Assistant/Associate/Full Professor of Medicine

The applicant may be appointed as an Assistant/Associate Professor (tenure track) or as a full Professor, depending on their qualifications and career stage. All stages of the tenure track can be entered directly depending on the applicant’s career stage. The aim of the tenure track system is to grant tenure and a permanent position as a Professor.

The position will be at the Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine in Viikki campus in Helsinki. The appointee will be responsible for the area of small animal surgery in teaching, research, clinical services and continuing education in subdisciplines of soft tissue, orthopaedics and dentistry.

The position includes teaching and supervising veterinary undergraduate and postgraduate students in small animal surgery. The teaching responsibility will be shared with clinical teachers of small animal surgery. The appointee is expected to contribute to the further development of the small animal surgery field and lead research within it. Leadership and managerial responsibilities in Veterinary Teaching Hospital may also be included.

Expectations and qualifications assessment

The applicant is required to have a DVM or equivalent degree and to be a licensed veterinarian in EU as well as hold a PhD degree in Veterinary Medicine. The degree requirements must be met by the end of the application deadline. A professional specialist degree in small animal surgery (Diplomate of ECVS or ACVS) or in another closely related clinical field, which includes small animal surgery, will be considered as a merit.

The appointee is expected to have research and teaching experience in small animal surgery, as well as wide experience in small animal surgery including clinical service. Good co-operative and interaction skills are essential.

• Assistant/Associate Professor (tenure track): Must hold a PhD degree in Veterinary Medicine, have the ability to conduct independent scientific research, possess the teaching skills necessary for the position, and demonstrate the ability and motivation for an academic career.

• Professor: Must hold a PhD degree in Veterinary Medicine and have top-level scholarly qualifications, including the ability to obtain competitive research funding and lead a research group, experience in supervision of PhD students, and the ability to provide top-level research-based teaching. Documentation of international collaboration in the field is required. The Professor must also have the skills necessary to be an academic leader.

To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must be fluent in English. If the appointee is not proficient in Finnish or Swedish, they are expected to acquire moderate proficiency within a reasonable time after the appointment. Support for language studies is offered.

When considering the applicants’ qualifications, attention will be paid to research qualifications, teaching and supervision skills, public engagement and interaction within the university/scientific community, and experience in small animal surgery. The assessment is always conducted as an overall assessment.

Why us

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Helsinki is the only institution of higher education in Finland to train veterinarians. It consists of 750 undergraduate and postgraduate students and employs approximately 150 academic staff. Approximately 70 students are admitted to complete the basic veterinary degree each year, and the starting number is planned to be increased to 90 from 2026. The degree programmes are accredited following the European System of Evaluation of Veterinary Training (ESEVT).

The Faculty has four departments (Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Production Animal Medicine, and Veterinary Biosciences) and a Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

The Faculty is located on two campuses: Viikki (Helsinki) and Mäntsälä (approximately one hour north of Helsinki). Most of the Faculty is located at the Viikki Campus, along with other faculties and independent research units in life sciences. The Department of Production Animal Medicine and Production Animal Hospital are located on the Mäntsälä campus.

We offer versatile work in an inspiring environment and the opportunity to develop your expertise and strengthen the field as part of the internationally respected and high-quality research and teaching activities of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

The University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including preventive occupational health services and general medical care, sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development. The University assists employees from abroad with their transition to work and life in Finland. We support the compatibility of work and family life, including six weeks of paid annual leave.

Salary:

• Assistant/Associate Professor: approx. 57,000 – 74,000 euros annually (gross)

• Professor: approx. 70,000 – 90,000 euros annually (gross)

How to apply

Please submit your application and the required attachments as a single PDF file (in section CV) through the University of Helsinki recruitment portal.

The attachments (in English) must include:

• A cover letter

• An academic portfolio or a researcher’s CV (please extend the description of teaching to match the teaching skills evaluation of the Faculty)

• A complete and numbered publication list

• A list and brief synopsis of max. 10 most important publications with links if open access

• 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 (max. 2 pages)

It is necessary to consider the evaluation matrix for evaluating teaching skills when describing your teaching merits in your application. For tenure track positions, the minimum requirement of teaching skills as a whole is at least satisfactory; for full professor positions, at least good. Teaching demonstrations will be organized separately for the top applicants.

Application deadline: 23 October 2025 (23:59 EEST). Applications submitted early will not be given priority over later ones.

Further information

• Position and operational environment: Head of Department Marja Raekallio, marja.raekallio(at)helsinki.fi, +358 50 4484035

• Faculty’s research affairs and strategy: Professor, Vice-Dean Tomi Taira, tomi.taira(at)helsinki.fi, +358 50 5986995

• Recruitment process, tenure track model, application documents and assessment of teaching skills: HR Specialist Heidi Kauppinen, heidi.m.kauppinen(at)helsinki.fi, +358 50 4155341

Why Finland and Helsinki

Finland is a member of the EU, with high-quality and inexpensive childcare, free schooling and tertiary training (also in English), excellent family benefits and healthcare, and is consistently ranked among the top countries for expat families. Finland also repeatedly tops the World Happiness Report.

Equality and inclusivity

A diverse and equitable study and work culture is important to us. That is why we do our best to promote an inclusive university community. We encourage all qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply for our positions.

JOIN US TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD – TOGETHER!

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In your application, please refer to Professorpositions.com