Point 1: General section
1. Scope
The guidelines apply to the appointment of recruitment positions. Recruitment positions include research assistant, PhD research fellow, specialist candidate, and postdoctoral research fellow.
2. Employment period
Recruitment positions are appointed on a fixed-term basis pursuant to the Act om Universities and Colleges § 7-6.
Employment for a research assistant is up to two years.
The employment period for a PhD research fellow is three to four years.
The employment period for a specialist candidate is two to four years.
The employment period for a postdoctoral research fellow is three to four years.
For part-time appointments, the fixed-term period is extended correspondingly. It is not permissible to plan the completion of the PhD education with a progression that results in a study period longer than 6 years, cf. Regulations for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo § 5.3.
No one can be employed for more than one fixed-term period in the same position category at the same institution. Individuals who have been employed as a doctoral research fellow or have obtained a doctoral degree cannot be employed as a research assistant.
The Ministry of Education and Research has stated that someone who has completed a doctoral degree in a subject area cannot be re-employed in such a position to pursue another doctoral education within the same subject area.
3. Impartiality
The provisions on impartiality in Section 6 of the Public Administration Act apply to all stages of the hiring process.
It should be clarified that no one involved in the hiring process should have a close connection to any of the applicants or have a particular advantage or disadvantage in evaluating any of them, as stated in Section 6 of the Public Administration Act. However, any acquaintance with an applicant does not automatically lead to disqualification. When appointing committees, attention should be paid to supervisory relationships, close academic collaboration, and co-authorship. The extent of collaboration and how recent it is are relevant factors in assessing impartiality. Members of the committee must disclose any such relationships.
Both those appointing committees and those appointed have a responsibility to report any specific circumstances that may undermine confidence in the impartiality of the experts. Such an assessment will always be a matter of discretion. If the committee has discussed issues of impartiality, they should briefly account for the topics discussed and the conclusion reached. In cases of doubt or actual conflict of interest, the faculty should be contacted for further follow-up.
Point 2: Call for applications
4. Call for applications of recruitment positions
Vacancies shall normally be announced publicly.
UiO requires international announcement of postdoctoral and PhD fellowship positions, unless the nature of the position indicates otherwise.
The appointing authority or the appointed representative is responsible for announcing recruitment positions. If the appointing authority delegates the announcement of recruitment positions, it must be documented to whom the authority has been delegated.
Information of what the announcement should contain is outlined in UiO's announcement templates. Initially, applicants may be invited to submit only a brief, justified application with a proposed project and a CV, with a list of publications, if any. This alternative procedure may be relevant when there is a large pool of applicants. See Section 8 on the use of a sorting committee.
The requirement that the applicant must submit a project description and progress plan does not apply to applicants for defined research projects, where the project descriptions of the project applications form the basis.
The application deadline is a minimum of three weeks. In each case, it should be considered whether to extend beyond the minimum deadline to give applicants sufficient time to prepare a project description and facilitate the recruitment of candidates abroad.
Point 3: Qualification requirements and job content
5. Qualification requirements and assessment of applicants
Applicants are assessed on the basis of the submitted application and attached documentation. As a general rule, interviews and reference interviews will be used in the hiring process.
5.1 Research assistant
For appointment as a research assistant, the following requirements must be met
- For position code 1018, least one year of completed undergraduate studies or equivalent
- For position code 1019, bachelor degree or equivalent
- For position code 1020, master degree or equivalent
The aim of a position as a research assistant is to form the basis for a further academic career through work tasks that provide insight into and experience with scientific or artistic work and methods.
When assessing applicants for a research assistant position, emphasis shall be placed on knowledge of relevant theory and methods, relevant practice, and the prerequisites for carrying out the tasks associated with the position.
5.2 PhD research fellow
Appointment as a PhD research fellow requires admission to a doctoral programme or a binding agreement on admission. To be admitted to the PhD programmes at the University of Oslo, an applicant must have a five year master's degree or equivalent studies that have been recognised by the faculty as forming a sufficient basis for admission, cf. Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.
