"University lecturer in Geospatial data science and AI"

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry invites applications for the position of University lecturer in Geospatial data science and AI, from 1.5.2026 onwards or as agreed. The permanent position will be located at the Department of Forest Sciences.

The university lecturer strengthens the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry's research and teaching in geospatial data science and artificial intelligence within the field of sustainable use of renewable natural resources. The appointee must have demonstrated strong expertise in research, teaching, and supervision of theses in the relevant field. To perform successfully in the position the appointee should have research and/or teaching experience in at least two of the following disciplines:

• spatial statistics and modelling
• spatial data-based artificial intelligence/geospatial AI, methods of machine learning and deep learning
• development of computer vision applications and image recognition methods
• analysis and production of big data, including expertise in programming and systems related to them

Knowledge of geospatial data and remote sensing methods related to the management of renewable natural resources will be considered an advantage. Additionally, experience from collaboration with companies in the forestry, agriculture, food, or energy sectors will be considered beneficial.

The university lecturer must have the readiness to acquire research funding. The appointee must have an interest to work in a multilingual and multicultural working environment and in crossdisciplinary groups and to work together with private, public and third sector stakeholder groups.

The primary responsibility of the university lecturer is the master's level teaching in their field of study, which is offered in Master's Programme in Technologies for Sustainable Use of Renewable Resources (SustTech) https://www.helsinki.fi/en/degree-programmes/technologies-sustainable-use-renewable-resources-masters-programme.

The university lecturer will act as the responsible teacher in the following courses:

• Data Science Methodology
• Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) in Management of Natural Resources
• Natural Resources Big Data Analysis and Management.

The university lecturer can also have teaching responsibilities or participate in teaching in the following courses:

• SustTech Master’s Seminar
• Hands-on Projects for Sustainable Technological Solutions
• Finnish renewable resources and sustainability: Theory and Practice
• Remote sensing of environment
• Novel measurement technologies and applications

The appointee must have the necessary pedagogical skills for teaching and motivation for renewing and developing research and teaching. The responsibilities of the university lecturer also include participating in collaboration with other educational institutions in their field, student marketing for the bachelor's and master’s programmes, as well as engaging in societal interaction.

Requirements:

According to the Regulations of University of Helsinki, the appointee to the position shall hold an applicable doctoral degree and be able to provide high-quality teaching based on research and to supervise theses and dissertations. The degree requirement (doctoral degree) must be met by the end of the application period. When assessing the qualifications of the applicants, attention shall be paid to scientific publications and other research merits of scientific value and their proven ability to receive external research funding. In addition, teaching experience and pedagogical training, the ability to produce learning materials, other teaching merits and, if necessary, a teaching demonstration.

The teaching and supervisory tasks of the university lecturer are in a multilingual study programme. The work includes administrative tasks and collaboration with Finnish language stakeholders. You must have such Finnish language skills that you can communicate in an understandable manner. Additionally, you must have fluent English language skills.

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer an interesting opportunity to work in a diverse research environment. At the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry you will carry out research-based teaching at the highest education level in the field in Finland and have the opportunity to take part in internationally valued, first-class research activities. The position is also an opportunity to develop your own professional skills in a multidisciplinary work community of the faculty. Your work will be supported by the research and teaching staff of the department and the faculty as well as the administrative and technical staff at Viikki campus. The University of Helsinki has a university lecturer's career model in use https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/academic-careers/career-model-university-lecturers-and-clinical-instructors.

The salary will be based on levels 5-7 of the requirements level chart 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. Monthly gross salary for a university lecturer varies between 3 500 and 5 500 euros depending on the appointee’s qualifications and experience. Occupational health care services and standard Finnish pension benefits are provided for University employees. There is a six-month trial period in the position.