University Lecturer in Neurobiology

The Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences (https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-biological-and-environmental-scie...) is Finland’s most high-profile and extensive hub of research and teaching in the field. Neurobiology is an area of strength in both research and teaching in the Faculty. The university lecturer position is based in the Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, which is one of the three Research Programmes in the Faculty. Its research and teaching activities are located on the Viikki Campus (https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/viikki-campus) and supported by state-of-the-art infrastructures. The Master’s Programme in Neuroscience is a popular master’s programme, with students coming from the Bachelor’s Programmes in Biology and in Molecular Biosciences and through international admission.

The Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences invites applications for the position of

University Lecturer

for a fixed period of five years, 1.9.2021-31.7.2026. The basis for the fixed-term is acting as a substitute. The field of the position is neurobiology.

We seek a university lecturer with experience and expertise in teaching and research matching areas covered in the Master’s Programme in Neuroscience, i.e. from molecular and cellular to systems neuroscience. The university lecturer is expected to teach on courses that are part of the curriculum of the Programme (https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/admissions/degree-programmes/neuroscience-ma... ), to develop teaching, and to conduct scientific research in the field. In addition, the university lecturer will counsel and supervise students, and participate in teaching of the Bachelor’s programs in Biology and Molecular Biosciences. For university lecturers of the Faculty, teaching duties comprise 40-60% of the annual workload, the minimum amount of yearly contact teaching is 130 hours, and 200 hours if the amount of other teaching-related duties is low.

An appointee to a lectureship shall hold a doctoral degree and have scholarly qualifications and experience in the conduct of scientific research and in top-level research-based teaching and supervision of theses.

When considering the applicant’s qualifications, attention will be given to scientific publications and other research-related merits, teaching experience, pedagogical training and competence as well as merits in development of teaching and skills in producing educational materials, and a trial lecture if necessary.

There is no requirement to be proficient in Finnish for foreign citizens, non-native Finnish citizens or citizens who have not been educated in Finnish or Swedish. To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must have good skills in English. Ability to teach and supervise theses in Finnish at the Bachelor’s level may be considered as an advantage.

The monthly gross salary for an university lecturer amounts to approximately 3400-5400 €, depending on the appointee’s career stage and scholarly qualifications. The position has a 6-month trial period.

Standard Finnish pension benefits and occupational health care are provided for University employees.

Finland is a member of the EU, has high quality free schooling (also in English), generous family benefits and healthcare, and was recently ranked as the best country in the world for expat families. Helsinki is in the world’s top ten most livable cities. The University of Helsinki is a top 100 ranked university in most ranking lists, and is currently investing heavily in life sciences research (see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-institute-of-life-science).

Applicants are requested to enclose with their applications the following documents in English and preferably as a single pdf if possible:
1) CV
2) A report (max. 3 pages) of experience and merits which are of relevance for the evaluation of fields of expertise and skills in teaching (please see the evaluation guidelines at
3) A report (max. 3 pages) on the applicant’s previous research activities, and a plan for how the applicant intends to develop their research and focus their activities in the future
4) A numbered list of publications in English and other works with which the applicant wishes to demonstrate their competence and merits, with five most important publications highlighted with brief explanations.

Or, alternatively, an academic portfolio containing the above documents and information. More information on academic portfolio https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/open-positions/academic-port...

Also see more information on assessment of teaching qualifications and the evaluation matrix https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-biological-and-environmental-scie...

Applications must be submitted through the University’s electronic recruitment system by clicking on the link below. Internal applicants (i.e., current employees of the University of Helsinki) must submit their applications through the SAP HR portal.

Further information on the position and on the research environment: Professor Juha Partanen (juha.m.partanen(at) Helsinki.fi and professor Juha Voipio (juha.voipio(at)helsinki.fi. On the recruitment process: Human Resources Specialist Harri Hamara, harri.hamara (at) helsinki.fi. Technical support for using the recruitment system: rekrytointi (at) helsinki.fi