, we offer central government holiday benefits and a modern and multi-location work, such as flexible working hours. Find out more about us: www.gtk.fi/en/careers-at-gtk/

Submit your application by using our electronic application form (https://uef.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:801825/) no later than 24 March 2025 by 24:00 (midnight) Finnish time (UTC+2). The applications will be assessed in collaboration with UEF and GTK according to the agreement between organizations.

Please note that you must include the following appendices in your application:

• a CV including two reference contacts (Template for a CV, TENK website, but also other styles will be accepted)
• a list of publications (Template for a list of publications, Research Council of Finland website)
• copies of your academic degree certificates / diplomas, and copies of certificates / diplomas relating to your language proficiency, if not indicated in the academic degree certificates/diplomas
• a transcript of records
• a motivation letter (max. 2 pages)
• other documents to demonstrate the applicant’s merits for the position

The application with appendices should be submitted in English (excluding your academic degree certificate and a transcript of academic records).

If your diploma is not in English, Finnish or Swedish, an official English translation must be provided. All translations must be issued either by the awarding educational institution or an authorised translator. Each page of the official translation must bear the translator’s stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be accurate translations of the original documents. Translations made by the applicants themselves are not accepted.

Questions?

For further information on the position, please contact Research Director Jarkko Akkanen (UEF), email: jarkko.akkanen@uef.fi, tel: +358 29 4453033 or Senior Scientist Muhammad Muniruzzaman (GTK), email: m.muniruzzaman@uni-bonn.de, tel: +49 228 73-3026.

For further information about GTK, please contact your future team leader Taina Karvonen, taina.karvonen@gtk.fi, tel: +358 50 348 6501, reachable on 5.3. at 9-15 (EET).

For further information on the application procedure, please contact HR Specialist Iiris Korhonen, email: iiris.korhonen@uef.fi, tel. +358 29 4458161 and HR Specialist Noora Hämäläinen, email: noora.hamalainen@uef.fi, tel. +358 29 4458302.