Associate Professor (Tenure Track)/Professor in Statistics (Mathematics and Statistics)

At the University of Vaasa we have an open mind and we want to build a sustainable future. We are a university that invests in high-quality research and teaching and takes on the challenges of our time. We educate responsible and internationally-oriented leaders and experts. We are known for the high quality of our education and our inspiring teachers. At the core of our university is a high level of expertise in business studies, technology, administrative sciences and communication. The discipline-specific research is complemented by our phenomenon-based research platforms.

We are now inviting applications for a Tenure track position in Statistics (Mathematics and Statistics)

The position offers an excellent opportunity to build a versatile academic career as a part of our internationally renowned and innovative community. The position will be filled either as a fixed-term Associate Professor position within the Tenure track system, or as a permanent Professor position. The level is determined by the applicant’s merits and career stage.

Job description and requirements

The position is located in the School of Technology and Innovations and the field of the position is Statistics (Mathematics and Statistics).

The University of Vaasa is developing and strengthening the expertise in the fields of mathematics and statistics. Mathematics and Statistics belong to the School of Technology and Innovations at the University. Mathematics and Statistics unit consists of three professors (disciplines are mathematics, business mathematics, and statistics); four lecturers and a varying number of Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers. Currently, the unit has strong expertise in the areas of mathematical analysis and algebra (e.g. operator, spectral and system theory, finite fields, algebraic curves, number theory, coding theory), modern stochastic and mathematical finance (e.g. fractional stochastic processes, mathematical derivative pricing), and in statistics. Statistics has a central and well-established scientific position at our university.

Traditionally, our special expertise has been oriented towards statistical modeling in the areas of econometrics and finance, as well as statistical multivariate analysis, but big data and modern machine learning methods have become increasingly important in both teaching and research. The teaching of the unit covers basic courses for all disciplines at the University, special courses for the doctoral students and some focused courses in special areas relevant to technical and business tracks at the university. The unit is highly research oriented with a considerable number of papers appearing in top tier journals in the focus areas. The University of Vaasa does not have majors in Mathematics or Statistics, however the Mathematics and Statistics unit actively maintains its own doctoral education, where doctoral students can have a thesis focusing on basic theoretical research or applications, or a combination of these.

The field of the position is Statistics. Statistics is currently a rapidly developing field of science, where new statistical methods are developed and applied in a diverse manner, both in a number of traditional disciplines and in new multidisciplinary areas of research. With digitalization, the processing of rapidly expanding data resources, real-time measurements and sensor data requires increasingly efficient statistical analysis and modelling, statistical optimization, and, through evolving statistical models, more accurate predictions in the direction of the surrounding society, sustainable development, industrial, commercial, ecological environment on a sustainable basis.

For the position of Professor/Associate Professor of Statistics, we are looking for a scientifically distinguished statistician or promising researcher in a strong upswing, who has the ability and previous scientific evidence for research work in the field of statistics and is well positioned to keep up with the current development of statistics on a broad front.

In addition to research related to statistical methods, the Professor/Associate Professor of Statistics will be responsible for the comprehensive planning of statistical methods training applied at the University of Vaasa in different disciplines as well as for the management of the discipline. At the University of Vaasa, statistical methods are taught to all students in basic and postgraduate education leading to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. The role of statistical methods in the different areas of strength of the university (in business, social sciences and engineering) is strong: e.g. finance, economics apply advanced statistical research methods and empirical analysis related to econometrics, including modern statistical and stochastic time series models in these fields; statistical methods are widely used in various domains of marketing, management, social sciences; smart usage of modern statistical methods to analyze real-time measurements and e.g. sensor data generated in various fields of energy and technology increasingly apply machine learning tools, and this requires efficient statistical analysis and modelling due to big data resources.

The annual working time is 1612 hours based on the general collective agreement for Finnish universities and tasks are agreed in more detail in the Annual Work Plan.