A PhD research fellowship position is intended to lead to the attainment of a doctoral degree and contribute to the employee's qualification for relevant careers at higher education and research institutions and other sectors of working life where research competence is required.
When assessing applicants for PhD research fellow positions, emphasis must be placed on their prerequisites for completing the research training. The assessment is based primarily on documented qualifications and project description (where required in the announcement), project quality, the feasibility of the project and personal suitability.
5.3 Postdoctoral research fellow
For employment as a postdoctoral research fellow, a doctorate is required.
The purpose of a postdoctoral position is for the employee to develop a research profile and competence that qualifies him or her to apply for a position as an associate professor. The position may also provide other expertise of relevance to the postdoctoral fellow's further career
When assessing applicants for a postdoctoral research fellow positions emphasis shall be placed on documented qualifications and project description (where required by the announcement), project quality, the feasibility of the project and personal suitability.
6. Job content/career-enhancing work
For PhD and postdoctoral research fellows who cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish at level A2 upon employment, the institution shall offer Norwegian language training in accordance with current regulations.
For PhD research fellows, the employment period should include three years dedicated to research training, as per the regulation § 3-19. The normal tenure at UiO is four years, with 25 percent of the time allocated to other career-promoting work.
For postdoctoral research fellows, the main rule at UiO is that other career-promoting work is limited to 25 percent of the position to avoid hindering research progress. If the postdoctoral fellow does not already have obtained basic university pedagogical competence that meets the requirements for an associate professor position, steps should be taken to develop such competence during the employment period.
Other career-promoting work involves activities that provide relevant knowledge for future career paths, beyond one's own research and the training component of the PhD program. The assigned work should support the purpose of the position. This work is part of the position and is conducted for UiO.
Examples of what could be included as other career-promoting work:
- Teaching, laboratory and practical teaching, supervision, and examination work
- Norwegian language courses
- Courses in basic university pedagogical competence
- Contributing to the collection and preparation of teaching materials
- Providing training in the use and operation of research infrastructure
- Assisting other researchers or research groups in various types of research work
- Participating in other qualifying work at the institute/unit, such as dissemination, exhibition, and collection work, library, consultancy, and evaluation work
- Clinical activities
Point 4: Committees
7. Requirements for the composition of committees in recruitment processes
In the evaluation process, it may be relevant to use one or more of the committees mentioned below in sections 8-10.
Requirements for appointment:
- Composed in relation to the job requirements in the announcement
- At least three members
- At least two should have expertise at the relevant competence level
- Both genders must be represented
8. Use of a screening committee
When a large number of applicants is expected for a position, it may be practical to use a screening committee. The screening committee is appointed by the recommending body or the person authorized to appoint it, and acts as a preparatory body for further case processing.
The task of the screening committee is to review the applications received and select between five to ten of the most interesting candidates. These candidates are then invited to submit a complete application along with selected publications.
The sorting committee has two options:
To conclude that there are too few/no qualified applicants and recommend either that another call for applications should be issued for the position, or that it should wait before issuing a new call for applications.
Give a brief, reasoned proposal to the experts about which applicants should proceed in the process, without making any kind of ranking. Summary written grounds for why unsuitable applicants do not proceed further must be provided.
If the screening committee has any doubts about whether an applicant should proceed further, the applicant should be one of the people invited to submit a complete application. A list of applicants including their professional qualifications, as well as application letters and CVs for all applicants, are forwarded to the expert committee. The experts are at liberty to assess more applications than the screening committee proposes.
In its work, the screening committee should be aware of the University of Oslo’s goal of improving gender balance and enhancing diversity in academic positions.
9. Use of an expert committee
The Universities and University Colleges Act does not require an expert committee for recruitment positions, but it may be relevant for both PhD research fellow and postdoctoral positions.
