Docentship

The University of Oulu’s Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering follows these guidelines in the docentship application process. They complement the university level guidelines.

According to the Universities Act, a university may by application grant the title of docent to a person who has comprehensive knowledge of their own field, a capacity for independent research or artistic work as demonstrated by publications or some other manner, and good teaching skills.

Adhering to the recruitment guidelines and recruitment competence of the University, the Rector may grant the title of docent at the proposal of the Dean of the faculty to a person who meets the title's requirements of the Universities Act and in whose field a need exists in the faculty – research unit will provide a statement on the need for the docentship.

From the applicant

• Application form
• Copy of the degree certificate
• Curriculum vitae according to the The Finnish National Board on Research Integrity template
• List of publications (grouped in accordance with the Ministry of Education and Culture publication classification)
• 10 selected publications in electronic form
• Teaching portfolio (or a similar presentation of teaching merits)
• Suggestion for the topic of demonstration lecture
• Candidate’s short description (max 2-3 pages) of his/her scientific merits and competencies including future research plan and acting as a tutor/scientific supervisor etc.

Name the application material and appendix starting with the last name of the applicant.

From the research unit

• Statement on the need for the docentship
• Definition of the field/topic (both in Finnish and English)
• Proposal on the external experts (2)
• CVs and contact information of proposed experts
• Statement on the whether or not a teaching demonstration is needed

Research unit submits the full material package in electronic form to HR Manager Tiina Hurskainen and Solution Designer Liisa Kangasharju.

Demonstration lecture is organised unless there is a well-founded reason why it is deemed unnecessary. Demonstration lecture will be given to the degree programme committee either in person or remotely. The applicant must receive the grade “good” or higher in order to be accepted.

The application is handled in the faculty management group. If the application is accepted, expert statements are requested and a demonstration lecture organised (if necessary), after which the dean will make a decision of the docentship proposal to the vice-rector.

If the management group does not accept the application, it may:

1. Request that the application is supplemented, the field of the docentship redefined, an expert replaced, etc.
   or
2. Reject the application, in which case the applicant cannot resubmit an application if the same field/topic.

Experts are invited at the latest after approval from the management group.

The applicant may decide on the topic of the teaching demonstration within the field of the applied docentship. The duration of the demonstration lecture is exactly 20 minutes and it should be suitable for basic studies. The teaching demonstration must be relevant (in terms of subject and level) to B.Sc./M.Sc. studies in the Faculty. The applicant is required to mention the field of the applied docentship in the beginning of the lecture. The lecture is supposed to consist of personal views and recommendations on important research and teaching themes related to the field of the docentship. The lecture may also include the applicant´s ideas on his/her contribution to the research and teaching in the field of the docentship. The teaching demonstration is evaluated both on basis of the content of the lecture and on basis of presentation and teaching skills of the applicant. The demonstration may be given in person or remotely.

The demonstration is given to the degree programme committee, which is complemented if necessary so that it is evaluated by:

• the chair
• at least one professor
• 1-2 other staff members
• at least one student
• secretary (who makes the memorandum)

All the above mentioned members grade the demonstration using the following scale

5 = erinomainen/excellent
4 = kiitettävä/very good
3 = hyvä/good
2 = tyydyttävä/satisfactory
1 = välttävä/sufficient

The final grade is the average of the above (worded as follows)

4.50-5.00 = erinomainen/excellent
3.50-4.49 = kiitettävä/very good
2.50-3.49 = hyvä/good
1.50-2.49 = tyydyttävä/satisfactory
1.00-1.49 = välttävä/sufficient