Professor/Associate Professor, Sustainable Energy Engineering

The University of Eastern Finland is inviting applications for the post of Professor/Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering at the Department of Chemistry and Sustainable Technology of the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology on the Joensuu campus. The position will be filled from 1 January 2027 (or as agreed).

Please find more information below and submit your application no later than 22 June 2026.

Role and salary

The Department of Chemistry and Sustainable Technology at the University of Eastern Finland (website) educates experts in the field of chemistry for teaching, specialist and management positions. In international-level research, we focus strongly on global questions that are of major importance to society and the economy. Our education and research are closely linked to national and international research networks made up of universities and industrial organizations. The professorship/associate professorship to be filled will strengthen interdisciplinary research in line with the University’s strategy, as well as education in the field of engineering, and support the development of the Master’s Degree Programme in Sustainable Technologies at the Joensuu campus.

The research and teaching field of the Professor/Associate Professor is sustainable energy engineering. The duties include the development of energy and industrial processes aimed at climate-neutral solutions, with a focus on CCUS technologies, hydrogen production and utilisation, as well as related expertise in chemistry and catalysis. The duties include conducting, developing and leading research in the field and related national and international education, as well as responsibility for scientific postgraduate education in the field in accordance with the job title.

The professorship emphasises comprehensive leadership and responsibility for research and education in the field. The Professor/Associate Professor will be responsible for the acquisition of external funding and for international research cooperation and networking in the field. The post also includes societal expert and interaction activities.

The professorship/associate professorship offers an excellent opportunity to establish and lead your own research group, and to develop teaching and research activities in the field of the position as part of the department’s educational profile. The appointee is expected to actively contribute to building this emerging field of research and education at the Joensuu campus.

The post of Professor will be filled as of 1 January 2027 (or as agreed) until further notice. The post of Associate Professor will be filled for a four-year term as of 1 January 2027 (or as agreed). The post of Associate Professor is filled for a fixed term due to it being a Tenure Track position. A trial period is applied to all new members of staff.

The criteria, objectives and results to be achieved during the term, which are required for progression to the next level of the tenure track (Professor), shall be agreed in detail with the person appointed as Associate Professor at the time of signing the employment contract. Fulfilment of the agreed criteria is a prerequisite for promotion to the permanent professorship through the tenure track.

External expert evaluation will be used in recruitment. Expert statements are part of the overall evaluation process for the position. Interviews related to the filling of the position will be arranged separately.

The salary of the post is based on the salary system for the teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. In the case of a Professor, the salary is based on levels 8-11 of the job requirement level chart (EUR 5,471.95 – 8,063.25 /month) of the salary system for the teaching and research staff of Finnish universities and in the case of an Associate Professor, on level 7 of the job requirement level chart (EUR 4,525.66 /month). In addition to the job-related salary element, the salary is supplemented with a personal salary element, which can be a maximum of 50% of the job-related salary element.

Our requirements and expectations

Requirements

Please find the description and the requirements of the post of Professor/Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering in the description of the post (PDF).

The qualification requirements of the position are:

• a doctoral degree in a relevant field
• good teaching skills
• scientific qualification and demonstrated research expertise in the research area of the position
• the teaching language for this position can be English.

If the position is filled at the Associate Professor level, the appointee is required to attain the qualifications of a Professor within a specified time frame (4 years).

The following will be considered an advantage

• a strong track record of acquiring research funding and international activities; and experience in supervision
• a research orientation aligned with the position, with a focus on the process engineering understanding of energy and material processes, holistic system-level analysis, and the assessment of techno-economic performance and sustainability impacts 
• experience in industry collaboration as well as experience and demonstrated merits in innovation activities within the research field, including invention disclosures and patents.

Your benefits

You will have access to the university’s staff benefits, including

• opportunity for flexible multi-location work
• excellent opportunities for professional development and continuous learning
• extensive occupational health care
• broad selection of staff training
• staff discount on lunch in our campus restaurants, as well as on a range of other services
• affordable sports services.

Please read more in the Work at UEF section on our website.

You will have an opportunity to work in an interesting, meaningful and diverse role as part of our international, creative, participatory and inclusive academic community.

Enjoy your life in Finland! Known for its cleanliness, welfare know-how, modern technology and superb education system, Finland is an exotic and safe country to work in. Please visit the Life in Finland section on our website to learn more.

How to apply?

Submit your application by using our electronic application form no later than 22 June 2026 by 23:59 (midnight) Finnish time (UTC+3).

The following documents must be enclosed with the application:

• CV (Template for CV, TENK website)
• a portfolio of teaching merits (Instructions, a portfolio of teaching merits PDF)
• a list of publications (Instructions, Research Council of Finland website)
• a separate list of the publications and other works (Professor: 20, numbered and indexed; and Associate Professor: 10, numbered and indexed) with which the applicant wishes to demonstrate their qualification and merits for the post
• the publications and other works referred to in the above list with which the applicant wishes to demonstrate their qualification and merits for the post
• a short, written description (2–4 pages) of the merits and activities relevant to the post, including the applicant’s views on how to develop research and teaching in the field
• copies of academic degree certificates / diplomas (highest degree)
• other documents to demonstrate the applicant’s merits for the position.

The application with appendices should be submitted in English (excluding any publications published in Finnish) in case the applicants’ qualification and merits are assessed by international experts. The applicant must ensure that the contact details specified in the application remain up-to-date throughout the recruitment process.

If your degree certificate is not in English, Finnish, or Swedish, you must provide official English translations of your degree certificate documents. All translations must be issued by the awarding educational institution or an authorized translator. Each page of the official translation must bear the translator's stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be accurate translations of the original documents. Translations made by the applicants themselves will not be accepted.

Questions?

For further information, please contact Professor Mika Suvanto, tel. +358 29 445 3451, [email protected].

For further information on the application procedure, please contact HR Specialist Iiris Korhonen, e-mail: [email protected], tel. +358 29 445 8161 or Executive Head of Administration Arja Hirvonen, e-mail. [email protected], tel. +358 29 445 3002.

The Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology operates on the Kuopio and Joensuu campuses of the University of Eastern Finland. The mission of the faculty is to carry out internationally recognised scientific research and to offer research-education in the fields of natural sciences, forestry and technology. The faculty invests in all of the strategic research areas of the university. The faculty’s environments for research and learning are international, modern and multidisciplinary. The faculty has approximately 2,650 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students and some 440 postgraduate students. The number of staff amounts to 650.

The University of Eastern Finland (UEF) is the most multidisciplinary university in Finland. Our university employs approximately 3,200 employees, and our community includes approximately 17,000 degree students and 16,000 adult education students. Our campuses are located in Joensuu and Kuopio. We represent the world’s cutting edge of research in many fields and produce research-based knowledge, which is made openly available to benefit everyone. Learn more about our university at www.uef.fi/en. Read also about UEF as a working community and employer and the career stories of our employees.

1. Mika Suvanto, [email protected]