Professor in Automation and Information Technologies in Construction

The Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at Aarhus University, Denmark invites applications for a position as Professor in Automation and Information Technologies in Construction.

Responsibilities include developing a highly innovative strategic research and teaching program in the field of automation and information technology in construction. The successful candidate will have strong expertise and contribute in at least one of the following areas related to the next generation of information technologies in construction engineering and management; automation and robotics in construction operations; sensing and information for construction progress monitoring; construction informatics; computer-aided production modelling and simulation; construction informatics, personalized learning environments, and predictive and proactive measures for safety, health, and well-being. The candidate must provide scientific leadership to research in these areas, and must integrate well with internal colleagues, cross-faculty research network, and external partners, nurturing and leading excellent research activities, contributing to an inspiring and industrially relevant education in construction at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and expanding industrial collaboration at the regional, national and international level.

Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent degree in a field related to construction engineering and management or in a closely relevant discipline. We are looking for a person with a high scientific reputation who has demonstrated outstanding achievements in research and teaching and has developed an internationally recognized research program or has special potential for it. A general competitive academic profile in construction engineering and management and leadership in research, teaching or professional experiences are expected. In the assessment of candidates, strong emphasis and consideration will be given to

• Distinguished recognition of scholarship, education and professional service in the field of construction engineering and management;

• Excellence in research demonstrated by publications in relevant scientific journals and conferences;

• Research impact and scientific reputation, e.g., in terms of citations, patents, commercialization and collaboration with academic and/or industrial partners;

• Experience and success in attracting external funding from national and international research agencies as well as from industry partners;

• Research network and established research collaboration with relevant academic and industrial partners; and

• Experience and quality of outstanding teaching and supervision, as well as experience in development of research-based education within Automation and Information Technologies in Construction.

The Department wishes to strengthen and develop the field with a creative and well-structured researcher interested in developing a long-term research agenda for automation and information technologies in construction. The successful candidate is expected to participate in research supervision of M.Sc. and Ph.D. students, as well as post-docs, in project management and in attracting externally funded research. The selected candidate will be required to teach existing civil and architectural engineering related courses, including advanced automation and digitalization in construction courses, and contribute to the development of specialized courses in the department’s B.Sc. and M.Sc. programmes. The successful applicant must be able to teach and publish in English. Familiarity with Danish, Norwegian or Swedish is highly desirable. The chosen applicant is expected to conduct applied research through externally funded projects, thus experiences from successful research collaboration with both academia and industry are required. A pre-existing, strong, and growing international and national research network is, therefore, required.

The successful applicant should document academic suitability through appropriate publication and citation records in journals relevant for the field of construction engineering and management, automation and robotics, information technologies in construction, construction informatics, and safety, health and well-being. Experience from successful external research collaborations with industry and academia, project management skills, and experience in attracting external funding is required.  

Preference will be given to an applicant that can demonstrate a strong and innovative research and teaching track record within the field or within cross-disciplinary topics.

Minimum Qualifications:

• An earned doctorate in construction engineering and management, civil engineering, or closely related discipline, and a record commensurate of appointment as a Professor at AU;

• Distinguished recognition of scholarship, education and professional service in the field of construction engineering and management; and

• Outstanding record of research accomplishment, an established record of external funding, and a concomitant strong evidence of emerging leadership in their specialization; and

• Demonstrated success in obtaining and managing external funding for scholarly research, growing industry partnerships, and other forms of revenue generation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Commitment to excellence in teaching at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including existing courses and development of new courses and curricula;

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in both academic and professional settings;

• Commitment to enhancing the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the faculty, students, and staff; and

• Experience in a supervisory role in a construction engineering and management profession (e.g., MSc, PhD and post-doctoral training).

Applicants should – in addition to the above requirements – have at least 4-5 years of post-graduate or equivalent research and publication experience. Research leadership and ability to define and manage research projects is required, as is a successful record of external research funding. The successful candidate must document a rising publication record, participation in international and national networks and success in international project applications. Successful candidates are expected to work closely with other researchers/groups within the department as well as with external stakeholders. The ability to work in a multidisciplinary team is essential. Criteria for evaluating candidates can be found here.

The Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at Aarhus University (cae.au.dk/eng) was established in 2021 to promote and develop engineering research and education at Aarhus University. The department undertakes engineering research and education within architectural, construction, environmental, and structural engineering disciplines in close collaboration with other departments at the university (e.g., mechanical, electrical, computer, chemical and biological engineering). The Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment with many national and international collaborators from academia and industry. Aarhus University has made an ambitious strategic investment in a 5-year recruitment plan to significantly increase its activities within research and education in the engineering sciences with the vision of bringing Aarhus University into the global engineering elite. Therefore, the University seeks exceptionally innovative and visionary engineering researchers to be part of this initiative to strengthen and develop Civil and Architectural Engineering at Aarhus University.

The position is available from March 1, 2022, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Place of employment is Aarhus University, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Inge Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

For further information on the position, please contact Steffen Petersen, Head of Section for Design and Construction at stp@cae.au.dk.

Application procedure
Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference
If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range Formalities and salary range
Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Ensuring gender balance at the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering is a high priority at Aarhus University, and therefore, we particularly encourage women to apply for this position. No candidate will be given preferential treatment, and all applicants will be assessed on the basis of their qualifications for the position in question.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Please write in your application that you've seen the job at Jobfinder.