"ASSISTANT PROFESSOR / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OR PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS EDUCATION"

The Faculty of Educational Sciences invites applications for the position of ASSISTANT PROFESSOR / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OR PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS EDUCATION.

The appointee may be appointed to a fixed-term tenure-track assistant or associate professorship or permanent full professorship, depending on their qualifications and career stage. Further information on the University of Helsinki's tenure track system is available on the University website. The appointment is to begin on 1 January 2027.

Job overview

The appointee will undertake research and development in chemistry and physics teaching, learning and teacher education. They will mainly teach in the Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes in Educational Sciences, within the class and subject teacher study tracks, and in other degree programmes relevant to their research and coordinated by the Faculty of Educational Sciences. While the primary teaching language is Finnish, some teaching may be in English.

The appointee will be responsible for teaching in the chemistry and physics education, doctoral education in the field, and research broadly related to the field. They will supervise theses and lead and develop research in the field in both national and international networks. A central element of the position involves collaboration with the University’s teacher training schools and subject faculties. The role includes administrative duties, and the appointee is also expected to contribute to public engagement.

The successful candidate will have extensive research experience in the chemistry education, physics education or both, especially relating to teaching and learning, as well as experience with a broad range of research methods and the ability to develop them.

Qualification requirements and appointment criteria

Associate and assistant professors within the tenure track system must hold an applicable doctoral degree and be capable of conducting independent scholarly work, alongside the requisite teaching skills. In addition, they must be capable and willing to promote their academic career through publications and other means, and develop teaching, learning and research in the field. The assessment of applicant qualifications considers not only research and teaching merits, but also success in securing external research funding and experience in domestic and international research projects.

Full professors must hold an applicable doctoral degree and possess advanced academic qualifications, experience in leading scholarly research, and evidence of success in securing external research funding and international collaboration in their research field. Applicants must be able to deliver research-based teaching and supervise theses. The position also requires academic leadership skills. The assessment of applicant qualifications considers both scholarly and teaching-related qualifications.

Qualifications in chemistry and physics teaching at the basic education level, 60 credits in pedagogical studies for teachers or comparable studies outside Finland will be considered an advantage.

Scholarly qualifications encompass relevant publications and other academically valuable research results, success in securing external research funding, international research experience, as well as academic responsibilities and elected positions, and international relations. Teaching qualifications encompass teaching experience and pedagogical training, the ability to produce learning material, other teaching merits and, if necessary, a demonstration of teaching skills and participation in training doctoral researchers. Also considered are applicants’ leadership and interaction skills and their active contribution to the academic community and public engagement. In addition, the appointment committee will review applicants’ views on the development of research and teaching in the field. The assessment of shortlisted applicants will consider statements by external experts and interviews carried out by the appointment committee.

The applications will be assessed comprehensively, with due regard to career stage. The University of Helsinki has signed the DORA Declaration and applies its principles to the assessment of applicants’ academic merits.

According to the Government Decree on Universities, assistant, associate and full professors must be proficient in the language of instruction, in this case, Finnish. In addition, they must have at least satisfactory oral and written skills in Swedish. A person not educated in Finland in Finnish or Swedish may be exempted from the Swedish requirement. To successfully attend to the duties of the position, appointees must also have good English skills. The employer will support the appointee’s language learning. Read more about the language requirements.

The chosen applicant is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki. The Faculty of Educational Sciences provides assistance in relocation.

What we offer

The salary will be based on level 7 (assistant / associate professor) or levels 8-10 (professor) of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. The annual gross salary of assistant/associate professor varies between 55,000 and 69,000 Euros and of full professor between 66,000 and 99,000 Euros depending on the appointee’s qualifications and previous experience. The employment contract will include a probationary period of six months.

Application instructions

The application, together with the required attachments, must be submitted through the University of Helsinki recruitment system. All application documents must be in English and submitted as a single PDF file, named as follows: lastname_professor_fyke. Kindly see the instructions for the attached documents.

The application must be accompanied by the following documents:

• A motivation letter or written application
• A researcher’s curriculum vitae in accordance with University guidelines (max. 10 pages, see instructions above)
• A numbered list of publications (in which ten publications most relevant to the position are indicated in bold font, see instructions above)
• A plan for advancing research and teaching in the field and a vision for the development of the applicant’s research and the research field in general (maximum of 2 pages)
• A report on the applicant’s research activities (1–3 pages, including activity in academic communities, acquisition of research funding and international research).

Additionally we request applicants to fill out a separate report on their teaching qualifications via e-form.

Applicants are kindly asked to be prepared, after the closing of the application period and if requested by the faculty, to submit up to 10 publications of their choice to be reviewed by the external evaluators. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview and a demonstration of teaching skills.

Please note that all necessary qualifications, including the degree, must be attained by the end of the application period.

The application deadline is 30 April 2026.