The recommending authority or the person authorized may appoint an expert committee to assess the applicants' professional qualifications. In such cases, the applicants shall be sent the expert assessment, with the opportunity to make comments.
10. Use of a nomination committee
The recommending authority or the person authorized may appoint a nomination committee of three to five individuals to assess the professional qualifications and personal suitability for the position. The group conducts interviews, collects references, and makes a recommendation to the recommending authority.
Point 5: Employment and extension of employment
11. Recommendation
The recommending authority must be in accordance with the rules for governing bodies (Normal rules for faculties, Normal rules for departments, the faculties' administrative regulations, regulations for the museums and the centers' rules, etc.).
The recommending authority must identify the applicant who is best qualified for the position on the basis of an overall assessment, and submit a proposal for a decision to the appointing authority.
A written proposal for recommendation must be provided based on
- the announcement text and job description
- any expert assessment
- any proposal from the nomination committee
- minutes from interviews and collected references
As a general rule, at least three applicants should be recommended in order of priority. If there is dissent within the recommending authority, the differing viewpoints must be justified, and a protocol showing the votes should accompany the case.
The recommending authority must ensure that the processing is conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and is asked to be mindful of the University of Oslo's goals of improved gender balance and greater diversity in academic positions, and should consider whether there is a basis for positive differential treatment.
12. Appointment
The appointing authority must be in accordance with the rules for governing bodies (Normal rules for faculties, Normal rules for departments, the faculties' administrative regulations, regulations for the museums and the centers' rules, etc.).
The appointing authority ultimately decides which of the candidates recommended is best qualified and should be offered the position. The appointing authority is responsible for ensuring that the administrative procedure has been adequate and in accordance with the applicable regulations, that gender equality considerations have been taken into account and that there is compliance with the principle of qualification.
When the appointing authority has made a decision on who will be employed, in addition to the employment contract, certain supplementary documents should be prepared for the person employed in the recruitment position.'
For recruitment positions linked to a project, the employee and the institution must prepare a description of the project and a realistic progress plan for the project's implementation no later than three months after taking up the position, cf. section 3-16.
For PhD research fellows and postdoctoral research fellows an individual career plan must also be prepared, cf. section 3-18 and 3-19.
13. Leaves of absence and extension of employment
The regulations state the following regarding leave and extension of the fixed-term period:
Section 3-17 Leaves of absence and extension of the fixed-term period
Leaves of absence and reduced working hours to which the employee is entitled by law or collective agreement, as well as sick leave, will give the right to an extension of the fixed-term period. The same applies to central leadership roles in organizations related to the positions.
Institutions may grant leave to take up short-term temporary teaching and research positions, research fellowships abroad and the like when this may be done without delaying the progress of the postdoctoral project, doctoral education, or specialist training by more than 6 months. The employment period shall be extended accordingly.
In special cases, the institutions may extend the fixed-term period in the event of unforeseen obstacles related to the work that cannot be attributed to the employee.
The institutions may extend the fixed-term period up to the maximum time frame in the Universities and University Colleges Act, section 7-6, third paragraph, if the scope of other career-enhancing work has been significantly increased after starting the position.
For paid leave as mentioned in the first paragraph, UiO calculates the extension in a way that it covers the use of accrued vacation during the extension period. This is not an extension for vacation taken in connection with the leave, but a calculation that ensures the employee can take accrued vacation in the subsequent year without it affecting the three years reserved for work on the doctoral project.
The framework for leave and absence according to the main collective agreement is specified in the Government Personnel Handbook (Statens personalh?ndbok). See also UiO's website about leave of absence.
Extensions according to the first and second paragraphs are made by the administration.
Extensions according to the third and fourth paragraphs are decided by the appointing authority or the person authorized. If the appointing authority delegates the processing of extensions, it must be documented who has been delegated authority.
For extensions according to the third paragraph, it must be demonstrated that research progress has been significantly hindered, and that the project will be able to be completed before the extension period expires.