Applicants are required to have an appropriate doctoral degree together with excellent academic merits as well as evidence of high-quality research and teaching. For the position of Professor, practical non-academic experience in the field is not required but can be considered beneficial.  For further detailed information about the requirements, criteria and our Tenure track procedure, please see:  www.uwasa.fi/en/tenure-track

Salary and benefits

The University of Vaasa is located on the West coast of Finland at the heart of Northern Europe’s largest energy and environment business cluster. The University of Vaasa is well positioned to interact actively with the surrounding society – internationally, nationally and regionally. Our community includes 5,000 students and 600 employees from 80 countries. More information about Working at the University.

We invest in our employees’ occupational well-being by offering comprehensive occupational health care. This includes extensive medical care and preventive measures such as ergonomic check-ups, fitness and culture vouchers,  and a multitude of other activities to support well-being at work. Our flexible working times and options such as blended home/campus working contribute to work-life balance.  Our commitment to support the career development of our personnel is visible in the broad offering of training and competence development opportunities.

The salary is based on the Finnish University Salary System (YPJ) and  subject to regular reviews. The annual starting salary incl. holiday bonuses is approx.

• Associate professor: €58,000 – € 63,000
• Professor:  €70,400 – € 85,800

Each University of Vaasa employee automatically belongs to a pension scheme and the majority part of the pension contributions is paid by the employer. We also pay bonuses for publications accepted in high-ranking outlets. If you are moving to Finland from abroad, paid relocation services are available.

Applications

Applications are submitted using the University of Vaasa’s electronic recruitment system (See the ‘Submit an application’ button below). In order for applications to be processed, the application form must be filled out and the enclosures listed below must be attached to it. The application period until midnight (Finnish time, GMT +3) 10.9.2023.

1. Attachments in English:

• Curriculum vitae 
• List of publications
• Research plan (max 5 pages):  the research plan should detail the ways in which the candidate would direct their research from the perspective of their own discipline towards the focus of the position described in this call for applications and the strategic focus of the University of Vaasa’s research. The plan must include a description of the phenomena concerned, the perspective on the applicant’s own subject and the added-value to be realised from analysing the phenomena as well as possible partners. lt is beneficial if the plan also includes potential sources of external financing (programmes or similar) and a publication plan.
• Teaching portfolio (complementary to the teaching merits listed in the CV)

2. In addition, numbered according to the publication categories in the list of publications:

• Copies of no more than 10 publications that the applicant wishes to be taken into account when evaluating their competence and qualifications. The publications can, if needed, be merged into a maximum of 7 pdf-files.

Further information

• The position is located in Vaasa, Finland.
• Starting date 1.4.2024 or as agreed. The appointment is subject to the satisfactory completion of a trial period of 6 months.
• More information about the position:
  • Raine Hermans, Dean, School of Technology and Innovations, tel. +358 29 449 8622, email: raine.hermans(a)uwasa.fi
  • Seppo Hassi, Professor, School of Technology and Innovations, tel. +358 29 449 8279,  email: seppo.hassi(a)uwasa.fi
• Inquiries about the online application system: careers(a)uwasa.fi

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The School of Technology and Innovations provides internationally recognized engineering and economic education and research. The School’s areas of strength in research are data networks and wireless telecommunications services, optimisation, decentralised power generation, power distribution and use, quality and technology management, logistics, product development and modelling of economic and technical phenomena. 

We are developing our expertise with the energy industry in the region, called EnergyVaasa, which is the largest energy technology hub in the Nordic countries. The companies located in the area are world leaders within different technologies, such as smart electrical solutions, sustainable energy, flexible power generation and digitalization. The substantial number of high-tech companies in the region makes it a fertile breeding ground for novel ideas. The export rate of 80% demonstrates the strong internationalization. The University of Vaasa is an important actor and continuously cooperates with the entire industry. 

More information about:

• working at the University of Vaasa: Are you our new colleague? | Vaasan yliopisto (uwasa.fi)
• expat at the University of Vaasa: Expat
• living in Vaasa: Vaasan kaupunki | Vasa stad | City of Vaasa
• living in Finland: thisisFINLAND 

Application period starts: 2023-08-09 15:00 Application period ends: 2023-09-10 23:59